ABSTRACT
European integration has affected the ways European citizens perceive and assess politics at the national and European level. Previous research has identified a number of factors, such as economic developments, political controversies, mass media news coverage or cultural diversities. This introductory chapter sets the agenda for the following study by highlighting the important role social inequalities play in the formation of political attitudes and public opinions. It argues that social inequalities have a European dimension when considering vertical and horizontal divisions, i.e., social stratifications and spatial inequalities. Additionally, it insists that the imprint of European integration is remarkable when addressing subjective perceptions of social and spatial divisions. The chapter highlights the importance of developing a relational approach to the study of political attitudes that does justice to the interplay between the national and European levels. It highlights that social inequalities within and between countries contribute to more polarised opinions about the European Union. Equal attention, however, has to be given to the inverse effect because European citizens perceive and assess national politics through a European lens, in particular through the way they gauge social inequalities within and between European countries.
