The impact of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine on public perceptions of EU security and defence integration: a big data analysis

15Citations
Citations of this article
40Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine sent shockwaves through Europe and led to rapid policy changes concomitant with variations in citizen perceptions. This article analyses how EU public opinion on security and defence matters has reacted to the war: what patterns of change and continuity can be detected, what differences are visible between Member States, and how might those be explained? Our analysis draws on big data-based sentiment analysis of news sources, reflecting a widely recognized connection between media coverage and public opinion–especially during crisis times–and complementing more traditional measurements of citizen perceptions such as opinion polls. Broadly speaking, we find that the invasion has heightened rather than fundamentally altered underlying trends. Our article contributes to a growing literature on the acceptability of European integration in security and defence, showing that publics are generally supportive of it, and regard it as complementary to NATO.

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Fernández, Ó., Vandendriessche, M., Saz-Carranza, A., Agell, N., & Franco, J. (2023). The impact of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine on public perceptions of EU security and defence integration: a big data analysis. Journal of European Integration, 45(3), 463–485. https://doi.org/10.1080/07036337.2023.2183392

Readers' Seniority

Tooltip

Researcher 5

50%

PhD / Post grad / Masters / Doc 3

30%

Professor / Associate Prof. 2

20%

Readers' Discipline

Tooltip

Social Sciences 7

70%

Engineering 1

10%

Medicine and Dentistry 1

10%

Arts and Humanities 1

10%

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free