Euroscepticism as a Persistent Phenomenon*

Abstract

In the two decades since the emergence of the European Union at Maastricht there has been a concerted attempt to build a European political space, typified by the debates on constitutionalisation and democratisation. Much less noticed, but no less important, has been the mobilisation of publics, interest groups and political parties against the integration process. In the light of the failure to realise the Laeken objectives, the stabilisation of an anti-integration bloc in the European Parliament, recurrent 'no' votes in national referenda and the emergence of an increasingly coordinated movement of critical interest groups, we argue that this opposition has become embedded and persistent, at both European and national levels. This will have considerable consequences for the Union itself and the way it has chosen to largely ignore sceptical voices to date.

The Political Economy of the Euro Crisis

“…For example, high unemployment rates in peripheral countries and increasing shares of non-performing loans on bank balance sheets leave households directly exposed to the effects of the crisis. In addition, the growing importance of mass public opinion is visible in the growing concern among ordinary citizens about the future direction of the European project more generally (Cramme & Hobolt, 2014;Frieden, 2016;Hooghe & Marks, 2009) and the increasing success of euroskeptic parties across Europe (Usherwood & Startin, 2013).…”

“…These analyses have provided valuable insights into the effects of the crisis on important issues such as European integration (e.g., the special issues edited by Ioannou et al, 2015;Menz & Smith, 2013;Tosun et al, 2014), voting behavior and public opinion (e.g., the special issues edited by Bellucci et al, 2012;Usherwood & Startin, 2013), the welfare state (e.g., the special issue edited by Heins & de la Porte, 2015), and democratic politics more generally (e.g., Cramme & Hobolt, 2014). Yet just as economists often do not pay enough attention to politics, most political scientists have tended to discount the economic constraints, trade-offs, and dynamics underlying the euro crisis and the policy options available to policymakers.…”

Who Is Anti-American in the European Union?

“…These are important developments because there is evidence that less supportive citizens are more Eurosceptic (Usherwood & Startin, 2013). In addition, governments are unlikely to support further political, social, or economic integration if their citizens are not supportive of the EU (Down & Wilson, 2013).…”

(Re)considering sovereignty in the European integration process

“…Before the Brexit referendum, Britain was even defined as an EU member under the influence of Europeanization process (Aktipis and Oliver, 2011;Bache and Jordan, 2006a, b;Bulmer and Burch, 2009;Dover, 2007;Mitchell, 2012;Rosamond, 2003). Euroscepticism was initially viewed as a popular flame; however, it became one of the main building blocks of the European integration process in time, and taking acquiescence of the wider public is no longer guaranteed for the integrationist elites (Flood, 2002;Usherwood and Startin, 2013). In addition to Brexit and the rise of Euroscepticism, the recent irregular migration crisis has also convincingly proved that the nation-state has a strong gravitational power in the European integration process; thus, the European integration is actually reversible contrary to the supranationalist/constructivist assumption (Kaplan, 2017).…”