Social resentment, blame attribution and Euroscepticism: the role of status insecurity, relative deprivation and powerlessness

Abts, Koenraad; Baute, Sharon

doi:10.1080/13511610.2021.1964350

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…The growing frustration and disillusionment of citizens who feel they have been disadvantaged to the benefit of others may consequently spur Eurosceptic sentiments. This aligns with empirical research that has found that citizens who feel they are being relatively disadvantaged in society are more Eurosceptic (Abts and Baute, 2021), as well as with more general research showing that relative deprivation appears to be conducive to populist attributions of blame and responsibility (Pettigrew et al, 2007; Smith et al, 2012; Spruyt et al, 2016).…”

Section: Distributive Injustice: a Road To Euroscepticism?supporting

confidence: 86%

Mass Euroscepticism revisited: The role of distributive justice

Baute

2023

European Union Politics

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This article advances research into mass Euroscepticism by investigating the role of distributive justice. Drawing on cross-national survey data from 23 countries, the study shows that perceived injustice of individual opportunities (i.e. educational and job opportunities) and outcomes (i.e. earnings) nourish Eurosceptic sentiments, independent of objective inequalities. However, the public response to distributive injustice varies across European Union (EU) member states, as high domestic corruption levels dampen the apparent link to EU accountability. Perceptions of injustice concerning earnings provide a potential breeding ground for Euroscepticism in member states with low levels of corruption, while EU scapegoating regarding earnings injustice does not manifest itself in member states with the highest levels of corruption. These results are supportive of a justice-based approach in understanding varieties of Euroscepticism across Europe.

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Section: Distributive Injustice: a Road To Euroscepticism?supporting

confidence: 86%

Mass Euroscepticism revisited: The role of distributive justice

Baute

2023

European Union Politics

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“…Consequently, rather than seeing issue-specific considerations and general feelings of economic, cultural and political discontent as competing alternatives for the explanation of voting behaviour in EU referendums, future studies should expand on the link between resentment, Euroscepticism and vote choice (see e.g., Abts and Baute, 2021), as well as consider changes in opinion towards the EU's relationship with Ukraine and Russia over time, especially in light of the 2022 Russian war in Ukraine.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

EU-sentiment predicts the 2016 Dutch referendum vote on the EU’s association with Ukraine better than concerns about Russia or national discontent

Abts

Étienne

Kutiyski³

et al. 2023

European Union Politics

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This article utilises large-N panel data to compare two theories of referendum voting behaviour in order to understand the ‘for’ or ‘against’ vote in the 2016 Dutch referendum on the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. It studies the extent to which voting behaviour was predicted by Eurosceptic attitudes and fear of upsetting Russia (issue-based theory), versus dissatisfaction with the Dutch government and general political discontent (second-order theory). Our findings indicate that issue-based determinants predict the referendum vote better than second-order predictors. However, Eurosceptic attitudes and government satisfaction both outperform concerns about the relationship with Russia as a predictor. We thus provide evidence that the issue-based and second-order approaches to explain voting in EU referendums are complementary, but not equal in explanatory strength.

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“…Triggered by economic, ethno-cultural and political grievances, resentment is a moral reaction to feelings of insecurity, injury, and injustice, manifesting as deep-rooted feelings of discontent, anger and frustration when individuals find themselves unable to openly voicing their grievances, and consolidating in attributing blame externally. In this study, we conceptualise resentment as a “structure of feelings” anchored in three pivotal components: status insecurity, group relative deprivation, and powerlessness (Abts, 2012; Hoggett et al, 2013; Van Hootegem et al, 2021; Abts and Baute, 2022). Since “we resent what we judge unjust” (Ure, 2015, p. 3), both status insecurity and relative deprivation can breed resentment.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To explore the role of social experiences, we focus on three interrelated feelings of resentment, that is, economic insecurity, relative deprivation, and powerlessness, to explain attributions (cf. Abts, 2012; Van Hootegem et al, 2021; Abts and Baute, 2022). Finally, we investigate the impact of values and ideas, as attributions are not neutral, but embedded in broader belief systems that give meaning to social events (Feather, 1985; Lepianka, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Poverty attributions in Guyana: Between self-interest, resentment, and ideology

Abts,

Thomas,

Van Hootegem

2023

J. int. comp. soc. policy

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This study examines which poverty attributions are present in Guyana, a developing country in South America, and tests which variables explain these attributions in a non-Western context by linking them to structural characteristics, feelings of resentment, and values. First, using survey data from the Values and Poverty Study in Guyana (N = 1,557), we find that the traditional three-tier model does not adequately capture Guyanese attributions of poverty. Instead, confirmatory factor analysis identifies some subdimensions of structural attributions that refer to both social and economic structure, a hybrid dimension linking poverty to family breakup, and explanations related to social and individual fate. Second, we examine the impact of feelings of resentment on poverty attributions. In particular, experiences of powerlessness foster structural, fatalistic, and family attributions of poverty, illustrating the role of a lack of external locus of control. Finally, our study shows that ideological values and egalitarianism have the strongest predictive power.

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Social resentment, blame attribution and Euroscepticism: the role of status insecurity, relative deprivation and powerlessness

Cited by 16 publications

References 66 publications

Mass Euroscepticism revisited: The role of distributive justice

Mass Euroscepticism revisited: The role of distributive justice

EU-sentiment predicts the 2016 Dutch referendum vote on the EU’s association with Ukraine better than concerns about Russia or national discontent

Poverty attributions in Guyana: Between self-interest, resentment, and ideology

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