Enighet om Europa Applicering av diffusionsteorin på utvecklingen av attityden till Europeisk policyintegration 1999-2009

Abstract

Public opinion has increasingly become a political force in the European integration process. At present, it appears that the people’s attitude towards the European integration is relatively skeptical. How can we expect that the attitude towards European integration will evolve in the future? This paper tests the extent to which diffusion theory can serve as a model to explain the development of attitudes to European integration policy in Sweden from 1999 until 2009. The policy specific approach is grounded in a commitment to the importance of keeping the concept of European integration relatively constant and comparable over time. The study tests the diffusion theory’s prediction of an increasingly positive attitude towards the European integration. This paper is also testing the diffusion theory’s explanation for changes in attitudes to European integration, the diffusion process and the weakening of differences between groups and orientations. The paper’s quantitative analysis of data from the Swedish European parliament election surveys reveals that the attitude towards European policy integration, in line with the diffusion theory, has been improved over time. There is, however, no clear evidence that a diffusion process is the cause of this development.