The electorate's ability to influence the European agenda through European elections and national referenda has led to a close inspection of public attitudes by both academics and politicians. Taking a micro-level approach, this article contributes to the larger literature on the formation of public attitudes and aims at identifying the factors that influence public attitudes towards European integration in Bulgaria, one of the new member states. We use a national survey and rely upon utilitarian, value-based and heuristic factors to test several hypotheses. Although our data confirm the argument that support is higher in countries with lower opportunity costs of transferring sovereignty to the European Union, we also find that EU membership is assessed by projecting potential benefits for future generations rather than self-centered expectations of immediate returns.
Anderson, Christopher J. (1998) `When in Doubt Use Proxies: Attitudes toward Domestic Politics and Support for European Integration', Comparative Political Studies31(5): 569-601.
2.
Anderson, Christopher J. and Karl Kaltenhaler (1996) `The Dynamics of Public Opinion toward European Integration, 1973-1993', European Journal of International Relations2(2): 175-99.
3.
Anderson, Christopher J. and Shawn Reichert (1996) `Economic Benefits and Support for Membership in the EU: A Cross-National Analysis', Journal of Public Policy15(3): 231-49.
4.
Brinegar, Adam P. and Seth Jolly (2005) `Location, Location, Location. National Contextual Factors and Public Support for European Integration', European Union Politics6(2): 155-80.
5.
Brinegar, Adam P., Seth Jolly and Herbert Kitschelt (2004) `Varieties of Capitalism and Political Divides over European Integration', in Gary Marks and Marco Steenbergen (eds) European Integration and Political Conflict, pp. 62-89. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.
6.
Carey, Sean (2002) `Undivided Loyalties: Is National Identity an Obstacle to European Integration?', European Union Politics3(4): 387-413.
7.
Christin, Thomas (2005) `Economic and Political Basis of Attitudes toward the EU in Central and Eastern European Countries in the 1990s', European Union Politics6(1): 29-57.
8.
Cichowski, Rachel (2000) `Western Dreams, Eastern Realities: Support for European Union in Central and Eastern Europe', Comparative Political Studies33(10): 1243-78.
9.
Davidson, Russell and James G. MacKinnon (1993) Estimation and Inference in Econometrics. New York: Oxford University Press.
10.
Dimitrova, Antoaneta and Rilka Dragneva (2001) `Bulgaria's Road to the European Union: Progress, Problems and Perspectives', Perspectives on European Politics & Society2(1): 79-105.
11.
Doyle, Orla and Jan Fidrmuc (2006) `Who Favors Enlargement?: Determinants of Support for EU Membership in the Candidate Countries' Referenda' , European Journal of Political Economy22(2): 520-43.
12.
Dulphy, Anne and Christine Manigand (eds) (2004) Public Opinion and Europe: National Identities and the European Integration Process. Bruges: College of Europe Publications.
13.
Ehin, Piret (2001) `Determinants of Public Support for EU Membership: Data from the Baltic Countries', European Journal of Political Research40(1): 31-56.
14.
Eichenberg, Richard and Russell Dalton (1993) `Europeans and the European Community: The Dynamics of Public Support for European Integration', International Organizations47(4): 507-34.
15.
Franklin, Mark, Michael Marsh and Lauren McLaren (1994) `Uncorking the Bottle: Popular Opposition to European Unification in the Wake of Maastricht', Journal of Common Market Studies32(4): 455-72.
16.
Franklin, Mark, Cees Van der Eijk and Michael Marsh (1995) `Referendum Outcomes and Trust in Government: Public Support for Europe in the Wake of Maastricht', West European Politics18(3): 101-18.
17.
Gabel, Matthew (1998a) Interests and Integration: Market Liberalization, Public Opinion, and European Union. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
18.
Gabel, Matthew (1998b) `Economic Integration and Mass Politics: Market Liberalization and Public Attitudes in the European Union', American Journal of Political Science42(3): 936-53.
19.
Gabel, Matthew and Harvey Palmer (1995) `Understanding Variation in Public Support for European Integration', European Journal of Political Research27(1): 3-19.
20.
Giatzidis, Emile (2004) `Bulgaria on the Road toEuropean Union', Journal of Southeast European & Black Sea Studies4(3): 434-59.
21.
Grabbe, Heather (2006) The EU's Transformative Power. Europeanization through Conditionality in Central and Eastern Europe. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
22.
Huckfeldt, Robert, Paul Allen Beck, Russell J. Dalton and Jeffrey Levine (1995) `Political Environment, Cohesive Social Groups, and the Communication of Public Opinion', American Journal of Political Science39(4): 1025-54.
23.
Inglehart, Ronald (1977) The Silent Revolution. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
24.
Janssen, Joseph (1991) `Postmaterialism, Cognitive Mobilization and Support for European Integration', British Journal of Political Science21(4): 443-68.
25.
Karp, Jeffrey A., Susan A. Banducci and Shaun Bowler (2003) `To Know It Is to Love It? Satisfaction with Democracy in the European Union', Comparative Political Studies36(3): 271-92.
26.
King, Garry, James Honaker, Ann Joseph and Kenneth Scheve (2001) `Analyzing Incomplete Political Science Data: An Alternative Algorithm for Multiple Imputation', American Political Science Review95(1): 49-69, URL (consulted Dec. 2007): http://gking.harvard.edu/files/evil.pdf .
27.
Little, Roderick and Donald Rubin (2002) Statistical Analysis with Missing Data. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
28.
McLaren, Lauren M. (2002) `Public Support for the European Union: Cost/Benefit Analysis or Perceived Cultural Threat?', Journal of Politics64(2): 551-66.
29.
McLaren, Lauren (2007) `Explaining Mass Level Euroskepticism: Identity, Interests and Institutional Distrust', Acta Politica42(2-3): 233-51.
30.
Nowak, Andrej, Jacek Szamrej and Bibb Latane (1990), `From Private Attitudes to Public Opinion: A Dynamic Theory of Social Impact', Psychological Review97(3): 362-76.
31.
Rohrschneider, Robert (2002) `The democracy deficit and mass support for an EUwide government', American Journal of Political Science46(2): 463-75.
32.
Rohrschneider, Robert and Stephen Whitefield (2006) `Political Parties, Public Opinion and European Integration in Post-Communist Countries: The State of the Art', European Union Politics7(1): 141-60.
33.
Sánchez-Cuenca, Ignacio (2000) `The Political Basis of Support for European Integration' , European Union Politics1(2): 147-71.
34.
Schimmelfenning, Frank (2001) `The Community Trap: Liberal Norms, Rhetorical Action and the Eastern Enlargement of the European Union', International Organisation55(1): 47-80.
35.
Schopflin, George (2000) Nations. Identity. Power. London : Hurst & Co.
36.
Slomczynski, Kazimierz M. and Goldie Shabad (2003) `Dynamics of Support for European Integration in Post-Communist Poland', European Journal of Political Research42(4): 503-39.
37.
Tismăneanu, Vladimir (1998) Fantasies of Salvation. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
38.
Tucker, Joshua, Alexander Pacek and Adam Berinsky (2002) `Transitional Winners and Losers: Attitudes towards EU Membership in Post-Communist Countries', American Journal of Political Science46(3): 557-71.
39.
Van Buuren S., H.C. Boshuizen and D.L. Knook (1999) `Multiple Imputation of Missing Blood Pressure Covariates in Survival Analysis', Statistics in Medicine18: 681-94.
40.
Verdery, Katherine (1996) `Civil Society or Nation? "Europe" in the Symbolism of Postsocialist Politics', in Katherine Verdery What Was Socialism and What Comes Next?, pp. 104-29. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
41.
White Stephen, Ian McAllister and Margot Light (2002) `Enlargement and the New Outsiders', Journal of Common Market Studies40(1): 135-53.
