On 1 November, members of the Theme Group “European Elections and Public Cynicism” will hold a seminar on Euroscepticism on the rise.
About the Seminar
Until the late 1990s issues connected to European unification and enlargement were scarcely politicised and, in fact, hardly discussed by parties, politicians or the media. There are reasons, however, to believe that the period of permissive consensus for the European project is over. Recently, the European project has been increasingly opposed by citizens who obstructed the Treaty of Nice, the Constitutional Treaty and the Lisbon Treaty in referendums in the Netherlands, France and Ireland; three formerly ‘Europhile’ countries. In addition, the rise of Eurosceptic populist parties may well contribute to increased contestation over Europe, and, more importantly, make the future of Europe an issue in European and national election campaigns. In this seminar we present some results from earlier research on attitudes towards the EU. Presentations focus on changes in support for the EU over time, on the determinants of these attitudes as well as on the role of the issue of European integration in national elections.
The seminar consists of four 15 minute presentations and 30 minutes Q&A:
1. Claes de Vreese: Introduction to EU attitudes and their antecedents: the Netherlands as a case where EU support is going down
2. Wouter van der Brug: Structural determinants of EU support, in particular the role of education
3. Sylvia Kritzinger and Hajo Boomgaarden: EU-issue voting in national elections
4. Mark Franklin: The consequences of the design of EP elections
About NIAS Seminars
NIAS Seminars are organised by the Rector of the Institute. They are meant to appeal to interested parties from a wide range of backgrounds and are aimed to encourage closer contact within the Dutch academic world.
NIAS Seminars take place in the Lecture Room (NIAS, Meijboomlaan 1, Wassenaar, telephone 070-512 27 00). This Seminar starts at 11.00 hours and ends at 12.30. Everyone is welcome to attend the seminar and join the discussion. However, since changes in the programme may occur, please let us know if you wish to attend. For further information, contact Communication.