Old values and changing frontiers in the European Union: A study of attitudes of members of the European Parliament towards immigration.
Item
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Title
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Old values and changing frontiers in the European Union: A study of attitudes of members of the European Parliament towards immigration.
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Identifier
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AAI9530893
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identifier
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9530893
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Creator
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Lahav, Gallya.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Asher Arian
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Date
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1995
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Political Science, General
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Abstract
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The European Union (EU) is in the process of forming a single regional market and a transnational organization; hence, the immigration issue has become integral for the consolidation of a "Europe without frontiers." The challenge for the EU is to overcome ideological and national divisions and to formulate a common immigration policy that represents the interests of all of its member countries.;This research analyzes elite attitudes towards immigration in the European Union in the 1990s. Two traditional sources of attitude cleavages are assessed: (1) left-right ideological placement and political party affiliations; vs. (2) nation-state, historical and cultural variables. Can party or ideological variables explain how elites perceive the immigration issue? How important are historical and cultural factors which are nation-specific in shaping policy preferences or thinking? The project focuses on the case of immigration to examine the viability of European nation-state convergence in a transnational community. Survey questionnaires were distributed to all 518 Members of the European Parliament. The 168 respondents represented the 12 countries and 10 party groups of the European Union. In depth interviews were conducted with 54 MEPs.;The empirical data provide evidence that ideological constraints exist in structuring elite attitudes towards immigration. Country-specific factors such as immigrant numbers, public opinion, and levels of socioeconomic development are relevant to elite assessments of the immigration issue. National variables not only condition left-right polarizations, but become crystallized in the new European landscape. The European factor, which involves institution-building and the promotion of a common European identity, in turn revises these traditional polarizations. Party, national, and transnational values shape elite attitudes towards immigration, and contribute to the distinct, yet compatible, interests in the European Union.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
