The latest wave of the European Values Study (2017-20) highlighted that politics still holds significant importance for Europeans; however, interest and involvement vary greatly across countries, reflecting diverse political cultures and national priorities.
Chart: Percentage of people that say politics is very or quite important in their lives in 2017 survey
Source: Atlas of European Values
The percentage of citizens who report belonging to political parties or groups tends to increase with age. Young people show relatively low involvement in these organizations, with limited participation. In contrast, the elderly are significantly more engaged. This trend suggests that political affiliation and engagement with organizations may be influenced by age and life experiences.
Chart: Percentage of people that belong to political parties or groups
Source: Atlas of European Values
Chart: Percentage of people that have confidence in political parties, parliament, and government
Source: Atlas of European Values
Confidence in political institutions is a crucial indicator of a country’s democratic health and social stability. The above graph shows the percentage of people who have confidence in political parties (red line), parliament (blue bars), and government (yellow bars) in various European countries. It indicates a significant variation in confidence in political institutions among European countries; some countries show very low confidence, while others show significantly higher levels. Countries like Croatia (HR), Slovenia (SI), Albania (AL), Poland (PL), and the Czech Republic (CZ) show very low confidence in all three institutions; this could indicate widespread dissatisfaction with the political system and a potential crisis. On the other hand, countries like Norway (NO), Azerbaijan (AZ), and Turkey (TR) show very high confidence in all three institutions; this could indicate a positive perception of governance and political stability.
Confidence in political institutions is fundamental for political participation (Hooghe e Kern, 2015), such as voting or participating actively in politics.
When the European Value Study surveys people about democracy, the common consent is overwhelming: 92,95 per cent of Europeans consider democracy the best political system, and it is regarded as the most essential form of government in every participating country. In general, Europe still deserves the designation ‘the cradle of democracy’. The future wave of EVS will inform us whether this idea holds despite the rise of populism and de-democratization dynamics.
Source: Atlas of European Values
However, a more in-depth analysis of the responses reveals interesting nuances and variations in support for different types of government among Europeans; despite the strong overall support for democracy, significant differences in political preferences exist in Europe, influenced by a variety of sociodemographic factors, including historical experiences, economic conditions, education levels, and cultural values.
To study in-depth and become acquainted with our studies on the European Value of Work, please refer to publications based on the EVS data and listed in the EVS Bibliography (the EVS Bibliography is annually updated) of which you can find below an excerpt of the latest:
Barbet, Berta (2020): “Changing the issues of the electoral arena: do parties and voters move together?”. In: Comparative European Politics 18 (1): 21-44. First published online: January 19, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1057/s41295-019-00153-w.
Barone, Guglielmo; Blasio, Guido de and Poy, Samuele (2022): “The legacy of 1968 student protests on political preferences”. In: Economics Letters 210: 1-4.
Belmonte, Alessandro and Rochlitz, Michael (2020): “Collective Memories, Propaganda and Authoritarian Political Support”. In: Economic Systems 44 (3): 1-44. First published online: June 20, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecosys.2020.100771.
Belot, Céline (2021): “Disentangling varieties of French nationalism, why does it matter?”. In: French Politics 19: 1-32.
Berndt Rasmussen, Katharina and Olsson Yaouzis, Nicolas (2023): “The Tyranny of Political Correctness? A Game-Theoretic Model of Social Norms and Implicit Bias”. In: Journal of Applied Philosophy: 1-23.
Bryan, James D. (2023): “What Kind of Democracy Do We All Support? How Partisan Interest Impacts a Citizen’s Conceptualization of Democracy”. In: Comparative Political Studies 56 (10): 1597–1627.
Colombo, Francesco and Dinas, Elias (2023): “Networks of Grievances: Social Capital and Mainstream Party Decline”. In: Comparative Political Studies 56 (3): 363-394.
Czeglédi, Pál (2021): “Do political or ethnic and historical borders affect values and beliefs more? Some evidence from Central Europe”. In: Society and Economy 43 (2): 103-127.
Dalton, Russell J. (2021): “Political Action, Protest, and the Functioning of Democratic Governance”. In: American Behavioral Scientist 66 (4): 533-550.
Dam, Caspar ten (2021): “State of the World and our Research Projects related to EthnoGeoPolitics: Observations on the Conundrum of Identities, Interests and Resolutions of Conflict by Diplomacy, Deterrence – or War”. In: Forum of EthnoGeoPolitics 9 (1-2): 9-35.
Dargent, Claude (2021): “Catholics, Muslims and the “nones”: old and new cultural and political divides”. In: French Politics 19 (2): 250-280.
Dawson, Andrew and Krakoff, Isabel L. (2023): “Political trust and democracy: the critical citizens thesis re-examined”. In: Democratization: 1-23.
Dellmuth, Lisa (2023): “Regional inequalities and political trust in a global context”. In: Journal of European Public Policy: 1-20.
Dennison, James and Kriesi, Hanspeter (2023): “Explaining Europe’s transformed electoral landscape: structure, salience, and agendas”. In: European Political Science Review 15 (4): 483-501.
Dinas, Elias and Northmore-Ball, Ksenia (2020): “The Ideological Shadow of Authoritarianism”. In: Comparative Political Studies 53 (12): 1957-1991. First published online: July 7, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414019852699.
van Ditmars, Mathilde M. and Bernardi, Fabrizio (2023): “Political socialization, parental separation, and political ideology in adulthood”. In: Frontiers in Political Science 5: 1-12.
Dvořák, Tomáš and Wirthová, Jitka (2023): “Political and public engagement as topological boundary-making: a critique of ‘Deficit’ approaches in post-communist CEE”. In: Space and Polity: 1-23.
English, Patrick (2022): “High rejection, low selection: How ‘punitive parties’ shape ethnic minority representation”. In: Party Politics 28 (2): 294-305. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068820973851.
Erhardt, Julian; Wamsler, Steffen and Freitag, Markus (2021): “National identity between democracy and autocracy: a comparative analysis of 24 countries”. In: European Political Science Review 13 (1/2): 59-76. First published online: November 20, 2020, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1755773920000351.
Esaiasson, Peter; Dahlberg, Stefan and Kokkonen, Andej (2020): “In pursuit of happiness: Life satisfaction drives political support”. In: European Journal of Political Research 59 (1): 25-44.
Fabrykant, Marharyta (2020): “Dynamics of Attitudinal Dimensions of National Populism in Europe, 2008-2017”. In: Studia Politica 20 (2): 157-202. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-69924-8.
Filip, Alexandru and Lorenz, Jan (2021): “An analysis of the link between individual identity traits and radical party choice”. In: European Politics and Society 22 (5): 664-695. First published online: September 14, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1080/23745118.2020.1816007.
Foa, Roberto Stefan and Welzel, Christian (2023): “Existential insecurity and deference to authority: the pandemic as a natural experiment”. In: Frontiers in Political Science 5: 1-12.
Franc, Renata; Maglić, Marina and Sučić, Ines (2020): “Političko (ne)povjerenje kao odrednica sklonosti glasanju na izborima i sklonosti prosvjednom sudjelovanju (Political (Dis)Trust as a Determinant of Voting and Protest Participation)”. In: Croatian Sociological Review 50 (3): 381-406. https://doi.org/10.5613/rzs.50.3.3.
François, Abel; Magni-Berton, Raul and Varaine, Simon (2021): “Revolutionary Attitudes in Democratic Regimes”. In: Political Studies 69 (2): 214-236.
Gaebler, Stefanie; Potrafke, Niklas and Roesel, Felix (2020): “Compulsory voting and political participation: Empirical evidence from Austria”. In: Regional Science and Urban Economics 81. First published online: December 7, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2019.103499.
Gidron, Noam (2022): “Many Ways to be Right: Cross-Pressured Voters in Western Europe”. In: British Journal of Political Science 52 (1): 146-161. First published online: September 15, 2020, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0007123420000228.
Giuliani, Giovanni Amerigo (2023): “Investigating the radical right’s family policy agenda: evidence from six European countries”. In: Italian Political Science Review/Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica 53 (2): 179-
Gonthier, Frederic and Guerra, Tristan (2022): “How party polarization shapes the structuring of policy preferences in Europe”. In: Party Politics: 1-10.
Hajdinjak, Sanja (2022): “Populism as a political trust booster? Populist support and degrees of political power in Central Europe”. In: East European Politics: 1-27.
Han, Kyung Joon (2020): “Reacting to Isolation: How the Political Exclusion of Extreme Right-wing Parties Changes the Party Support”. In: Representation 56 (1): 71-87. First published online: September 11, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1080/00344893.2019.1663906.
Han, Kyung Joon and Castater, Eric Graig (2023): “It’s not just where you stand, it’s how you got there: social pacts and manual worker support for radical right-wing parties”. In: European Politics and Society 24 (2): 188-212.
Hansen, Michael A. and Ford, Nicolè M. (2023): “Placing the 2020 Belarusian Protests in Historical Context: Political Attitudes and Participation during Lukashenko’s Presidency”. In: Nationalities Papers 51 (4): 838-854.
Harka, Elona and Rocco, Lorenzo (2022): “Studying more to vote less. Education and voter turnout in Italy”. In: European Journal of Political Economy 72.
Haseth, Jostein; Holum, Marthe L. and Jakobsen, Tor G. (2023): “Ethnic Composition and Democratic Values: A Global Investigation of Citizens’ Desire for Democracy, 1995–2014”. In: Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 29 (1): 21-38.
Heinisch, Reinhard and Jansesberger, Viktoria (2022): “Lacking control – analysing the demand side of populist party support”. In: European Politics and Society: 1-20.
Homola, Jonathan; Pereira, Miguel M. and Tavits, Margit (2020): “Legacies of the Third Reich: Concentration Camps and Out-group Intolerance”. In: American Political Science Review 114 (2): 573-590. First published online: January 27, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055419000832
van Houwelingen, Pepijn; Akaliyski, Plamen; Dekker, Paul and Iedema, Jurjen (2021): “Convergence or divergence? A multilevel analysis of political values in 18 EU countries 1990–2017”. In: Comparative European Politics 19: 452–470.
Imbrasaitė, Jûratė and Genys, Dainius (2022): “Emerging Repertoires of Political Participation in Lithuania: A Latent Class Analysis”. In: Public Policy and Administration 21 (1): 94-110.
Kaprāns, Mārtiņš (2022): “Crossing Symbolic Boundaries: Can Precarity Mobilize the Political Disaffection of Latvians and Russophones?”. In: Reliģiski-filozofiski raksti 33: 102-125.
Kenny, John and Langsæether, Peter Egge (2023): “Environmentalism as an independent dimension of political preferences”. In: European Journal of Political Research 62 (4): 1031-1053.
Keskintürk, Turgut (2022): “The organization of political belief networks: A cross-country analysis”. In: Social Science Research 107: 1-29.
Kim, Hyunwoo (2023): “The microfoundation of macroeconomic populism: The effects of economic inequality on public inflation aversion”. In: Economics & Politics 35 (1): 65-96.
Klíma, Ondřej; Lakomý, Martin and Volevach, Ekaterina (2023): “Impacts of cultural factors and mode of administration on item nonresponse for political questions in the European context”. In: International Journal of Social Research Methodology: 1-12.
Komar, Olivera and Novak, Meta (2020): “Introduction: (De)democratisation in Slovenia and Montenegro: Comparing the Quality of Democracy”. In: Politics in Central Europe 16 (3): 569-592. https://doi.org/10.2478/pce-2020-0026.
Konstantinov, Martin (2022): “Statism as a Conservative Political Value in Bulgaria”. In: Социологически проблеми 54 (1): 153-171.
Kołczyńska, Marta (2020): “The Economy and Governance as Determinants of Political Trust in Europe: An Analysis of the European Values Study and World Values Survey, 1990–2019”. In: Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review 56 (6): 791-833.
Kołczyńska, Marta and Powałko, Przemek (2022): “The Political Parties Crosswalk for mapping party codes in cross-national surveys to Party Facts IDs”. In: Political Research Exchange 4 (1): 1-15.
Ksiazkiewicz, Aleksander and Erol, Fatih (2022): “Linking sleep, political ideology, and religious observance: a multi-national comparison”. In: International Journal of Public Opinion Research 34 (3): 1-16.
Ladini, Riccardo (2021): “Tra convergenza e divergenza: orientamento politico e fiducia degli italiani verso le istituzioni”. In: Quaderni di sociologia 87 (45): 65-88.
Larsen, Mikkel Haderup (2023): “Once they are seated: the impact of radical right parties’ political representation on attitudes of trust and solidarity”. In: European Political Science Review 15 (1): 57-74.
Leykin, Inna and Gorodzeisky, Anastasia (2023): “Is Anti-Immigrant Sentiment Owned by the Political Right?”. In: Sociology: 1-20.
Lindqvist, Jesper (2023): “An urban myth? Government involvement in the economy and left–right politics”. In: International Political Science Review: 1-16.
Liu, Yongbo and Lihe, Shen (2022): “Materialism versus Post-Materialism, Political Participation and Attitudes towards Democracy: An Empirical Examination of Toqueville’s Idea”. In: Journal of Social Political Sciences 3 (4): 332-355.
Noël, Alain; Thérien, Jean-Philippe and Boucher, Émile (2021): “The political construction of the left-right divide: a comparative perspective”. In: Journal of Political Ideologies 26 (3): 317-334.
Österman, Marcus and Robinson, Darrel (2023): “Educating Democrats or Autocrats? The Regime-Conditional Effect of Education on Support for Democracy”. In: Political Studies 71 (4): 1298-1320.
Page, Douglas; Ayoub, Phillip; Arranz, Catharine; Montes, Matthew and Paulin, Taylor (2022): “Reassessing the relationship between homophobia and political participation”. In: European Journal of Political Research 61 (4): 1165-1178.
Pastarmadzhieva, Daniela and Angelova, Mina (2021): “Political culture and entrepreneurial activity as prerequisites for positive development in Bulgaria”. In: Leadership, Society, Strategic Visions: 223-234.
Pastor Mayo, Marco (2023): “Activating Self-Interest: The Role of Party Polarization in Preferences for Redistribution”. In: Party Politics: 1-19.
Soare, Sorina and Tufis, Claudiu D. (2023): “No populism’s land? Religion and gender in Romanian politics”. In: Identities 30 (1): 112-130.
Tiberj, Vincent (2021): “How France participates? The impact of generational renewal on political participation (1981–2018)”. In: French Politics 19: 139–157.
Tillman, E. R. (2013): “Authoritarianism and citizen attitudes towards European integration”. In: European Union Politics 14 (4): 566-589. http://eup.sagepub.com/content/14/4/566.full.
Tuzov, Viktor and Masood, Muhammad (2022): “Striving towards democracy? Political participation in post-Soviet countries”. In: European Politics and Society: 1-20.
Valgarðsson, Viktor Orri and Devine, Daniel (2022): “What satisfaction with democracy? A global analysis of “satisfaction with democracy” measures”. In: Political Research Quarterly 75 (3): 576-590.
Vorsatz, Victor (2021): “The Convergence of Political Values of Citizens Across EU Member States along EU Enlargement Rounds”. In: SAIS Journal 24 (1): 95-113.
Washida, Hidekuni (2021): “政治的分極化はいかに民主主義を後退させるのか ―選挙不 認識ギャップ、権威主義の許容、非リベラル政党の台頭 (How Does Political Polarization Erode Democracy?)”. In: 年報政治学 72 (1): 81-104.
Wojcik, Adrian Dominik; Cislak, Aleksandra and Schmidt, Peter (2021): “‘The left is right’: Left and right political orientation across Eastern and Western Europe”. In: The Social Science Journal: 1-17.
Wuttke, Alexander; Gavras, Konstantin and Schoen, Harald (2022): “Have Europeans Grown Tired of Democracy? New Evidence from Eighteen Consolidated Democracies, 1981–2018”. In: British Journal of Political Science 52 (1): 416-428.
Zmerli, Sonja (2021): “Notions of democracy in France: uncovering causes and consequences”. In: French Politics 19: 192–217.