Treating nations like people: How responsibility attributions shape citizens’ fiscal solidarity with other EU countries

Abstract

Scholars have so far not paid sufficient attention to the role of attributed responsibility of countries when they need to explain variations of European fiscal solidarity. Do citizens consider the responsibility of other countries when expressing solidarity with them? This article advances the argument that individuals apply similar heuristics to countries as to other individuals. When expressing solidarity with another country, individuals rely on cues about deservingness. The role of responsibility attributions is tested in this article using logistic regression on survey data from 10 EU countries. Results show that citizens in rich welfare states reduce their solidarity for other countries if they deem them responsible for their own crises. This suggests that rich welfare states hinder the development of solidarity beyond their national boundaries. This research contributes to our understanding of the role of deservingness attributions in European solidarity, as well as to our understanding of the role of the welfare state in solidarity.