European Versus National Citizenship: An Analysis of the Relationship Between Strength of European Identity and Support for Populist Parties

A press release published by the European Commission in August 2019 states, in reference to the 2019 Standard Eurobarometer, that “Europeans are upbeat about the state of the European Union,” claiming the results to be the best results since 2014. A majority of Europeans are optimistic about the EU and its future. Trust in the EU emerges as higher than trust in national governments. And in all member states more than half the respondents feel they are a citizen of the EU. While across the EU 73% feel this way, there is variation at the national level. Interestingly, this occurs at a time when populist governments or populist parties are increasingly gaining ground in many European countries, advocating for a more nationalist, exclusionary and passive vision of citizenship. In this study, we are curious about the possible relationship between the strength of European identity and support for populist parties: Does the strength of European identity mean less support for the populist parties? Or can we expect a positive relationship, indicating a trend of increasing skepticism about countries and their citizens which lie outside of EU borders. Also, do we observe similar trends among EU countries or are there different trends across the member-states in terms of the relationship between EU identity and support for populist parties. In order to count on these questions, this study utilizes the Eurobarometer survey conducted in 2018, which includes specific questions on both European identity and attitudes towards emerging populist parties across Europe.