Passionate Europe: Role of Emotions in the European Attitudes and Identity

In the last decade, there was an emerging research on European integration and emotion (see Abts et al. 2022, Boomgaarden et al. 2011, Clarke et al. 2017, Erisen et al. 2019, Garry 2014, Palm 2018, Sanchez-Salgado 2018, 2022, 2023, Schumacher 2017, Vasilopoulou et al. 2017, Verbalyte et al. 2018, 2022), however systematic analysis of the relation between specific emotions and attitudes towards the EU is missing. Although many agree that European support and identity have relevant determinants beyond political issues, economic calculations and party cues, the knowledge on how emotions in general and how specific emotions in particular are supportive of European integration is still in its infancy. In this paper, using the data from six European countries (France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Italy and Poland), I will investigate how specific emotions – anger, contempt, anxiety, sadness, and hope – are related to European trust, support of European law superiority, and European identity. The paper discloses unique relations emotions have to European attitudes and identity, how they differ across countries and how they are moderated by the party support in national contexts.