Integrating indifference: a comparative, qualitative and quantitative approach to the legitimacy of European integration

This paper addresses the question of political legitimacy of the European integration from a socio-political perspective using a mixed-methods approach, drawing on both quantitative survey data (Eurobarometers) and qualitative data (24 focus groups organized in (French-speaking) Belgium, France and Great-Britain). Through the analysis of this material, it is possible to contribute to the study of the processes of acceptance and/or resistance towards European integration, as well as its possible politicization, whilst concentrating more specifically on the non-polarization of a large proportion of ordinary citizens. Thus, next to the resistances generally studied and know as Euroskepticism, one also records during the last decade a reinforcement of the indifference and indecision of ordinary citizens. The systematic analysis of the focus groups makes it possible to point out the fundamental role played by the national frames of perceptions and to precisely document the different faces of non-polarization (ambivalence, distance and externality and fatalism). The conclusion of this paper invites us to question the acceptance of change in the political order by investigating not only the degree of support citizens have for the European political system and the type of support they express, but also at the intensity of this support. Although the contrast between the pre- and post-Maastricht periods in terms of the parallel growth of the competences of the European Union and the publicity around European issues is not called into question, an interpretation based on the binary permissive consensus/euroscepticism appears incomplete if not erroneous. In emphasizing the complexity of the dynamics of politicization, this text suggests that the alleged break in the “permissive consensus” amongst citizens needs to be put into perspective. Thus, it is not clear that the “popular mood” towards Europe is the mirror image of the level of dissensus amongst elites. The politicization of European issues does not necessarily lead to the polarization of citizens opinions; we argue here that it is necessary to incorporate the notion and the role of indifference into any reflection on the legitimacy of the European integration process.