The political salience of EU policies

Abstract:

This research agenda starts from the observation that, in most political science research, the salience which citizens, interest groups, policymakers and the media attach to policymaking processes on specific policies is usually measured for just one actor type. As a consequence, it is difficult to assess the extent to which the salience attributions of citizens, interest groups, the media and/or policymakers are interrelated.

We thus undertake an explorative analysis of the salience attributions of these actors for a sample of 125 European Union legislative policies. We find considerable differences but also some interdependencies across actor types in the salience that they attach to specific policies. Based on these findings, we suggest a research agenda that investigates different actor types’ salience attributions synchronically and dynamically. Research along these routes has the potential to shed light on varying levels of European Union-level political mobilization and the conditions that lead to unequal policy influence.