Europeanization of citizens vis-á-vis regional politicians: the case of the German-speaking Community of Belgium in the Euregio Maas-Rhine
Cross-border regions are often deemed laboratories for initiatives to increase Europeanization. Our paper examines the German-speaking Community of Belgium in the Euregio Maas-Rhine to assess the relevance of everyday cross-border activities to the perception that living in a border region presents a unique opportunity to feel and think as a European. Departing from the assumptions of both Deutsch's transaction theory and Allport's contact hypothesis, we analyze Eurobarometer data (population-level surveys) and use data from focus groups with regional MPs. Results from quantitative data analys... Mehr ...
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Dokumenttyp: | Zeitschriftenartikel |
Erscheinungsdatum: | 2024 |
Verlag/Hrsg.: |
USA
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Schlagwörter: | Städtebau / Raumplanung / Landschaftsgestaltung / Landscaping and area planning / cross-border regions / mixed methods / public-elite gap / Flash Eurobarometer 422 (Cross-Border Cooperation in the EU) (ZA6586 v1.0.0) / Raumplanung und Regionalforschung / Area Development Planning / Regional Research / Eurobarometer / Belgien / deutsche Sprache / Europäisierung / Einstellung / Bürger / Regionalpolitik / Grenzgebiet / Belgium / German language / Europeanization / attitude / citizen / regional policy / border region |
Sprache: | unknown |
Permalink: | https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-28508418 |
Datenquelle: | BASE; Originalkatalog |
Powered By: | BASE |
Link(s) : | https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/91943 |
Cross-border regions are often deemed laboratories for initiatives to increase Europeanization. Our paper examines the German-speaking Community of Belgium in the Euregio Maas-Rhine to assess the relevance of everyday cross-border activities to the perception that living in a border region presents a unique opportunity to feel and think as a European. Departing from the assumptions of both Deutsch's transaction theory and Allport's contact hypothesis, we analyze Eurobarometer data (population-level surveys) and use data from focus groups with regional MPs. Results from quantitative data analysis suggest that perceptions of life in cross-border regions are positively influenced by frequent cross-border movement (functional dimension) as well as general trust in other people (emotional dimension). Our qualitative data from focus groups support the findings from the quantitative analysis and demonstrate further that it is not merely the quantity but the quality of contacts that contribute to a gradual 'growing together'.