Atlas of European Values. Trends and Traditions at the Turn of the Century [1 ed.] 9789004230361, 9789004207059

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Atlas of European Values Trends and Traditions at the turn of the Century

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European Values Study

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Atlas of European Values Trends and Traditions at the turn of the Century Loek Halman, Inge Sieben and Marga van Zundert

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Colophon Authors Loek Halman, Inge Sieben and Marga van Zundert Layout UvA-Kaartenmakers, Amsterdam Cover van Rosmalen & Schenk, Amsterdam Maps and graphics Tilburg University, Tilburg and UvA-Kaartenmakers, Amsterdam Data preparation Josja Rokven and Emanuelle Drissen Cartographic advisors Jeroen van den Worm, Willy Kock, Connie Blok, Wim Feringa, and Barend Köbben, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente Photography Joyce van Belkom Photo cover: copyright Hollandse Hoogte, Jan Lankveld English corrections Linda Mous Series editors Loek Halman and Paul de Graaf Printing Drukkerij Wilco, Amersfoort Printed on acid-free paper

ISSN 1568-5926 ISBN 978 90 04 23 036 1 Copyright 2012 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change.

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Contents vii Preface viii European history in a nut shell 2 Europe 4 European citizenship 6 Nationality 10 European Union 13 Europe, will love grow? 14 16 20 24 30 35

Family Family life Marriage Parents and children Working women Meet the new family

36 38 41 47 49 51

Work Work or leisure Work ethic The perfect job Job satisfaction For money and mind

94 96 99 103 109 113 117 122

Society Confidence Solidarity Tolerance Immigration Morality Environment No moral decay

124 Well-being 126 Happiness and satisfaction 130 In control 131 Happy and happier Europeans 132 European values at the turn of the century 136 European country information 139 About the European Values Study 140 Acknowledgements

54 Religion 56 Believing 63 The Church 68 Religion and society 71 Much religiosity, few churchgoers 74 76 81 85 87 92

Politics Political engagement Freedom and democracy Public versus private duty Where to? A decisive democracy, please

v contents

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Preface

“But aren’t these values what really matter, and are not they what give direction to all the rest” Vaclav Havel*

We live in challenging times. Financial crises, globalisation, demographic ageing, climate change and immigration give rise to new uncertainties in Europe, and all over the world. Yet we can build on the strength of the people on our continent to face these challenges and to guarantee the unique prosperity, peace and growing unity which we have achieved. Knowing and realising what binds us, beyond the differences, is essential for that task. We need to understand and respect each other’s values, ideas, dreams and convictions. Even if geography may set a frame, the European borders are essentially set by values, by our beliefs. ‘United in Diversity’, the European Union’s motto, again proves to be a wellchosen term. This Atlas of European Values provides a rich insight into the values and attitudes of the Europeans: more than 800 million people living on the ‘old’ continent, both inside and outside the European Union’s 27 Member States. The atlas examines what Europeans value in family life, work, religion, politics, society and well-being. With the underlying research spanning a generation in time, the Atlas also provides a picture of important value transformations as well as of firm, incontestable beliefs. It is a treasure-trove of information on the wealth of opinions about Europe, and the forces that bind us in spite of our differences. Interestingly, the book also provides a picture of the direction in which Europe seems to be heading. Modernisation and

individualisation have gained ground, especially in the NorthWestern parts. However, traditional family values still dominate. An East-West divide is found when it comes to the average opinions on issues such as homosexuality or abortion. In contrast, people all over the continent share a number of firmly-held common values regarding freedom, solidarity, equality, and respect for human rights and the rule of law. Indeed, the European Union – today 27 European states working together with common institutions – would be impossible without this foundation of freedom, democracy and justice, the very essence of modern societies. A flourishing European society cannot be built on economic institutions and political bodies alone; these are only instruments. It is people, engaged and enthusiastic European citizens, who need to bring life and soul into the idea of a peaceful, free and democratic Europe. This presupposes that citizens feel connected to each other and to a larger whole. There cannot be a society without a sense of solidarity, which should start from the smallest beginnings. It also presupposes a sense of a greater good, going beyond pure self-interest. These values are a necessary condition for the work of European unification, as it started off shortly after World War II. This Atlas gives every reason to believe that the citizens of our continent will carry the unique project that is our European Union well into the 21st century. Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, October 2011 *Speech at the European Parliament 2009

vii preface

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European history in a nut shell

before year 0: Greek reasoning Around 500 BC, Europe is mentioned for the first time as a cultural entity by the Greek. They think of Europe as a strong civilization concentrated in free, independent, and democratic city-states. However, their Europe lies in the lands around the Aegean seas, the parts of the Mediterranean which today is situated between Greece and Turkey.

1200-1300: Christianity In the Middle Ages, Christianity gradually expanded in Europe, yet, the legacy of Greek and Roman Antiquity was preserved. Christianity did not only bring a cultural shift, but also a geographical. Western Europe, which had been a peripheral region of the Mediterranean-based culture of classical Europe became integrated. Around 1300, for the first time in history, Europe existed as an entity covering more or less the continent as we know it today. The church played a key role in establishing homogeneity. Religion provided a common language, Latin, and a common source of values: the Bible. The high Middle Ages also brought a European intellectual elite. Italian scientists studied in Germany and Paris. Administrators went to the Netherlands and England. The most influential Christian idea in the history of Europe has probably been that of the equality of every person before God in heaven.

1500: Renaissance, reformation and humanism At the end of the Middle Ages, around 1500, the Renaissance, reformation and humanism created a new vision of man. The new European is a sovereign entity in the world and, with his reason and creative powers, is also able to penetrate any secret, and to invent new ideas and things. Without losing their beliefs in the basic tenets of Christianity, the humanist thinkers emphasized more individualistic and more secular values.

Europa, daughter of Agenor Europe’s name is rooted in ancient Greek mythology. Young and beautiful Europa was the daughter of Agenor, once King of the city of Tyre (now in Lebanon). She was abducted by the Greek supreme god Zeus. He transforms himself into a white bull and tempts her to jump onto his back. He brings Europa to Crete, where he ravishes her on the shores of the continent that would bear their offspring and her name.

Europe’s borders When Europe was first mentioned by the Greeks, they merely referred to Hellas, the lands around the Aegean

seas, the part of the Mediterranean that today lies between Greece and Turkey. Europe was also a concept used in the Roman Empire, but the Roman Empire regarded itself as Mediterranean, not continental. From the start, it included parts of Africa and Asia; only in later years it expanded over the Alps, first to the Iberian Peninsula, then into Gaul, Britain, and the Rhine delta. The Roman Empire unified for the first time the larger part of the European continent. With the end of the Roman Empire in 476, the concept of Europe expanded westwards. Western Europe became the center of the new Europe, now united by Christianity. From Rome, to London, to Berlin, Christian-Judaic values were underlined and for the first time people of all nations could

understand each other through the church’s Latin. By 1300, for the first time, Europe existed as an identifiable cultural entity and covered more or less the Europe as we know it nowadays. But also today, Europe is not a well-defined geographical region. Some will intuitively include Turkey and Russia; others will draw the eastern borders before the Ural. Depending on the eye of the beholder, the continent counts between 450 and 800 million citizens, and between 25 and 40 nations.

Rich cultural history Europe is the proud father of some of the greatest assets of human heritage: liberty, democracy and humanism.

1500

1400

1300

1200

1100

0

1250

0-500: Roman Law The Romans never necessarily considered themselves to be European. The core of the Roman Empire was the Mediterranean, although at its high point (around the year 100 AD) the empire also included the Iberian peninsula and the larger parts of Western Europe. The Roman Empire was an intensely legal society and in the course of several centuries, Roman jurists worked out a system of legal principles devised to protect both life and property. This law cherished citizenship and individual rights, equity and the common good.

Additionally, it is the birthplace of so many great statesmen, poets, artists, composers, scientists, and philosophers. Aristotle, Plato, Mozart, Bach, Descartes, Erasmus, Molière, Shakespeare, Nietzsche, Van Gogh, Freud, Kant and Einstein, to name just a few. Nobody can deny Europe’s tremendously culturally rich history, its famous architecture, music or poetry. Or as the contemporary philosopher George Steiner put it so elegantly “a landscape has been molded, humanized by feet and hands. As in no other part of the globe the shores, fields, forests, hills of Europe, from La Coruña to Saint Petersburg, from Stockholm to Messina, have been shaped not so much by geological as by humanhistorical time....”

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1790: Modernity After the French and Industrial Revolution, modernity brings the rise of industrial capitalism and parliamentary democracy in Europe, and the transformation of religious beliefs into economic and political ethics: liberalism, socialism and nationalism. The 1789 Declaration des droits de l’homme (Declaration of Human Rights) is a landmark of modernity.

2000

1955

1940

1900

1790

1800

1750 1713

1700

1600

1500

1713: Enlightenment After the treaty of Utrecht (1713) the awareness of a European, as opposed to a Christian, community gained the upper hand. The scientific revolutions of the 17th and the Enlightenment of the 18th century brought about changes in the structure of European thought itself: systematic doubt, empirical and sensory verification, the abstraction of human knowledge into separate sciences, and the view that the world functions like a machine. During the Enlightenment, the term ‘Europe’ became more than a geographical concept. Europe was associated with civilization. The famous French writer, historian and philosopher Voltaire described Europe as a kind of great republic divided into several states all based on the same religious foundation and on the same principle of public law and politics.

in a series of successful offensives. Germany agreed to a cease-fire on 11 November 1918. More than 9 million combatants had been killed. World War II (1939-1945) was the deadliest conflict in human history, resulting in between 50 million to over 70 million fatalities worldwide. It was also marked by the mass death of civilians, included the Holocaust, and the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare. World War II started on 1 September 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by France and most of the countries of the British Empire. Adolf Hitler set out to establish a large empire in Europe, and succeeded, with a series of campaigns and treaties, in conquering or subduing much of continental Europe. The war spread to the Soviet Union, Asia and Northern Africa. The landing of allied forces in Europe on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) heralded the end of the war in Europe. With the capture of Berlin by Soviet and Polish troops and the subsequent German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945. With two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the war in Asia ended.

1930

1750: Industrial revolution As of 1750, the invention of the steam engine brought about major changes in manufacturing, mining, agriculture, transportation, and technology. This Industrial Revolution irrevocably changed human labor, consumption, family structure and social structure. This began in England, and subsequently spread throughout Europe, North America, and eventually the world. The average income and population began to exhibit unprecedented sustained growth. In the two following centuries, the world’s average per capita income increased over 10-fold.

1650

1650: Absolutism The age of absolutism started around 1650. Europe saw the gradual erosion of local power and autonomy and the rise of national legislation and civil bureaucracies resulting in absolute and centralized power of the national governments and monarchies.

1930: Nationalism and the World Wars In the 19th century a particularly national sense of citizenship emerged. This resulted in the idea of the welfare state, but also led to very destructive nationalism. Europe tore itself into pieces in two world wars (1914-1918 and 1939-1945), which caused sixty to eighty million casualties and simply eradicated the idea of Europe as a civilized entity. World War I (1914-1918) started with the AustroHungarian invasion of Serbia, followed by the German invasion of Belgium, Luxembourg, and France; and a Russian attack against Germany. The German march on Paris was brought to a halt in Belgium, leading to a static battle in the trenches of Flanders (the western front). In the East, the Russian army successfully fought against the Austro-Hungarian forces, but was forced back by the German army. Additional fronts opened after the Ottoman Empire joined the war in 1914, Italy and Bulgaria in 1915 and Romania in 1916. The Russian Empire collapsed in 1917, and Russia left the war after the October Revolution later that year. After a 1918 German offensive along the western front, United States’ armed forces entered the trenches and the Allies drove back the German armies

1940: Communism and the Soviet Union The Bolshevik Party, which would soon change its name into Communist Party, seized state power in Russia in the 1917 October Revolution, with slogans like “peace, bread, and land” and “All power to the Soviets”. The Bolsheviks nationalized all productive property such as factories, railroads and farms, and introduced a single-party political system based on Marxist theories. In 1922, after the Bolsheviks had won the Russian Civil War, they established the Soviet Union (officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR), including Russia, the Ukraine, Belarus, and the Transcaucasian countries of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. After World War II, in which the Russians defeated the Germans on the Eastern front, communists consolidated power in Central and Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union aided post-war reconstruction in satellite states such as Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Hungary and the

German Democratic Republic (GDR), while binding them in a military alliance (the Warsaw Pact) and an economic organization (Comecon). The Soviet Union and the Western World were in a continuing state of political conflict and military tension from roughly 1946 to 1991, a period known as the Cold War. People in the Soviet Union had little civil and political rights. There was strict censorship, and any political meeting not organized by the communist party was forbidden. The Soviets placed emphasis on economic and social rights such as access to health care, adequate nutrition, education, and guaranteed employment. Political repression was practiced by the secret police and an extensive network of civilian informants (either volunteers, or forcibly recruited) resulting in a society in which everyone could be a spy and distrust was all around.

1955: Unification After the horrors of World Wars I and II, the need for peace urged European nations towards unification. In 1951, the European Union was established by six European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and The Netherlands). Today, it counts 27 member states and 500 million citizens (see key data European Unification on page xi).

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in parliamentary elections in June. This was only possible because the Soviet Union was loosening the strict rein on its satellite states in the 1980s under the reform-minded Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Poland experienced a political earthquake. The victory of union leader, electrician, and human-rights activist Lech Walesa surpassed all predictions. After these Polish elections, protests against communism began to spread to Hungary, East-Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania. By the end of 1989, the governments in all these countries had left office. Unlike in the other countries, the revolution in Romania was not brought about peacefully; the protests against the Romanian, Stalinist ruler Nicolai Ceausescu cost 1,104 lives. In the following years, the other Soviet satellite states also abandoned communism, with the only exception of Belarus, where former communist leader Alexander Lukashenko retained power, and still rules the ‘last dictatorial regime’ in Europe.

1990s: Multiculturalism Over the last decades, Europe, and especially Western Europe, has become an immigration region. Significant numbers of inhabitants from former colonies came to Europe, guest workers started to travel to Europe from Morocco and Turkey, and in the 1990s the number of asylum seekers to Europe also rose sharply, in particular from conflict areas in the world such as Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The changing demographic make-up has led to the phrase ‘multiculturalism’ and the ‘multicultural society’, referring to the appreciation and acceptance of multiple cultures within one country. However, multiculturalism has increasingly become regarded as problematic. It has caused uneasiness and discontent, for example in countries such as Denmark, France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. Immigration became a hot topic in political and public debates, and new political parties emerged that openly pursue an anti-immigration policy and also an anti-Islam agenda. It has led to strict immigration and asylum laws, and Europe has been described as ‘Fortress Europe’.

2011

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European Values Study wave 4

2010

1995

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1989

1981

1989: Die Wende 9 November 1989, 10.45 hrs, was a historic moment for Europe. Since World War II, the continent had been divided into a communist, Eastern part and a democratic, capitalistic, Western part. On 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall, the symbol of this division, ‘fell’; after nearly fifty years, Berliner citizens could again travel freely from East to West. The Berlin Wall was a solid, concrete barrier covered with barbed wire and guarded 24/7 by armed soldiers to prevent anyone escaping communist-ruled Europe. It was constructed by the German Democratic Republic in 1961 to isolate West-Berlin, an enclave of West-Germany, from the surrounding GDR. The breakdown of the Berlin Wall became the symbol of the fall of European communism and the end of the Soviet Union, but the revolt against Soviet rule in Eastern Europe actually started in Poland. In April 1989, the Polish trade union Solidarity, known for its opposition to communism and strikes for human rights, was again legalized, and allowed to participate

2004: EU expands eastwards In 2004, eight Eastern European states joined the European Union: Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. It was the largest single expansion of the Union, both in terms of territory, number of states and population. Overnight, the EU counted 74 million more inhabitants, and included a large part of Eastern Europe. In 2007, Bulgaria and Romania also joined, adding another 29 million inhabitants. The European Union now contains many of the former satellite states of the Soviet Union.

2008

European Values Study wave 3 1999

European Values Study wave 2 1991

European Values Study wave 1

1995: Ageing continent Forecasts predict that Europe will be the only continent in the world on which fewer people will live in 2050 than today. Since the mid-1990s, fewer children are born than people are dying. The ageing population is, in principle, a happy story about societal progress and medical development, but at the same time, it challenges society’s structure. Many European countries face the very real possibility that up to one-third of their population will be over 65 in twenty years, dramatically diminishing the work force. With this shift in generational structure, the unprecedented situation will present itself that the elderly will dominate politics, social and cultural life, and form the largest group of consumers.

2004

before 1980: Secularization Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions towards a community where religion is a private matter, and where authorities and politics are based on non-religious values. However, secularization does not necessarily mean that people feel less religious or no longer believe in God; it refers to the declining role of religion in public life. Religion and churches lose much of their authority and influence in social life and governance. Secularization is seen as a progressive, inevitable step in modernization which is accompanied by rationalization and individualization.

and separatism led to tensions between Serbs and Albanians, resulting in the Kosovo war. At first, the war was between the army and police and the Kosovo Liberation Army. In 1999, NATO bombings ended the war to protect Kosovo Albanians, amidst a massive displacement of population in Kosovo estimated to be close to one million people. The Republic of Kosovo declared independence in 2008, and is now recognized by more than 70 countries in the world. In total at least 130,000 people lost their lives in former Yugoslavia during the wars, and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is still in place to prosecute the leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

2000

1991: Yugoslav wars Between 1991 and 1999, Europe again experienced a disastrous war. In 1991, the former communist-led Yugoslavia fell apart when Slovenia and Croatia desired greater autonomy within the Yugoslav confederation, while Serbia wanted to strengthen federal authority. Slovenia and Croatia declared independence in June, resulting in a ten-day war in Slovenia. The Yugoslav army leaves Slovenia, but supports rebel Serb forces in Croatia, resulting in the Croatian and Bosnian war of independence. The wars in former Yugoslavia were complex, and characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts and severe war crimes. In 1995, the Dayton Agreement was signed in Paris, which ended the war in Croatia and Bosnia. In Kosovo, then an autonomous province of Serbia, however, growing Albanian nationalism

2008/2009: Financial crisis In the late 2000s, the world witnessed a significant decline in economic activity, leading to a severe global economic recession in 2008. It is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, and resulted in the collapse of large financial institutions, the bailout of banks b national governments, and downturns in stock markets around the world. The crisis was triggered by a liquidity shortfall in the United States banking system due to the collapse of the U.S. housing bubble, which peaked in 2007.

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European Unification After the horrors of World War II, Robert Schuman, the foreign minister of France proposed tying up the steel and coal industry ensuring strong mutual interests between nations, a solid economic link that would make war and conflicts highly counterproductive. The result was the European Coal and Steel Community, the forerunner to the European Union. The unification along economic lines was successful; it has brought peace and economic prosperity to its growing list of members over the past sixty years. Today, the EU counts 27 member states and slightly over 500 million inhabitants. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) ranks the European Union as the largest economic entity in the world, just above the USA which is followed by China. Four EU-countries rank in the top ten of the world’s largest economies: Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy. In 2004, the European Union tried to establish a European Constitution that would replace the existing European Union treaties with a single text. The constitution was ratified by 18 member states, which included referenda endorsing it in Spain and Luxembourg. However, the rejection of the document by French and Dutch voters in 2005 brought the ratification process to an end. People felta that the unification process went too fast, too far. The Treaty of Lisbon (2007) was created to replace the Constitutional Treaty.

Key data 1951 Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Paris establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) The European Court of Justice is established 1953 Start of the European Economic Community (EEC), later EC 1957 Establishment of the European Parliamentary Assembly in 1958 Strasbourg, France The currency ‘snake’ is set up: the margin of fluctuation between 1972 their currencies is limited to 2.25%. Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom join the EC 1973 First direct elections for the European Parliament. 1979 Greenland, a member as part of Denmark, withdraws from the EC 1985 Schengen treaty signed for the elimination of internal border 1985 controls and free movement of persons 1986 Spain and Portugal join the EC East Germany (former DDR) joins the Community as part of a 1990 reunited Germany The EC becomes the European Union (EU) 1992 Start of the economic and monetary union (EMU), involving 1993 the introduction of a single European currency managed by a European Central Bank Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU 1995 A single currency - the Euro - is introduced in twelve member 2002 countries: Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, and Finland, creating the Eurozone Eight Eastern European states join the EU: Estonia, Hungary, 2004 Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic The European Constitution is rejected in referenda in France and 2005 The Netherlands Romania and Bulgaria join the EU; Slovenia joins the Eurozone 2007 Malta and Cyprus join the Eurozone 2008 Slovakia joins the Eurozone 2009 Estonia joins the Eurozone 2011

Wealth distribution Economic prosperity tends to influence people’s beliefs and attitudes, most importantly in life domains such as work, family, and politics. To understand and explain the European trends and traditions in these fields, it is important to know that wealth is far from evenly spread along the continent. Roughly speaking, the Northern and Western parts of Europe are most prosperous. Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands all rank among the top 10 of countries listed by GDP per capita. These countries have all gained from, among other things, the industrial revolution, natural resources, international trade and transport, and banking. The Eastern parts of Europe are the least wealthy. Moldavia holds position 128, Armenia 117, and the Ukraine 109 on the list of GDP per capita; Bulgaria is the lowest-ranked EU member state at position 80. Roughly speaking one can discern an East/ West-divide in wealth in Europe.

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Europe

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Well-being 3

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european citizenship IS

FI

RU NO

EE

SE

LV

NIR

Feeling European the percentage of people who choose europe as the first or second geographical group they belong to. people have a choice of five options: town, region, country, europe, and the world.

LT

DK

BY

IE GB NL

PL UA

DE