Abstract
A number of suggestions about the source and nature of Euroskepticism have been put forward over the last few decades, but none of these broad definitions truly capture the phenomenon in all of the European Union’s member states. In the United Kingdom, the member state often cited as one of the most Euroskeptic, a unique set of economic, political and socio-cultural circumstances create a particular brand of Euroskepticism. While British Euroskepticism follows some common characteristics and patterns to other member states, it nevertheless relies on a pervasive, psychological, wide-scale nationalist sentiment to a degree not seen in other member states.
This thesis begins with an overall examination of Euroskepticism in the EU-15, testing possible definitions and characteristics that might hold true throughout all member states. Specifically, the national political ideology is tested against various possible sources of Euroskepticism, in order to both affirm the role of ideology in the formation of Euroskeptic attitudes and to test whether certain attitudes can be equated to Euroskepticism. The thesis then examines the example of Great Britain, drawing from regression data to make comparisons between Britain and the rest of the EU member states. Interest is given to the ebb and flow of Euroskeptic attitudes over time, the rightward ideological trend of Euroskepticism of late, as well as the specific role of political parties in shaping attitudes towards the European Union in the publics of member states. While the role of ideology is shown to be important, the presence of other critical factors (i.e. levels of nationalism, status as a recipient or contributor state, and salience of the European integration issue in domestic party politics) is shown to manipulate the overall level of Euroskepticism in member states.
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