Opposing Europe? The Comparative Party Politics of Euroscepticism Volume 2: Comparative and Theoretical Perspectives

by Szczerbiak, Aleks; Taggart, Paul

• ISBN13: 9780199258352
• ISBN10: 019925835X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-06-23
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The project of European integration now spans Europe, but in becoming bigger and broader the European Union has brought on itself significant criticism. As the EU becomes deeper, wider, and more ambitious, so opposition and scepticism become more prominent for citizens and more problematic forelites. Concerns about a 'democratic deficit' and the distance between European elites and publics have come to be a common feature of European politics. As a consequence Euroscepticism has become a part of the terrain of conflict between political parties across Europe.Opposing Europe? provides the first comprehensive review of party-based Euroscepticism across the breadth of contemporary Europe, and the first in-depth comparative academic study of Euroscepticism. This, the first of two volumes, is made up of chapters that map, describe, and analyse Euroscepticismin the party systems of a range of countries and the European Parliament. Each is written to a common frame of reference that differentiates 'hard' and 'soft' Euroscepticism. The volume looks across Europe and includes EU member states and candidate and non-member states in order to draw outcomparative lessons that relate to the nature of political parties, party systems, and the domestic politics of European integration.Opposing Europe? is a groundbreaking, 'state of the art' book that provides a definitive review of a key issue in European politics. It is also one of the few attempts to integrate the fields of EU studies with both West European and East European studies in order to draw lessons about the way inwhich the EU interacts with domestic politics in both member and non-member states. Examining the way that parties position themselves and compete on the European issue provides powerful lessons for the trajectory of the European integration project more generally and on the prospects for theemergence of a European political system and polity.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. vii
List of Tables	p. ix
Contributors	p. xiii
Introduction: Opposing Europe? The Politics of Euroscepticism in Europe	p. 1
The Limits of Party-Based Euroscepticism in Germany	p. 16
Euroscepticism in France, 1992-2002	p. 38
Euroscepticism in Italy	p. 58
Hard but Hardly Relevant: Party-Based Euroscepticism in Belgium	p. 75
Euroscepticism in the British Party System: 'A Source of Fascination, Perplexity, and Sometimes Frustration'	p. 93
Shades of Green: Euroscepticism in Irish Political Parties	p. 117
Euroscepticism and Political Parties in Spain	p. 134
Euroscepticism in Denmark	p. 152
The Difficult Task of Opposing Europe: The Finnish Party Politics of Euroscepticism	p. 168
Softer but Strong: Euroscepticism and Party Politics in Sweden	p. 181
Euroscepticism in Austrian Political Parties: Ideologically Rooted or Strategically Motivated?	p. 201
Opposing Europe or Problematizing Europe? Euroscepticism and 'Eurorealism' in the Polish Party System	p. 221
Embracing Europe, Opposing EU-rope? Party-based Euroscepticism in the Czech Republic	p. 243
Euroscepticism in the Hungarian Party System: Voices from the Wilderness?	p. 263
The Slovak Republic: Eurosceptics and Phoney Europhiles	p. 277
Emerging Party-based Euroscepticism in Estonia	p. 295
Euroscepticism and Slovenian Political Parties: A Case of Weak Party-based Euroscepticism	p. 314
The European Question and the Norwegian Party System since 1961: The Freezing of a Modern Cleavage or Contingent Opposition?	p. 328
Conclusion: Opposing Europe? Three Patterns of Party Competition over Europe	p. 348
References	p. 364
Index	p. 395
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.