Understanding Socio-Economic Realities and Political Perspectives in the European Union
Around 400 million people in the European Union will be called upon to cast their vote in the European Parliament elections in June 2024. With our comparative research project in eight EU member states, we are investigating the commonalities in the political views, burdens, concerns and hopes of EU citizens ahead of the elections.
Introduction
Around 400 million people in the European Union will be called upon to cast their vote in the European Parliament elections in June 2024. With our comparative research project in eight EU member states, we are investigating the commonalities in the political views, burdens, concerns and hopes of EU citizens ahead of the elections.
How people with different socio-economic circumstances and material situations have experienced the multiple crises of recent years is of particular interest. In addition to socio-demographic factors, we look at individual and societal fears of decline as well as material burdens and analyse how these affect democratic and anti-democratic positions. We also want to understand how material conditions shape political attitudes towards the EU and core issues such as economic and financial policy, climate, migration and EU enlargement.
Analyses
The combination of qualitative focus groups in Germany and France and a quantitative representative survey in Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Sweden enables a differentiated view of the central issues surrounding the elections and helps to categorise the election results.
In an initial analysis at the end of May, we will take a comparative look at the electoral potential of extreme right-wing parties across the eight countries and analyse how their positions find resonance in society as a whole.
Funding
The project is financially supported by the Open Society Foundation gGmbH.