The study of the European Union has historically been a theoretical battleground. Since the 1990s, new theoretical directions such as neo-institutionalism, multi-level governance and constructivism have provided a new impetus. However, despite these new inroads, empirical work has often remained sociologically and empirically underspecified. This volume seeks to bridge the gap between theory and fieldwork by developing an actor-centred political sociology. In doing so, the volume engages in a critical dialogue with the constructivist framework and proposes to build on its insights through a sociological hardening centred on European actors. The renewal of European studies through political sociology is only useful if it generates new understandings through empirical observation. This volume seeks to take a new tack on constructivism by asking what it is that Europe constructs by looking at three areas- social spaces and professions, policy 'problems' and policies and policy instruments such as the Eurobarometer. -- .

This book presents the main findings of a comparative qualitative survey conducted in France, Germany, Italy, and Poland. Ordinary citizens from very different social backgrounds and professions were asked a range of open-ended questions, allowing them to express themselves freely. There have been few qualitative surveys on ordinary citizens' views of European integration, and none on this scale. The resulting picture is very different from the self-evident assumptions of many current studies on European opinions. Contributions to the volume stress the great diversity, ambiguity, and complexity of European attitudes. They emphasise the causal impact of formal education, political interest and involvement, individual everyday exposures to `European' realities, and the role of collective national experiences of European integration and national history.

After five decades, "Europe" as a political entity has become increasingly visible to ordinary citizens and an object of political debates. Much of what is known about citizens' attitudes towards Europe is limited to quantitative surveys largely centered on identifying who is for or against the EU. The proposed volume seeks to present a more complete and nuanced picture based on over 600 qualitative interviews conducted in France, Germany, Poland and Italy between 2006 and 2009. The volume seeks to specify the full range of attitudes, the cognitive bases used to formulate opinions, the degree of consistency and conviction of attitudes and the pertinence of sociological and contextual factors explaining observable variations in these attitudes. The results question many of the sweeping generalisations and assumptions about the structuring of public perceptions of "Europe." The edited volume will be composed of 12 chapters, all based on intensive fieldwork. The first chapters will discuss the theoretical and methodological underpinnings and the following chapters will focus on a particular type of attitude, social group, or recurrent themes structuring perceptions. The book is targeted to students and scholars in sociology, political science and European studies, as well as European professionals.

The study of the European Union has historically been a theoretical battleground. Since the 1990s, new theoretical directions such as neo-institutionalism, multi-level governance and constructivism have provided a new impetus. However, despite these new inroads, empirical work has often remained sociologically and empirically underspecified. This volume seeks to bridge the gap between theory and fieldwork by developing an actor-centred political sociology. In doing so, the volume engages in a critical dialogue with the constructivist framework and proposes to build on its insights through a sociological hardening centred on European actors. The renewal of European studies through political sociology is only useful if it generates new understandings through empirical observation. This volume seeks to take a new tack on constructivism by asking what it is that Europe constructs by looking at three areas- social spaces and professions, policy 'problems' and policies and policy instruments such as the Eurobarometer. -- .