EU Politicisation Mobilising Citizens and Parties

Abstract

The politicisation of the EU at national and EU levels, reinvigorated by the multiple crises that have affected Europe, has made European integration a more prominent topic in political competition. It is a topic that has evolved into a divisive issue with polarising effects on political actors. As a consequence of EU polarisation, society has experienced mixed signs of waning EU support particularly in the form of anti-EU sentiment and voting, opposed by resilience in pro-Europeanism. Political cleavage structures have evolved too encompassing the EU divide. A transnational cleavage has emerged which places European integration at the forefront of political competition. This transnational cleavage also helps explain the rise and growing popularity of radical right parties, which have come to dominate political conflict over issues of identity, sovereignty, and immigration—often portraying the EU in a negative light. Despite growing evidence that Europe has gained relevance as a mobilising issue, the direct and indirect impact of the EU on political behaviour remains a highly contested topic in academic literature. While the multiple crises affecting Europe have certainly constituted windows of public and partisan attention for the EU integration process, more research is needed about the observable effects of European issues on the political behaviour of citizens and parties. Scholarly research points to different mobilising effects among Eurosceptic and pro-European actors. Against this backdrop, this panel seeks to attract papers that address how citizens and parties mobilise in times of EU politicisation, during the elections but also beyond the electoral phase. Drawing on diverse data sources and methodological approaches, the panel seeks papers that empirically trace the causal chain linking EU integration to its direct and indirect effects on the political behaviour of citizens and parties. We are interested in how populist and radical actors challenge and oppose the EU. At the same time, we are interested in how radical ideas drift into the political mainstream and how mainstream and Europhile actors react to populist and radical actors on the EU.

Title	Details
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Persistent Advantage? Radical right and mainstream MEPs’ Communication on Immigration, 2014-2024	View Paper Details
Europeanisation through polarisation: Political parties' use of social media to talk about Europe during the EP elections (2019-2024)	View Paper Details