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Go Your Own Way: The Pathways to Exiting the European Union

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2021

Anders Ejrnæs Open the ORCID record for Anders Ejrnæs [Opens in a new window]  and
Mads Dagnis Jensen Open the ORCID record for Mads Dagnis Jensen [Opens in a new window]
Anders Ejrnæs
Affiliation:
Department of Social Sciences and Business, University of Roskilde, Roskilde, Denmark
Mads Dagnis Jensen*
Affiliation:
Department of International Economics, Government and Business, Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, Denmark
*
*Corresponding author. Email: mdj.egb@cbs.dk
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Abstract

Studies have suggested that people voting for Brexit were motivated by anti-globalization, anti-multiculturalism and anti-elite sentiments. However, little is known about how these factors are related and whether citizens in other member states share similar reasons for wanting to exit the EU. Methodologically, this question is addressed by utilizing path models on data from the European Social Survey, with respondents in 17 countries. Empirically, this article reveals considerable cross-country variation, which implies that motivations for voting Leave should be assessed on a country-by-country basis. Yet, two main pathways are identified. First, lower education is related to more negative attitudes towards multiculturalism, which increases the probability of voting Leave. Second, lower income decreases the level of trust in the political establishment, which again increases the probability of voting Leave. Theoretically, this implies that the anti-globalization model is subsumed by the anti-multiculturalism and anti-elite models, giving rise to two new mechanisms.

Keywords

EuroscepticismBrexitopinion formationEuropean Union
Type
Article
Information
Government and Opposition , Volume 57 , Issue 2 , April 2022 , pp. 253 - 275
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Government and Opposition Limited

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