Growing up in a Globalized Society: Why Younger Generations are more Positive about the European Union

This study examined why young Europeans are typically more positive about the European Union. Analyses on Eurobarometer data (N = 1,500,058) revealed that older people are about twice as likely to oppose EU membership. This age difference was observed universally for all periods between 1973 and 2015 and for nearly all 28 countries. Generational patterns played a much larger role than life-cycle effects: People were more positive about Europe if they had come of age after their country joined the EU, but particularly if they had grown up in the era of globalization. Consistently, young Europeans were only more positive about Europe to the extent that they were also more positive about immigration and globalization in general. These findings indicate that age differences in EU support are part of a broader generational divide in which support for globalization is stronger among those who grew up in a more globalized society.