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Elucidating EU engagement: rethinking dimensions of supranational participation

ABSTRACT Concerns about the quality of the EU’s democratic participation are reflected in much of the research on EU attitudes and voting behavior in European Parliament elections or EU referendums. Yet few – if any – have considered other types of behavior that may be associated with a vibrant EU citizenry. We propose a new theoretical framework for capturing the broad range of participatory activities in which citizens may engage at the EU level, then use original survey data from the United Kingdom to test the validity of these dimensions. We also assess the extent to which predictors from existing literature (identity threat, economic concerns, political attitudes, and sociodemographics) explain these various forms of behavior. Results suggest that citizens pursue a wide array of participation avenues, with different sets of motivations underpinning each one. These findings are essential for better understanding individuals’ political (dis)engagement, both with the EU and beyond.