6533b831fe1ef96bd1298eda
RESEARCH PRODUCT
This time it’s different? Effects of the Eurovision Debate on young citizens’ and its consequence for EU democracy – evidence from a quasi-experiment in 24 countries
David Nicolas HopmannPaolo BellucciSylvia KritzingerKarol Chwedczuk-szulcThorsten FaasMihail MirchevMagnus BlomgrenDanica Fink-hafnerVille PitkänenKatia MihailovaVincent MeyerRóbert TardosTomaž DeželanGergo ZaveczVáclav ŠTětkaMikołaj CześnikChristiano VezzoniJürgen MaierJurate KavaliauskaiteWouter DenooyAneta VilágiMarijana GrbešaPedro C. MagalhãesJosé Santana-pereiraLia-paschalia SpyridouGuna SpuravaAine RamonaiteSusan BanducciJessica Fortin-rittbergerDavid JohannAndrija HenjakAnastasia DeligiaouriBerthold RittbergerTheresa ReidyFlorin N. FesnicMarek RybarCarmen SammutZoltán KmettyGábor JelenfiInta BrikšeMarina Costa LoboAdriana StefanelDimitris TrimithiotisAldo Di VirgilioAleksander SurdejCarmen GreabKalliope Agapiou Josifidessubject
EU attitudesSociology and Political SciencePublic Administrationmedia_common.quotation_subjectSocial Sciences050801 communication & media studiesCommissionEP election campaign; EU attitudes; political knowledge; televised debate; Sociology and Political Science; Public AdministrationPublic administrationCONTESTEP election campaign ; EU attitudes ; political knowledge ; televised debateEP election campaignCompetition (economics)Politics0508 media and communicationsPolitical knowledge050602 political science & public administrationTelevised debateta517Sociologymedia_common05 social sciencesMedia and Communications16. Peace & justiceDemocracy0506 political sciencePosition (finance)NominationEuropean Parliament electionsQuasi-experimentdescription
For the very first time in EU history, the 2014 EP elections provided citizens with the opportunity to influence the nomination of the Commission President by casting a vote for the main Europarties’ ‘lead candidates’. By subjecting the position of the Commission President to an open political contest, many experts have formulated the expectation that heightened political competition would strengthen the weak electoral connection between EU citizens and EU legislators, which some consider a root cause for the EU’s lack of public support. In particular, this contest was on display in the so-called ‘Eurovision Debate’, a televised debate between the main contenders for the Commission President broadcasted live across Europe. Drawing on a quasi-experimental study conducted in 24 EU countries, we find that debate exposure led to increased cognitive and political involvement and EU support among young citizens. Unfortunately, the debate has only reached a very small audience.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-01-20 |