The middle-class base of European integration? New class divides and attitudes towards market integration in ten EU countries
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7989541 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Stefano Ronchi (0000-0002-6821-7148, University of Milan, corresponding author), Joan Miró (0000-0001-9958-2343, Universitat Pompeu Fabra) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 59-77 |
| Publication date | 2024-04-15 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Politics and Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2374-5126 • E-ISSN: 2374-5118 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/23745118.2024.2341320 |
| OpenAlex | W4394822200 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 46 |
Highly educated 'new' middle classes have been identified as a fundamental constituency that, by supporting technological innovation and liberalisation, bolsters the stability of advanced capitalism. By contrast, less educated production workers are usually described as opponents of such policies. This article investigates the extent to which these class divides translate into different positions on support for EU integration, a key process in the liberalisation of European political economy. In addition to class-based positions, we take into consideration how the subjective perceptions of situations such as unemployment, income loss and job insecurity affect support for EU integration. By relying on an original 2019 survey conducted in ten member states, the analysis confirms that high-skilled middle classes overwhelmingly support European market integration, while 'old' middle classes appear more concerned about the welfare losses that integration could imply. Low-skilled service workers emerge as a critical cross-pressured group, taking a mid position between 'old' and 'new' middle classes
Capitalism · Economic growth · Economic system · Economics · Labour economics · Liberalization · Market economy · Market integration · Middle class · Political science · Politics · Position (finance · Unemployment · Welfare · Welfare state · European Union Policy and Governance · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Social Policy and Reform Studies
Party systems and voter alignments
European Solidarity in Times of Crisis
Redrawing the Class Map
Service Expansion, International Exposure, and Political Preferences
Monetary union and the stakes for democracy and social policy
Social Policy and the Euro Crisis
West European Politics in the Age of Globalization
Inequality, Marketization and the Majority Class
The Struggle Over Borders
The Politics of Advanced Capitalism
The “losers of automation”
Shrinking and shouting
High-skilled outsiders? Labor market vulnerability, education and welfare state preferences
The Changing Shape of Class Voting
The European Commission's Neoliberal Trade Discourse since the Crisis
Backlash politics against European integration
Servants for the Knowledge-Based Economy? The Political Economy of Domestic Services in Europe
The party preferences of atypical workers in Germany
The decline of the working-class vote, the reconfiguration of the welfare support coalition and consequences for the welfare state
Who is in and who is out? A risk-based conceptualization of insiders and outsiders
A Postfunctionalist Theory of European Integration
An ever wider gap in an ever closer union
The asymmetry of European integration, or why the EU cannot be a 'social market economy
Grand theories of European integration revisited
Public support for European fiscal integration in times of crisis
The Meaning of the European Union and Public Support for European Integration
Do European citizens support the idea of a European welfare state? Evidence from a comparative survey conducted in three EU member states
Integration at What Price? The Erosion of National Democracy in the Euro Periphery
Mass Euroscepticism revisited
Winners and losers of globalization in Europe
Electoral competition in Europe's new tripolar political space
The Europeanisation of political involvement
Public Support for European Integration
A Threatening Horizon
Democracy and Prosperity
Changing classes, changing preferences
Changing Values among Western Publics from 1970 to 2006
Labor Market Dualization and Insider–Outsider Divides
Dualization and Electoral Realignment
Labor market insecurity among the middle class
Worker mobility under attack? Explaining labour market chauvinism in the EU
Euroscepticism and education
Issue politicization and social class
Risks and Redistribution
The global economic crisis and domestic political agendas
Outsiders at the ballot box
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |