Conceptualising Party-based Euroscepticism: Magnitude and motivations

Article forms part of a series of articles in this issue of Collegium: 'Does Euroscepticism have a passport?' This article offers a new approach to the theoretical notion of party-based Euroscepticism. It conceptualises Euroscepticism as being conceivable in terms of two scales, the first one addressing its magnitude, and the second its motivations. Magnitude of Euroscepticism is understood on the basis of the established hard versus soft distinction. In terms of motivation, however, the article argues for the utility of assessing ideologically and strategically driven motives for parties adopting Eurosceptic positions. These theoretical propositions are illustrated in an empirical section, which analyses the stances of Eurosceptic parties from Central Europe (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) within the proposed framework.

http://www.coleurope.be/content/publications/pdf/Collegium29.pdf http://www.coleurope.be/content/publications/pdf/Collegium29.pdf

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