Becoming Europeans: Attitudes, Roles and Socialization in the European Parliament

A central assumption in many accounts of European integration is that EU institutions socialize those within them into becoming progressively more pro-European. This "going native" effect has been frequently discussed, but rarely tested. This study presents a long-overdue challenge to these widespread assumptions. Drawing on extensive empirical research on the European Parliament, Roger Scully shows that virtually all observable implications of the "going native" thesis are unsupported by the evidence. Based on these findings, he presents a radically revised understanding of Europe's elected chamber.