The paradox of nationalist Europhiles: Why nationalists still back Brussels in post-2020 Romania
2026-06-05
This article examines the paradox of strong economic nationalism alongside continued support for European Union (EU) membership. Using original survey data from 2020 to 2025 and layered regression models, we assess how economic nationalist attitudes shape preferences for Romania's EU membership and test whether instrumental EU support moderates this negative relationship. This article explicitly models the interaction between economic nationalism, broader EU attitudes, and political context, refining existing frameworks by showing that economic nationalism does not have a uniform effect on support for EU membership. Instead, its impact is conditional, moderated by pro-EU orientations and susceptible to political activation during high-salience electoral periods.