The Impact of ‘Politicization’ on ‘Identification with Europe’: A Comparative Analysis of United Kingdom, Denmark, France and Germany

ABSTRACT: Since the 1980s, the political atmosphere in Europe has altered profoundly. The period prior to that was an era of ‘permissive consensus’ where citizens were indifferent towards the policies that are carried out at the supranational level. However, there has been the emergence and several indicators of ‘politicization’ since the 1980s, as citizens are no longer willing to standby in side-lines while the political elites dominate policy areas and determine the direction of the European integration. This new development has admissibly altered the way citizens identify with the European Union. This research aimed at determining the extent to which this new awareness/Politicization has affected how citizens identify with Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom, Denmark, France and Germany between 1980 to 1990 and 2000-2003. A cross-sectional study was carried out to compare these impacts and determine the direction of the relationship between ‘politicization’ and the ‘Identification with Europe’. The research is sectioned in five chapters; Chapter one is the introduction of the subject matter, Chapter two covered the reviews of Literatures, where relevant related sources were assessed to contextualize ‘Politicization’ and the ‘Identification with Europe’. Chapter three is the methodology and Justification of Cases, the outline of the methodology employed to prove the hypothesis was made, and the significance of each of the cases selected was established. The Chapter four was the data analysis section, where the data extracted from the Eurobarometer where used to reach conclusions. The fifth and final section is the summary of Findings, Conclusions and the recommendations. Keywords: Politicization, European Identity, Identification with Europe. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………