Abstract
This paper posits that the concept of European identity is an important indicator of the legitimacy of the European Union (EU). It further assumes that the exposure to EU related media content can influence the feeling of European identity. In order to verify this assumption, we combined the mere-exposure-theory and the hostile media phenomenon. We assume that these theoretical concepts could help to understand the influence of media on people’s levels of attachment to the EU. Regression analyses are performed on secondary data that were collected in a Eurobarometer survey in 2013. Our findings revealed that media exposure affected the respondents’ identification with Europe, as well as the modifications of this effect based on their assessments of EU media coverage. The results of the current study not only validate assumptions about the mere-exposure effects on identity but also confirm the theoretical assumption that perceived hostility reduces such effects, whereas exposure to information that is perceived as neutral promotes the effects of media exposure on the feeling of European identity.
Highlights
The idea that European polity requires a collective identity of the European citizens in order to support the process of European integration is not new
We focus on two theoretical concepts— mere exposure and hostile media perceptions—both of which have not been employed within the context of European identity
H1 refers to the general mere-exposure effect: The higher the exposure to news about the European Union (EU), the stronger the European identity
Summary
The idea that European polity requires a collective identity of the European citizens in order to support the process of European integration is not new. It is often argued by scholars that developing and strengthening European identity is necessary to bolster the achievements of the integration process (De Vreese & Boomgaarden, 2006; Triga & Vadratsikas, 2016) and that it might even help to legitimize further European integration (Bruter, 2005). This assumed capacity of European identity prompted many political scholars to investigate the relationship of identity with several key political concepts such as democracy and citizenship (Habermas & Derrida, 2005), Europeanisation (Harmsen & Wilson, 2000; Risse, 2010), European Union (EU) foreign policy (Manners, 2002), Euroscepticism (Hooghe & Marks, 2005; Szczerbiak & Taggart, 2008), and migration (Favell & Recchi, 2009). That is why the term European identity is described in various ways such as “flexible” (Walkenhorst, 2008, p. 4), “abstract” (Stråth, 2002) and “hybrid”
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