Citizen Discontent in the European Union

European integration has become the paradigmatic case for other regional organizations, which implicitly or explicitly utilize it as a blueprint. Its central feature is the, simultaneous geographical 'widening' (from six to 27 countries) and institutional 'deepening' (from a customs union to a political union) of the same scheme. Both processes traditionally driven by political elites, they take the support of their citizens for granted, better known as 'permissive consensus'. However recent failed Treaty referenda are high-profile instances that cast doubt on the tacit citizen support. This book is a valuable contribution to research on citizen attitudes, exploring citizen discontent across the European Union and its particular grievance not to further deepening, but to widening. Conceptualized for students of comparative politics and/or regional integration in general, and the European Union in particular.