Studying (De-)Politicization of the EU from a Citizens Point of View: A New Comparative Focus Group Study

Read the new article by Laurie Beaudonnet (CJMM Scientific Co-Director) entitled «Studying (De-)Politicization of the EU from a Citizens Point of View: A New Comparative Focus Group Study» with the RESTEP team composed of Céline Belot (Science-Po Grenoble), Claire Dupuy (UCLouvain), Anne-Marie Houde (Ph.D. student at the University of Warwick), Morgan Le Corre Juratic (Ph.D. student at the European University Institute), Damien Pennetreau (Ph.D. student at UCLouvain), Tiago Silva (Postdoctoral researcher at the Universidade de Lisboa) and Virginie Van Ingelgom (UCLouvain).

Here is a short extract:

« Whilst the politicization of the EU has been increasingly studied over recent years, the analysis has been focusing mainly on political parties and media. Thus, although not completely overlooked, studies looking at EU politicization amongst individuals remain scarce. This article presents a new qualitative dataset from 21 focus groups conducted across social groups and four countries. It was designed to observe processes of (de-)politicization at citizens’ level, how they talk about the EU and along which cleavages are their attitudes structured. This comparative research design sheds new light on discourses and opinions on Europe, mechanisms of politicization and political discussions. »

To read the article, click here.