IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jcmkts/v60y2022i5p1470-1487.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Feeling the Heat: Emotions, Politicization, and the European Union

Author

Listed:
  • C. Nicolai L. Gellwitzki
  • Anne‐Marie Houde

Abstract

For over a decade, scholars of European studies have been studying a phenomenon referred to as the politicization of the European Union, usually defined as the intensification of a political debate, the polarization of opinions, and public resonance. This article extends existing explanatory models by offering a systematic theorization of the role of emotions in EU politicization to establish that emotions are integral to every step of the process. First, they are prerequisites as actors and audiences need to be emotionally invested in an issue to engage in a debate about it. Second, they are drivers since they fuel debates and allow them to get heated and polarized. Third, they are outcomes since politicization will engender new emotional investments and sensitivities. The analytical added value of integrating emotions into explanatory models is illustrated through the case of the Brexit campaign.

Suggested Citation

  • C. Nicolai L. Gellwitzki & Anne‐Marie Houde, 2022. "Feeling the Heat: Emotions, Politicization, and the European Union," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(5), pages 1470-1487, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:60:y:2022:i:5:p:1470-1487
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.13328
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13328
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jcms.13328?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paul Statham & Hans-Jörg Trenz, 2013. "How European Union Politicization can Emerge through Contestation: The Constitution Case," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(5), pages 965-980, September.
    2. Hooghe, Liesbet & Marks, Gary, 2009. "A Postfunctionalist Theory of European Integration: From Permissive Consensus to Constraining Dissensus," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 39(1), pages 1-23, January.
    3. Hutter, Swen & Kriesi, Hanspeter, 2019. "Politicizing Europe in times of crisis," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 26(7), pages 996-1017.
    4. Hanspeter Kriesi, 2016. "The Politicization of European Integration," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54, pages 32-47, September.
    5. Pieter De Wilde & Michael Zürn, 2012. "Can the Politicization of European Integration be Reversed?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(S1), pages 137-153, March.
    6. Achim Hurrelmann & Anna Gora & Andrea Wagner, 2015. "The Politicization of European Integration: More than an Elite Affair?," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 63(1), pages 43-59, March.
    7. Mercer, Jonathan, 2010. "Emotional Beliefs," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 64(1), pages 1-31, January.
    8. Swen Hutter & Edgar Grande, 2014. "Politicizing Europe in the National Electoral Arena: A Comparative Analysis of Five West European Countries, 1970–2010," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(5), pages 1002-1018, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Francesca Melhuish, 2022. "Euroscepticism, Anti‐Nostalgic Nostalgia and the Past Perfect Post‐Brexit Future," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(6), pages 1758-1776, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Braun, Daniela & Grande, Edgar, 2021. "Politicizing Europe in Elections to the European Parliament (1994–2019): The Crucial Role of Mainstream Parties," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 59(5), pages 1124-1141.
    2. Sofia Vasilopoulou & Katjana Gattermann, 2021. "Does Politicization Matter for EU Representation? A Comparison of Four European Parliament Elections," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 661-678, May.
    3. Esther Ademmer & Anna Leupold & Tobias Stöhr, 2019. "Much ado about nothing? The (non-) politicisation of the European Union in social media debates on migration," European Union Politics, , vol. 20(2), pages 305-327, June.
    4. Hutter, Swen & Kriesi, Hanspeter, 2019. "Politicizing Europe in times of crisis," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 26(7), pages 996-1017.
    5. Wouter van der Brug & Katjana Gattermann & Claes H. de Vreese, 2022. "Electoral responses to the increased contestation over European integration. The European Elections of 2019 and beyond," European Union Politics, , vol. 23(1), pages 3-20, March.
    6. Anja Thomas, 2023. "Who lends the EU the ‘right to govern’?: Symbolic legitimacy vs. pragmatic policy framing in party communication during the Covid-19 pandemic," RSCAS Working Papers 2023/35, European University Institute.
    7. Rauh, Christian, 2015. "Communicating supranational governance? The salience of EU affairs in the German Bundestag, 1991–2013," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 16(1), pages 116-138.
    8. Brigitte Pircher & Karl Loxbo, 2020. "Compliance with EU Law in Times of Disintegration: Exploring Changes in Transposition and Enforcement in the EU Member States between 1997 and 2016," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(5), pages 1270-1287, September.
    9. Rauh, Christian, 2022. "Clear messages to the European public? The language of European Commission press releases 1985–2020," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue Latest Ar, pages 1-19.
    10. Hanspeter Kriesi, 2016. "The Politicization of European Integration," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54, pages 32-47, September.
    11. Thomas Winzen & Rik de Ruiter & Jofre Rocabert, 2018. "Is parliamentary attention to the EU strongest when it is needed the most? National parliaments and the selective debate of EU policies," European Union Politics, , vol. 19(3), pages 481-501, September.
    12. Stefan Telle & Lisanne de Blok & Catherine E. de Vries & Lorenzo Cicchi, 2022. "Elite‐Mass Linkages in the Preference Formation on Differentiated Integration," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(6), pages 1663-1683, November.
    13. Christine Neuhold & Guri Rosén, 2019. "Introduction to “Out of the Shadows, Into the Limelight: Parliaments and Politicisation”," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(3), pages 220-226.
    14. Maurits Meijers & Christian Rauh, 2016. "Has Eurosceptic Mobilization Become More Contagious? Comparing the 2009 and 2014 EP Election Campaigns in The Netherlands and France," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(1), pages 83-103.
    15. Kreuder-Sonnen, Christian & Zangl, Bernhard, 2020. "Zwischen Hoffen und Bangen: Zum Verhältnis von Autorität, Politisierung und Demokratisierung in internationalen Organisationen [Between hope and fear: On the relationship between authority, politic," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 27(1), pages 5-36.
    16. Brigitte Pircher & Mike Farjam, 2021. "Oppositional voting in the Council of the EU between 2010 and 2019: Evidence for differentiated politicisation," European Union Politics, , vol. 22(3), pages 472-494, September.
    17. Niels Gheyle, 2022. "Evading Vetoes: Exiting the Politicized Decision Trap in EU Trade Policy," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(6), pages 1723-1740, November.
    18. Swen Hutter & Edgar Grande, 2014. "Politicizing Europe in the National Electoral Arena: A Comparative Analysis of Five West European Countries, 1970–2010," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(5), pages 1002-1018, September.
    19. Roman Senninger & Markus Wagner, 2015. "Political parties and the EU in national election campaigns: who talks about Europe, and how?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(6), pages 1336-1351, November.
    20. Felix Lehmann, 2023. "Talking about Europe? Explaining the salience of the European Union in the plenaries of 17 national parliaments during 2006–2019," European Union Politics, , vol. 24(2), pages 370-389, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:60:y:2022:i:5:p:1470-1487. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0021-9886 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.