Crisis Politics in Europe: Public Support for Solidarity and Risk-Sharing Policies

Abstract

In recent years the EU and its member states have faced a series of major crises and threats. On the one hand, the asymmetric effects of these crises can fuel between-country and within-country divisions, triggering discontent and protest, and undermining the legitimacy of the EU and of national governments. On the other hand, crises can also push European unity further through rally-round-the-flag effects and an enhanced focus on solidarity. This talk will present the results of a series of papers taking as a starting point this overarching tension and examining public opinion and political behaviour within crises. After briefly looking into the evolution of crisis-related discontent and protest, the talk will focus on several survey experimental studies that inquire into the drivers of political attitudes related more specifically to solidarity and risk-sharing and the ways in which these attitudes can be “crafted” by national elites through cueing. The results of these studies speak to the nature of mass-elite linkages more generally and have important implications for policymaking within and of the EU and the room-for-manoeuvre for implementing risk-sharing policies.