Public Opinion, Party Competition, and the European Union in Post-Communist Europe

ROBERT ROHRSCHNEIDER is a Professor of Political Science at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA. STEPHEN WHITEFIELD is the Fellow in Politics at Pembroke College, Oxford University, UK.

• Public Opinion, Political Parties and European Integration: The Theoretical Backdrop; R.Rohrschneider & S.Whitefield PART I: THE POLICY CONTEXT European Union Policies Towards Accession Countries; B.Sissenich PART II: THE PARTY CONTEXT Party Systems and EU Accessions: Euroscepticism in East Europe; J.Bielasiak Party Ideology and European Integration: An East-West Comparison; G.Marks, L.Hooghe, M.Nelson & E.Edwards PART III: PUBLIC OPINION ABOUT EUROPEAN INTEGRATION Support Based on Values? Attitudes Towards the EU in Eleven Post-Communist Societies; J.Jacobs & D.Pollack The Grass is Always Greener: Mass Attitudes Towards the European Union in the Czech and Slovak Republics; P.Kopecky & J.Van Holsteyn Knocking on Europe's Door: Public Opinion on the EU Accession Referendum in Poland; K.Jasiewicz Determinants of Support for EU-Membership in Hungary; A.Fölsz & G.Tóka East of Vienna, South of Drina: Explaining the Constituencies for Europe in South-Eastern Europe; A.Mungiu-Pippidi Support for the European Union in the Baltic States; S.Whitefield, R.Rohrschneider & R.Alisauskiene Attitudes Toward European Integration and NATO in Hungary, Bulgaria, and Ukraine; M.Loveless & R.Rohrschneider Between East and West: Attitudes Towards Political and Economic Integration in Russia and Ukraine, 1993-2001; S.Whitefield Conclusion; R.Rohrschneider & S.Whitefield

"European integration used to be crafted by a small elite, but today it is increasingly a function of party politics and broad public pressure. This is particularly so in countries that have recently built democracy on the ashes of communism and decided to join the European Union. Using extensive data from the region the book examines the complex politics of EU accession and shows how Eastern European citizens and parties respond to the process of European integration. Rohrschneider and Whitefield assembled a group of outstanding analysts from both parts of Europe and the United States. The book gives ample space to both theoretical and empirical considerations. The analysis of various strands of Euroscepticism is particularly revealing. The book will be essential reading for scholars and students of Eastern Europe and the process of European integration." - Jan Zielonka, Oxford University