Winning The Hearts And Minds...And Wallets...Of The People
Winning The Hearts And Minds...And Wallets...Of The People

Summary/Abstract: Scholars on both sides of the Atlantic are increasingly interested in explaining volatility in popular support for the European Union's eastward enlargement. While a rich body of research documents attitudinal trends in existing member states, remarkably less effort has been devoted to integrating what we know about citizen preferences in candidate states into the mainstream political science literature. Despite expectations that the EU's allure would produce strong and steady enthusiasm for accession among central and eastern European publics, considerable cross-national and temporal variation exists. Seeking to explain some of that variation, this article gauges the relationship between egocentric, pocketbook evaluations of economic conditions and support for EU membership. Drawing upon evidence from ten Europe Agreement countries and focusing particular attention on Romania, Hungary, and Estonia, the analysis casts significant new light on the debate between two alternative approaches-the "individual opportunities" and "state guarantees society" perspectives.

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