Les espaces du vote en Europe. La participation aux élections du Parlement européen de 2004

Abstract

In this article, we study the turnout of the 2004 European elections. This analysis focuses on the regional level by mapping the turnout within more than 700 spatial units. Methodologically, the article uses a set of maps to present a multiscalar analysis of the turnout on the basis of three hypotheses. The first one asserts that as distance increases, voter turnout decreases. This first hypothesis expresses a geographical gradient of EU integration. Second, the hypothesis of transborder forms of vote aims to measure the role of boundaries, as barriers or as spatial discontinuities. Lastly, the third hypothesis states that sub-national differences of turnout express socio-economic disparities. The first part sums up the methodological problems in constructing the database at the regional level. The second part studies the turnout at different observation scales. In the third section, we propose a typology of regional profiles by confronting the regional turnout both to the national average and to the European average. As a conclusion, the fourth section gives a research agenda to deepen our analysis for the next elections to the European Parliament in 2009.

Keywords

• electoral map
• multiscalar analysis
• European election
• regional typology
• European enlargement
• NUTS3