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Published online: 27 Oct 2015 ; While there is increasing evidence that European integration has been politicised, knowledge of the driving forces of this process is still limited. This article contributes to the research by examining the importance of authority transfers to the EU as drivers of politicisation. It innovates in two ways. First, it extends the authority transfer argument by highlighting the mobilising power of membership conflicts; second, it analyses the relevance of national opportunity structures, referenda in particular, and mobilising strategies for politicisation. Empirically, it traces politicisation in public debates on every integration step (treaty reforms and enlargement) from the 1970s to the late 2000s in six West European countries (Austria, Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland), based on a quantitative content analysis of newspaper coverage. ; ERC POLCON project funded.

The relationship between trust in representative political institutions and extra-representational participation (ERP) is contested. Generally, scholars have assumed that distrust is a major source of ERP. However, empirical studies have yielded inconclusive results. This article contributes to the debate by linking it to recent studies on how contextual factors affect the amount of ERP and interact with micro-level predictors. We take an innovative stance by conceptualizing the openness of political systems in both institutional and cultural terms, and by arguing that the negative micro-level relationship between political trust and ERP should be stronger in more open political systems. With a multi-level analysis of 22 European democracies, we show that citizens who distrust representative institutions are indeed more likely to engage in ERP. Most importantly, our findings indicate that the more open a political system in cultural terms, the stronger the negative micro-level relationship between political trust and ERP.

First published online on March 9, 2014 ; Although politicization has become a key concept in European integration studies, it is still contested whether, when and to what extent European issues have become politicized in domestic political arenas. This article contributes to this discussion both in conceptual and empirical terms. It uses a new multidimensional index of politicization to systematically trace the development of politicization in national election campaigns in five West European countries (Austria, Britain, France, Germany and Switzerland) from the 1970s to 2010. The findings provide clear evidence that Europe has indeed been politicized in the past decades. Moreover, two different paths towards such a politicization are identified. One of these paths is dominated by populist radical parties from the right, while the other path is shaped by the conflict between mainstream parties in government and opposition. On both paths, conflicts over membership play an important role and cultural-identitarian framing strategies are used.

AbstractAlthough politicization has become a key concept in European integration studies, it is still contested whether, when and to what extent European issues have become politicized in domestic political arenas. This article contributes to this discussion both in conceptual and empirical terms. It uses a new multidimensional index of politicization to systematically trace the development of politicization in national election campaigns in five West European countries (Austria, Britain, France, Germany and Switzerland) from the 1970s to 2010. The findings provide clear evidence that Europe has indeed been politicized in the past decades. Moreover, two different paths towards such a politicization are identified. One of these paths is dominated by populist radical parties from the right, while the other path is shaped by the conflict between mainstream parties in government and opposition. On both paths, conflicts over membership play an important role and cultural‐identitarian framing strategies are used.

Published online : 17 February 2014 ; This article examines whether and how the Euro crisis has affected the long-term trends of politicization of Europe in France. Has the crisis fueled the extent of politicization? Do we observe shifts in specific aspects of Europe being politicized? Are the patterns of opposition changing? To answer these questions, the authors compare the electoral campaign in 2012 with all French campaigns since 1974. Additionally, France is put in a broader comparative perspective. Politicization is conceptualized as three interrelated dimensions: issue salience, actor expansion, and polarization. Methodologically, the article is based on a relational content analysis of newspaper articles. The findings show that the Euro crisis boosted the level of politicization, and economic policies, as well as justification frames became more important. However, the degree of polarization was higher in election campaigns that focused more on constitutional conflicts over membership and were dominated by concerns with national identity and sovereignty.

The relationship between trust in representative political institutions and extra-representational protest behavior is contested. For some time, scholars have assumed that distrust is a major source of protest behavior. However, another interpretation highlights that protest has become normalized over time. Thus far, empirical studies have yielded mixed and inconclusive results. This working paper contributes to the debate by linking it to recent studies on how contextual factors both affect the amount of protest and interact with individual-level predictors. More specifically, we consider the institutional and cultural openness of political systems as a key contextual factor. With a multilevel analysis of 21 European countries, we show that citizens who distrust the national parliament, a key institution of representative democracy, are indeed more likely to take part in protest activities. Moreover, in open political contexts, citizens are more likely to protest, and we find a stronger negative micro-level association between political trust and protest behavior.

"Basierend auf einer systematischen Zeitungsanalyse skizziert der Beitrag das Protestprofil der Bundesrepublik seit den 1950er Jahren. Betrachtet werden Umfang, Themen, Formen und organisatorischer Hintergrund von Protestereignissen" (Autorenreferat)

This article analyses if and how recent changes within the Swiss political system have influenced different aspects of protest politics (e.g. level, issues, action repertoires, and transnationalization). We argue that opportunities for mobilization have emerged in recent years due to changes in the institutionalized political context and that these changes have at least partially led to a resurgence of protest activities in the early 2000s. In a longitudinal perspective, it is however rather moderate. Additionally, new social movements still dominate Swiss protest politics. Although social and migration‐related questions gained in salience, the changes are not as dramatic as in the case of party politics. The rise of a new integration‐demarcation cleavage has not (yet) shaken Swiss protest politics as heavily as Swiss party politics. Finally, even though they are not integrated into a pronounced new protest cycle, the early 2000s are marked by the global justice movement. In this context, we observe a slight radicalization of the action repertoire and police reactions, which is at least partially explained by the emergence of new "transnational" sites of contention.