Alternate Title

European integration and the strategic use of its consequences

Advisor(s)

Amílcar Antonio Barreto

Contributor(s)

Ronald D. Hedlund (1941-), Dimitar Bechev (1975-)

Date of Award

2009

Date Accepted

12-2009

Degree Grantor

Northeastern University

Degree Level

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department or Academic Unit

College of Arts and Sciences. Department of Political Science.

Keywords

cuing, European integration, European union, Euroscepticism, political elites, strategic

Subject Categories

European Union--Public opinion, Nationalism--European Union countries, Europe--Economic integration--Public opinion, European Union countries--Politics and government--21st century

Disciplines

Political Science

Abstract

Growing evidence points to the salience of European integration in the domestic political discourse of European member-states. Party-based euroscepticism is an intense point of contestation between different schools of thought. The current study defines euroscepticism as a socially and politically constructed strategy employed by peripheral political elites. The majority of the existing research focuses on inter- or intra-party dissent as a new dimension of existing social cleavages, therefore studying the popular attitudes towards Europe in the member-states. While this approach has its merits and accounts for some of the characteristics of opposition to European integration, it does not address adequately the oscillation of marginal party positions with regard to the European issue across time and electoral systems. This work focuses on the strategic nature of party-based euroscepticism. The theoretical model offered in this study facilitates understanding the processes of issue evolution and its establishment as a salient point of contestation. The current work addresses in particular the following questions: How to explain the volatile variability of party positions with regard to European integration across electoral systems, across party blocs, and across time? What are the conditions, under which an issue, such as the European integration, is politicized and how? And what are the consequences from the politicization of the European issue for the process of political contestation?

Document Type

Dissertation

Rights Holder

Liubomir Kiriloff Topaloff


View Full Text

Click button above to open, or right-click to save.

Share

COinS