(Un)intended Consequences of EU Parliamentary Elections
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When direct elections for the European Parliament were first organized in 1979, the idea was that such direct elections would increase the democratic legitimacy and accountability of the Parliament. Moreover, the elections were expected to raise public interest, engagement and support for the European project. Did these elections help to increase legitimacy and accountability? Did they increase interest in and support for the 'European project'? Or, did these elections have unintended (and perhaps undesirable) consequences? This volume focuses on the consequences of European elections for public debate and involvement, for party systems, and for public opinion.
EP elections have caused a number of intended consequences: the salience of the elections in the media has gone up and over time electoral competition becomes more important, engaging in the campaign can help improve EU evaluations, and Europe as a topic has become more important for voting at EP elections, boosting the prevalence of so-called EU voting. A number of intended consequences have not materialized during the life of the EP so far: knowledge or turnout levels have not gone up and citizens have not become better at judging what political parties are offering. The EP elections have, however, also yielded a number of unintended consequences: EP elections dampen turnout for first time voters in subsequent elections, EP elections cause temporary decline in EU support, and the elections have become a strategic arena for political parties to position themselves on EU issues and for new movements and parties to boost or sustain their success.
Wouter van der Brug is Professor of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam. His research interests focus on comparative research in collective political behaviour, in particular electoral behavior, right-wing populism, political communication, political trust and support, and political parties. He published in various international journals, such as the European Journal of Political Research, The British Journal of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, Electoral Studies, Party Politics, Political Communication, West European Politics, Political Behavior, European Union Politics, Comparative European Politics, and The Journal of Theoretical Politics. In 2007 his monograph The Economy and the Vote (co-authored by Cees van der Eijk and Mark Franklin) was published by Cambridge University Press.
Claes de Vreese is Professor of Political Communication at the University of Amsterdam.
He is the founding Director of the Center for Politics and Communication (www.polcomm.org ). His research interests include EU attitudes, comparative journalism research, the effects of news, public opinion and European integration, effects of information and campaigning on elections, and direct democracy. His research is funded by several science foundation grants. He has received grants from the Dutch and Danish Science Foundations as well as the ERC. He has published 100+ articles in international peer-reviewed journals, including leading journals in political science, communication science, and public opinion research. He is the Editor of Political Communication.