This paper investigates micro determinants of public support for EU integration in Ukraine as one of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries. Drawing from the vast literature focused on the post- communist Central and Eastern European states of the fifth EU enlargement, this study tests both utilitarian and value-based hypotheses of support. Giving a strong pro-EU orientation of Ukrainians and strengthening EU-Ukraine links amid the country’s complicated security situation, Ukraine can serve as a ...
This paper investigates micro determinants of public support for EU integration in Ukraine as one of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries. Drawing from the vast literature focused on the post- communist Central and Eastern European states of the fifth EU enlargement, this study tests both utilitarian and value-based hypotheses of support. Giving a strong pro-EU orientation of Ukrainians and strengthening EU-Ukraine links amid the country’s complicated security situation, Ukraine can serve as a ‘hard test’ for checking the validity of predictors. As there is little systematic research on individual determinants of support for the EU in the EaP countries, in this paper I use data from an original survey conducted among Ukrainian youth as a case study for investigation. The results show that adherence to democratic values and personal exposure to the West are strong predictors of pro-EU attitudes. Linguistic divisions tangible in Ukraine’s society before Crimea’s annexation in 2014 were found to have a low salience among Ukrainian youth, yet regional background is still a significant determinant for differing opinions on the EU integration.
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