written by
Ganderson, Joseph ; Schelkle, Waltraud ; Truchlewski, Zbigniew
Who is afraid of emergency politics? Public opinion on European crisis management during Covid-19 – Comparative European Politics
06/02/2023
scritto da
Ganderson, Joseph ; Schelkle, Waltraud ; Truchlewski, Zbigniew

Abstract:

After a decade of crisis management, the democratic implications of emergency modes of governance in the European Union (EU) are under the spotlight. The prevailing analysis is critical. Scholars point to an emergent, distinctly European trend of transnational crisis exploitation where elite appeals to exceptional pressures serve asymmetric power and influence, overriding democratic norms and potentially fuelling Eurosceptic backlash. However, the literature does not ask whether citizens consider themselves disempowered by the EU’s emergency politics, with its alleged emphasis on urgency and technocratic problem-solving. The relative symmetry and simultaneity of the Covid-19 crisis across Europe offers an opportunity for an empirical examination of public opinion on traits of emergency politics. We juxtapose the implications of emergency politics for public opinion with the transnational cleavages literature and use survey data from 15 member states on EU- and national-level pandemic responses to examine the competing hypotheses. Our findings indicate perceptions of crisis management are largely determined by prior views on EU integration and democracy. More generally, the results suggest that the transnational cleavage remains overall a key driver and delimiter of Euroscepticism in crisis times. Though there is some variance between emergency politics dimensions, we do not detect a widespread perception of disillusionment motivated by EU emergency rule.

To cite this article:

Ganderson, J., Schelkle, W. & Truchlewski, Z. Who is afraid of emergency politics? Public opinion on European crisis management during Covid-19. Comp Eur Polit 21, 470–490 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41295-023-00329-5

#Cleavage theory #Covid-19 #crisis politics #emergency politics #European Union politics #public opinion
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partners
This project is funded with a Synergy Grant by the European Research Council under Grant Agreement n. 810356. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.