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Article
Positive country images, trust and public support for European integration
Comparative European Politics (2009)
  • Gaspare M Genna, University of Texas at El Paso
Abstract
In this paper I contribute to the scholarship on public support for European integration by arguing that member-states’ positive images influence individuals’ support decisions. An attribute of this positive image is trust, which individuals utilize given the complexity of the integration process, the salient impact it has on their lives and the low levels of information individuals possess. The use of a member-state’s image is therefore a short-cut to evaluate integration’s impact on individuals. As the development of integration is strongly influenced by the relatively more economically powerful member-state, trust in Germany increases the level of support, more so than trusting the remaining members.
Keywords
  • European integration,
  • public support,
  • trust,
  • social identity theory,
  • power transition theory
Disciplines
Publication Date
July, 2009
Citation Information
Gaspare M Genna. "Positive country images, trust and public support for European integration" Comparative European Politics Vol. 7 Iss. 2 (2009)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/gaspare_genna/8/