{"id":12124,"date":"2021-07-08T01:00:15","date_gmt":"2021-07-07T23:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/home\/?p=12124"},"modified":"2021-07-08T08:16:10","modified_gmt":"2021-07-08T06:16:10","slug":"waiting-for-a-transnational-eu-public-sphere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/home\/waiting-for-a-transnational-eu-public-sphere\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Waiting for a Transnational EU Public Sphere"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>Candidates\u2019 Transnational Linkages on Twitter During the 2019 European Parliament Elections<\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>By Caterina Froio, CEE<\/em><\/p>\n<p>As the European Union (EU) still has to prove its democratic character in the eyes of many observers, the direct elections of the European Parliament (EP) served as litmus tests. So far, they have been described as second-order events for citizens, somehow too far from everyday domestic politics to matter. However, three main changes in EU politics hold the potential for an increased transnational character of the 2019 EP elections. First, the Spitzenkandidaten (lead candidates) system which increased the personalisation in EP election campaigns was applied again. Linking the outcomes of national votes to the selection of the President of the European Commission has the potential to increase public awareness of EU affairs. Second, the political consequences of the multiple crises the EU has had to face, notably the Great Recession and the refugee policy crises, increased the politicisation of the EU in domestic debates<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_1');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_1');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_1\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">(1)<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_1\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Hutter, Swen, and Hanspeter Kriesi (2019). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/13501763.2019.1619801\">Politicizing Europe in Times of Crisis<\/a>\u2019, <i>Journal of European Public Policy<\/i>.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>. Such crisis dynamics might also stimulate transnational campaign activity. Third, EU politics had become more contested notably by radical right populist parties (RRPPs)<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_2');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_2');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_2\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">(2)<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_2\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Pirro, Andrea Lp., Paul Taggart, and Stijn Van Kessel (2018). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1177\/0263395718784704\">The Populist Politics of Euroscepticism in Times of Crisis: Comparative Conclusions<\/a>\u2019, <i>Politics<\/i>.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> RRPPs engaged in Eurosceptic campaigns beyond national borders, at times creating cross-national linkages and mobilising on transnational issues such as EU integration, migration, and economic governance<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_3');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_3');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_3\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">(3)<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_3\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">McDonnell, Duncan, and Annika Werner (2019). <i>International Populism: The Radical Right in the European Parliament<\/i>. London: C Hurst &amp; Co; Froio, Caterina, and Bharath Ganesh (2019). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1080\/14616696.2018.1494295\">The Transnationalisation of Far Right Discourse on Twitter<\/a>\u2019, <i>European Societies<\/i>.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>. To shed light on these trends, the study is driven by two main questions:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #333333;\">To what extent are EP candidates\u2019 campaign interactions transnational?<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Under what conditions do EP candidates engage in transnational campaign interactions?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>To address these, we analysed the campaign behaviour of EP candidates using digital behavioural data. We rely on more than half a million tweets sent during the 2019 EP election campaign by 2,799 candidates belonging to the major parties in the 28 EU member states. The data has been collected in the project \u2018<a href=\"http:\/\/portal.volkswagenstiftung.de\/search\/projectDetails.do?ref=94758\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">What do the people want? Analysing Online Populist Challenges to Europe<\/a>\u2019.We use the Chapel Hill Expert Surveys to measure party positions on the EU.<\/p>\n<h3>Social Media\u2019s Potential for the Transnationalisation of EU Politics<\/h3>\n<p>Theoretical work on the (missing) European public sphere has emphasised the role that media have played for Europeanisation processes<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_4');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_4');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_4\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">(4)<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_4\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Polk, Jonathan, et al. (2017). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/2053168016686915\">Explaining the Salience of anti-Elitism and Reducing Political Corruption for Political Parties in Europe with the 2014 Chapel Hill Expert Survey Data<\/a>\u2019, <i>Research &amp; Politics.<\/i><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script><span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_5');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_5');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_5\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">(5)<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_5\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\"> Habermas, J\u00fcrgen, and Ciaran Cronin (2012). <i>The Crisis of the European Union: A Response<\/i>. Polity.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>, notably in terms of the impact of EU politicisation on the emergence and development of a transnational political arena. More recently, scholars have highlighted the potential of social media for political interactivity beyond national public spheres and thus as facilitators for transnationalisation<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_6');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_6');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_6\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">(6)<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_6\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Ruiz-Soler, Javier, Luigi Curini, and Andrea Ceron (2019). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.1177\/2056305119890882\">Commenting on Political Topics through Twitter: Is European Politics European?<\/a>\u2019, <i>Social Media\u2009+\u2009Society.<\/i><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_6').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_6', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>. Optimistic accounts of social media\u2019s transnational potential have identified signs of a \u2018European Twittersphere\u2019 and Twitter\u2019s potential \u2018to generate a European demos\u2019. \u00a0However, despite a non-neglectable participation by users in cross-national debates<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_7');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_7');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_7\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">(7)<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_7\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Bossetta, Michael, Anamaria Dutceac Segesten, and Hans-J\u00f6rg Trenz (2017). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/chapter\/10.1057\/978-1-137-59890-5_3\">Engaging with European Politics Through Twitter and Facebook: Participation Beyond the National?\u2019<\/a>, in Mauro Barisione and Asimina Michailidou (eds.), <i>Social Media and European Politics: Rethinking Power and Legitimacy in the Digital Era<\/i>. Palgrave Macmillan UK<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_7').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_7', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>, social media\u2019s potential for transnationalisation should not be overestimated as they are used by a relatively tiny share of citizens for political purposes.Yet with its \u2018elitist\u2019 nature<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_8');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_8');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_8\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">(8)<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_8\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Stier, Sebastian, Wolf J. Sch\u00fcnemann, and Stefan Steiger (2018b). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1177\/1461444817709282\">Of Activists and Gatekeepers: Temporal and Structural Properties of Policy Networks on Twitter<\/a>\u2019, <i>New Media &amp; Society<\/i><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_8').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_8', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>, Twitter is a social network widely used by political actors, e.g. 85% of the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who served in 2015 and 2016<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_9');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_9');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_9\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">(9)<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_9\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Daniel, William T., Lukas Obholzer, and Steffen Hurka (2019). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/1354068817747755\">Static and Dynamic Incentives for Twitter Usage in the European Parliament<\/a>\u2019, <i>Party Politics.<\/i><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_9').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_9', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>.<i><\/i>Accordingly, we study campaign activities by all candidates with a Twitter account who stood in the 2019 EP campaign for the major national parties.<br \/>\nIt would be misleading to simply expect transnational activity to take place in some kind of \u2018artificial supranational space\u2019, located, \u2018above and beyond local-, national- or issue-specific public spheres\u2019<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_10');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12124_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_10');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_10\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">(10)<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_10\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Risse, Thomas (2014a). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/books\/european-public-spheres\/7A94A397BEF8074B5E6C30B3961B3357\">European Public spheres, the Politicization of EU Affairs, and Its Consequences<\/a>\u2019, in Thomas Risse (ed.), <i>European Public Spheres<\/i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_10').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12124_1_10', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>. Therefore, we introduced and examined the <i>transnational campaign arena<\/i> as a communicative sphere that cross-cuts the national and supranational levels. Specifically, we conceptualise two different but complementary types of interactions structuring transnational campaign activities: (1) horizontal transnational interactions between EP candidates from two different member states and (2) vertical transnational interactions between EP candidates and the main transnational reference points during the campaign, Transnational Parties (TNPs) or Spitzenkandidaten.<\/p>\n<h3>Candidates\u2019 Engagement in the Transnational Campaign Arena: Driving Factors and Counterforces<\/h3>\n<p>Figure\u00a01 shows the type of communicative linkages in tweets by EP candidates, in terms of @-mentions and retweets. It illustrates that candidates overwhelmingly interacted with other candidates from the same country and only rarely addressed transnational actors (vertically) or their counterparts (horizontally) from other countries. The sheer number of domestic interactions clearly signals that the primary political arena for EP campaigns is still national, supporting the second-order election hypothesis.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Figure\u00a01. Types of communicative linkages in tweets by EP candidates.<\/b><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_12132\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12132\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-12132\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image1-1024x694.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"542\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image1-1024x694.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image1-300x203.png 300w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image1-768x520.png 768w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image1-215x146.png 215w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image1-50x34.png 50w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image1-111x75.png 111w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image1.png 1272w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-12132\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Stier, Sebastian, Caterina Froio, and Wolf J. Sch\u00fcnemann (2020). \u2018Going transnational? Candidates\u2019 transnational linkages on Twitter during the 2019 European Parliament elections.\u2019 West European Politics<\/p><\/div>\n<p>To continue the investigation, Figure\u00a02 displays the types of transnational communicative linkages in tweets by EP candidates, aggregated by TNP. It appears that candidates from Europhile parties with ambitions to promote one of their lead candidates to the presidency of the EU Commission (ALDE, EPP and PES) prominently emphasise Spitzenkandidaten in their tweets. In contrast, candidates of RRPPs grouped in the MENF that did not nominate a Spitzenkandidat never retweet one, but occasionally @-mention a Spitzenkandidat, supposedly as a negative campaigning tactic.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Figure\u00a02.\u00a0Types of transnational communicative linkages in tweets by EP candidates aggregated by TNP.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_12140\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12140\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-12140\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image3-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image3-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image3-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image3-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image3-219x146.png 219w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image3-50x33.png 50w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image3-112x75.png 112w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image3.png 1336w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-12140\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Note: Marginal effects including 95% confidence intervals are shown for the mean, one standard deviation below and above the mean value of EU Salience.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Note: Abbreviations of party names: ACRE\u2009=\u2009Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists; ALDE\u2009=\u2009Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe; EFA\u2009=\u2009European Free Alliance; EGP\u2009=\u2009European Green Party; EPP\u2009=\u2009European People\u2019s Party; MENF\u2009=\u2009Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom; PEL\u2009=\u2009Party of the European Left; PES\u2009=\u2009Party of European Socialists; Others\u2009=\u2009Candidates from parties without TNP affiliation, independent candidates or minor TNPs such as the European Pirate Party.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In order to put these results on a more robust footing, we performed multivariate analyses (not shown). We find that candidates from parties whose TNP nominated a Spitzenkandidat have a higher share of vertical transnational communicative linkages, in line with the descriptive patterns presented before. The effect of having a Spitzenkandidat is not significantly related to horizontal and national linkages. Eurosceptic party positions with regard to the EU are positively associated with horizontal linkages and negatively associated with vertical linkages.<br \/>\nIn addition, Figure\u00a03 visualises to what extent the predicted marginal effect of EU Polarisation varies across levels of EU Salience. The plot shows that there are no significant differences depending on the levels of EU Salience (visualised are the predictions for the mean, one standard deviation below and above the mean of EU Salience), but that parties\u2019 EU positions still matter. Candidates of parties with anti-EU positions are less likely to engage in the vertical dimension of the transnational campaign arena. However, we also find that Eurosceptic parties have an even higher likelihood to engage horizontally with candidates from other countries.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Figure 3. Predicted number of communicative linkages for the interaction EU Polarisation and EU Salience<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-12134\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image2-1024x696.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"543\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image2-1024x696.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image2-300x204.png 300w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image2-768x522.png 768w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image2-215x146.png 215w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image2-50x34.png 50w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image2-110x75.png 110w, https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image2.png 1325w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A qualitative look at the data helps illustrate this pattern: the two national parties with the highest amount of horizontal linkages (153) among each other are the far-right Eurosceptic parties Lega (CHES EU position \u00bc 1.5 on a scale from 1 to 7; M\u00bc4.77) and Rassemblement National (1.05). On the far-left Eurosceptic end of the political spectrum, there is a cluster consisting of La\u00a0France Insoumise (2.25), the Swedish V\u00e4nsterpartiet (2.47) and Danish Red\u2009\u2013\u2009Green Alliance (1.82) that regularly linked to each other horizontally.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Even on social media there is still no EU public sphere but some factors can contribute to form it. The study shows that candidates primarily direct their campaign communication towards the national arena, even on the elite-dominated social network Twitter. A more nuanced picture emerged when concentrating on the drivers of transnational communication on Twitter. We observed that the Spitzenkandidaten receive even more vertical transnational linkages than the much-longer-established TNPs. This suggests that the Spitzenkandidaten system might serve as a relay for transnational activity that could pave the way for further institutional reform. To pour some cold water on this affirmative conclusion, it is important to note that the interaction of candidates with Spitzenkandidaten varies considerably across party families.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the findings show that political parties that have clearer pro- or anti-EU positions are more likely to attach more importance to different types of transnational exchanges. Candidates from Europhile parties that put a strong emphasis on the EU embrace the opportunity to engage with actors like TNPs and Spitzenkandidaten vertically. Eurosceptic parties, in contrast, address supranational actors in their Twitter communication sparsely and are even more likely to engage horizontally across borders. More generally, our findings suggest that engagement (and interest) in EP campaigns is not only the realm of Europhile actors. In fact, while transnationalisation is often normatively associated with pro-EU orientations, we show that it can also stem from Eurosceptic campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>Taken together, our findings suggest that further institutional reforms would be needed to overcome the predominant national orientation of the EP election campaigns. The fact that the appointment of the President of the Commission in 2019 did not follow the logic of the Spitzenkandidaten system casts doubt on such endeavours. One suggestion is to promote cross-country candidate lists which\u2009\u2013\u2009in line with our findings\u2009\u2013\u2009could further transnationalise EP election campaigns.<\/p>\n<div class=\"speaker-mute footnotes_reference_container\"> <div class=\"footnote_container_prepare\"><p><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_label pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_12124_1();\">Notes<\/span><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button\" style=\"display: none;\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_12124_1();\">[<a id=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_12124_1\">+<\/a>]<\/span><\/p><\/div> <div id=\"footnote_references_container_12124_1\" style=\"\"><table class=\"footnotes_table footnote-reference-container\"><caption class=\"accessibility\">Notes<\/caption> <tbody> \r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12124_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_1');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_1\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>1<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Hutter, Swen, and Hanspeter Kriesi (2019). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/13501763.2019.1619801\">Politicizing Europe in Times of Crisis<\/a>\u2019, <i>Journal of European Public Policy<\/i>.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12124_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_2');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_2\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>2<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Pirro, Andrea Lp., Paul Taggart, and Stijn Van Kessel (2018). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1177\/0263395718784704\">The Populist Politics of Euroscepticism in Times of Crisis: Comparative Conclusions<\/a>\u2019, <i>Politics<\/i>.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12124_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_3');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_3\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>3<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">McDonnell, Duncan, and Annika Werner (2019). <i>International Populism: The Radical Right in the European Parliament<\/i>. London: C Hurst &amp; Co; Froio, Caterina, and Bharath Ganesh (2019). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1080\/14616696.2018.1494295\">The Transnationalisation of Far Right Discourse on Twitter<\/a>\u2019, <i>European Societies<\/i>.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12124_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_4');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_4\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>4<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Polk, Jonathan, et al. (2017). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/2053168016686915\">Explaining the Salience of anti-Elitism and Reducing Political Corruption for Political Parties in Europe with the 2014 Chapel Hill Expert Survey Data<\/a>\u2019, <i>Research &amp; Politics.<\/i><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12124_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_5');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_5\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>5<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\"> Habermas, J\u00fcrgen, and Ciaran Cronin (2012). <i>The Crisis of the European Union: A Response<\/i>. Polity.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12124_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_6');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_6\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>6<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Ruiz-Soler, Javier, Luigi Curini, and Andrea Ceron (2019). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.1177\/2056305119890882\">Commenting on Political Topics through Twitter: Is European Politics European?<\/a>\u2019, <i>Social Media\u2009+\u2009Society.<\/i><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12124_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_7');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_7\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>7<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Bossetta, Michael, Anamaria Dutceac Segesten, and Hans-J\u00f6rg Trenz (2017). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/chapter\/10.1057\/978-1-137-59890-5_3\">Engaging with European Politics Through Twitter and Facebook: Participation Beyond the National?\u2019<\/a>, in Mauro Barisione and Asimina Michailidou (eds.), <i>Social Media and European Politics: Rethinking Power and Legitimacy in the Digital Era<\/i>. Palgrave Macmillan UK<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12124_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_8');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_8\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>8<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Stier, Sebastian, Wolf J. Sch\u00fcnemann, and Stefan Steiger (2018b). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1177\/1461444817709282\">Of Activists and Gatekeepers: Temporal and Structural Properties of Policy Networks on Twitter<\/a>\u2019, <i>New Media &amp; Society<\/i><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12124_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_9');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_9\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>9<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Daniel, William T., Lukas Obholzer, and Steffen Hurka (2019). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/1354068817747755\">Static and Dynamic Incentives for Twitter Usage in the European Parliament<\/a>\u2019, <i>Party Politics.<\/i><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12124_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12124_1_10');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12124_1_10\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>10<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Risse, Thomas (2014a). \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/books\/european-public-spheres\/7A94A397BEF8074B5E6C30B3961B3357\">European Public spheres, the Politicization of EU Affairs, and Its Consequences<\/a>\u2019, in Thomas Risse (ed.), <i>European Public Spheres<\/i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n <\/tbody> <\/table> <\/div><\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> function footnote_expand_reference_container_12124_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_12124_1').show(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_12124_1').text('\u2212'); } function footnote_collapse_reference_container_12124_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_12124_1').hide(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_12124_1').text('+'); } function footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_12124_1() { if (jQuery('#footnote_references_container_12124_1').is(':hidden')) { footnote_expand_reference_container_12124_1(); } else { footnote_collapse_reference_container_12124_1(); } } function footnote_moveToReference_12124_1(p_str_TargetID) { footnote_expand_reference_container_12124_1(); var l_obj_Target = jQuery('#' + p_str_TargetID); if (l_obj_Target.length) { jQuery( 'html, body' ).delay( 0 ); jQuery('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: l_obj_Target.offset().top - window.innerHeight * 0.2 }, 380); } } function footnote_moveToAnchor_12124_1(p_str_TargetID) { footnote_expand_reference_container_12124_1(); var l_obj_Target = jQuery('#' + p_str_TargetID); if (l_obj_Target.length) { jQuery( 'html, body' ).delay( 0 ); jQuery('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: l_obj_Target.offset().top - window.innerHeight * 0.2 }, 380); } }<\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Candidates\u2019 Transnational Linkages on Twitter During the 2019 European Parliament Elections By Caterina Froio, CEE As the European Union (EU) still has to prove its<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,283],"tags":[212,121,69],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12124\/?lang=en"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/?lang=en"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post\/?lang=en"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3\/?lang=en"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments\/?lang=en&post=12124"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12124\/revisions\/?lang=en"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12142,"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12124\/revisions\/12142\/?lang=en"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12208\/?lang=en"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/?lang=en&parent=12124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/?lang=en&post=12124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/research\/cogito\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/?lang=en&post=12124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}