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Continent of pessimism or continent of realism? A multilevel study into the impact of macro-economic outcomes and political institutions on societal pessimism, European Union 2006-2012
[journal article]
Abstract The often-posed claim that Europe is a pessimistic continent is not unjustified. In 2012, 53 percent of European Union (EU) citizens were pessimistic about their country. Surprisingly, however, societal pessimism has received very little scientific attention. In this article, we examine to what exte... view more
The often-posed claim that Europe is a pessimistic continent is not unjustified. In 2012, 53 percent of European Union (EU) citizens were pessimistic about their country. Surprisingly, however, societal pessimism has received very little scientific attention. In this article, we examine to what extent political and economic factors drive societal pessimism. In terms of political factors, we expect that supranationalization, political instability, and corruption increase societal pessimism, as they diminish national political power and can inspire collective powerlessness. Economically, we expect that the retrenchment of welfare state provisions and economic decline drive societal pessimism, as these developments contribute to socioeconomic vulnerability. We assess the impact of these political and economic factors on the level of societal pessimism in the EU, both cross-nationally and over time, through multilevel analyses of Eurobarometer data (13 waves between 2006 and 2012 in 23 EU countries). Our findings show that the political factors (changes in government, corruption) primarily explain cross-national differences in societal pessimism, while the macro-economic context (economic growth, unemployment) primarily explains longitudinal trends within countries. These findings demonstrate that, to a large extent, societal pessimism cannot be viewed separately from its political and economic context.... view less
Keywords
economic crisis; political stability; supranationality; pessimism; political factors; microeconomic factors; corruption; multi-level analysis; Eurobarometer; EU
Classification
Basic Research, General Concepts and History of Political Science
Free Keywords
societal pessimism; Eurobarometer 66.1 (Sep-Oct 2006); Eurobarometer 68.1 (Sept.-Nov. 2007); Eurobarometer 69.2 (Mar.-May 2008); Eurobarometer 70.1 (Oct.-Nov. 2008); Eurobarometer 71.1 (Jan.-Feb. 2009); Eurobarometer 71.3 (Jun.-Jul. 2009); Eurobarometer 72.4 (Oct.-Nov. 2009); Eurobarometer 73.4 (May 2010); Eurobarometer 74.2 (Nov. 2010); Eurobarometer 75.3 (May 2011); Eurobarometer 76.3 (Nov. 2011); Eurobarometer 77.3 (May 2012); Eurobarometer 78.1 (Nov. 2012)
Document language
English
Publication Year
2017
Page/Pages
p. 192-214
Journal
International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 58 (2017) 3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/0020715217710809
ISSN
1745-2554
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed