Political Preferences, Policy Loss and Shifting Support for European Integration

Simon Hix, Bjørn Høyland, Department of Political and Social Sciences, European University Institute, Department of Political Science, University of Oslo

Comparative Political Studies

Published online on January 23, 2026

Abstract

Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
What explains the relationship between political preferences and support for European integration? Why did people on the Left oppose, and Right support, European integration in the 1980s, but this pattern reverse in the 2020s? We argue that citizens ...