Early life political socialization and diffuse support for the European Union: Does growing up in a political system matter for diffuse political support in adulthood?

Diffuse political support provides a source of resilience for political regimes. How important is early life political socialization for the development of diffuse support? Although the extant literature suggests that early life political socialization plays a role, existing evidence is only based on datasets that have limited variation in early life political socialization. I overcome this limitation by using a more suitable case - the European Union (EU) - for my study. I explore how much growing up in the European political regime affects the level of diffuse support in adulthood. I use diverse research techniques and multiple sources of data (including cross-sectional Eurobarometer data, six-wave panel data, and original experimental data). I find that individuals who experienced their early life political socialization in the EU have equally diffuse support for the EU as do individuals who grew up outside the EU. Based on this evidence, I argue that diffuse support forms through experience in adult life and that early life political socialization is not an essential time period for the development diffuse support for a political regime.