Perceptions of Europe A Comparative Sociology of European Attitudes [Paperback]

This book presents the main findings of a comparative qualitative survey conducted in France, Germany, Italy, and Poland.This book presents the main findings of a comparative qualitative survey conducted in France, Germany, Italy, and Poland. Ordinary citizens from very different social backgrounds and professions were asked a range of open-ended questions, allowing them to express themselves freely. There have been few qualitative surveys on ordinary citizens' views of European integration, and none on this scale. The resulting picture is very different from the self-evident assumptions of many current studies on European opinions. Contributions to the volume stress the great diversity, ambiguity, and complexity of European attitudes. They emphasise the causal impact of formal education, political interest and involvement, individual everyday exposures to European realities, and the role of collective national experiences of European integration and national history.contentsList of Figures and Tables viiContributors ixPreface xiChapter 1: What we Know and do not Know About Citizens AttitudesTowards EuropeDaniel Gaxie 1Chapter 2: The Eurobarometer and the Making of European OpinionPhilippe Aldrin 17Chapter 3: Methodology of the ProjectDaniel Gaxie and Jay Rowell 35Chapter 4: Types of Attitudes Towards EuropeDaniel Gaxie 51Chapter 5: For or Against the EU? Ambivalent Attitudes and VariedArguments Towards EuropeDorota Dakowska and Nicolas Hub? 85Chapter 6: Temporality and Historical Experience in Attitudes TowardsEurope: Is There a Nationality Effect?Dorota Dakowska and Jay Rowell 101Chapter 7: Talking About Europe: Techniques and Resources in theFormulation of Opinions on the EUPhilippe Aldrin and Marine De Lassalle 119Chapter 8: Producing Opinions on European Questions: A SpecificCompetence?Patrick Lehingue 143Chapter 9: The European Puzzle: Gathering, Sorting and AssemblingPiecemeal InformationGiuliano Bobba, Katarzyna Jaszczyk and Muriel Rambour 157Chapter 10: l³.