Determinants of individual support for European integration: the case of Ukraine

Kovalska, Olha

Determinants of individual support for European integration: the case of Ukraine

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Citation

Kovalska, O. Determinants of individual support for European integration: the case of Ukraine. 2021. handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10230/47259

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Abstract

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.