The Social Bases of EU Attitudes Among Gen Z: Gender, Social Risks, and Generational Divides

Which social groups are supportive of further European integration among the younger generation, and what kind of EU policies do they demand? By examining the interplay of gender and socioeconomic conditions, this study sheds light on the emerging patterns of social support bases of the EU among Gen Z (born after 1996), in contrast to older generations. Despite existing scholarship on the divides between those who benefit from and support deeper EU integration (e.g., cosmopolitan elites vs. nationalist working classes), scholarship has yet to show whether and how such divides are reproduced among younger generations of EU citizens, and how this interacts with political gender gaps. While there are some indications that women are less pro-EU than men, and less interested and knowledgeable of EU politics, the reversal of the traditional gender gap might also apply to women’s EU attitudes. Understanding these social bases among young EU citizens, is essential for the long-term legitimacy of the European project and designing policies that can ensure broad support. The support patterns are expected to differ across generations, due to Gen Z’s distinct socializing experiences of growing up during multiple crises against the backdrop of a more consolidated EU as a polity. Moreover, the material circumstances under which Gen Z (and millenials) has come of age differs from those in older generations. Social risks such as unemployment, job insecurity, and precarity, are disproportionally present among the younger generations in general, and women in particular. Such experiences are expected to shape their policy demands not only at the national but also the European level, and thereby explain gendered and generational patterns in such attitudes. Regional differences across Europe are examined, reflecting countries’ varied experiences with the EU (e.g., creditor versus debtor countries) and the uneven distribution of social risks such as youth unemployment and job precarity. Age-period-cohort analyses are performed to test these expectations, using multiple waves of cross-sectional original survey data from 16 European countries. Preliminary analyses using 2021 data indicate higher EU support, a reversal of the traditional gender gap, and decreased importance of the educational cleavage among the younger generation. The findings of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the social foundations of future EU integration and how specific socioeconomic circumstances of the younger generation predicts their attitudes and policy demands towards the EU.