Catherine E. de Vries: Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration

The European Union (EU) is facing one of the rockiest periods in its existence. At no time in its history has it looked so economically fragile, so insecure about how to protect its borders, so divided over how to tackle the crisis of legitimacy facing its institutions, and so under assault by Euro...

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Main Author: Jan Kovář
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of International Relations Prague 2021-03-01
Series:Czech Journal of International Relations
Online Access:https://cjir.iir.cz/index.php/cjir/article/view/64
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author Jan Kovář
author_facet Jan Kovář
author_sort Jan Kovář
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description The European Union (EU) is facing one of the rockiest periods in its existence. At no time in its history has it looked so economically fragile, so insecure about how to protect its borders, so divided over how to tackle the crisis of legitimacy facing its institutions, and so under assault by Eurosceptic parties. The unprecedented levels of integration in recent decades have led to increased public contestation, yet at the same the EU is more reliant on public support for its continued legitimacy than ever before. This book examines the role of public opinion in the European integration process. It develops a novel theory of public opinion that stresses the deep interconnectedness between people’s views about European and national politics. It suggests that public opinion cannot simply be characterized as either Eurosceptic or not, but rather that it consists of different types. This is important because these types coincide with fundamentally different views about the way the EU should be reformed and which policy priorities should be pursued. These types also have very different consequences for behaviour in elections and referendums. Euroscepticism is such a diverse phenomenon because the Eurozone crisis has exacerbated the structural imbalances within the EU. As the economic and political fates of member states have diverged, people’s experiences with and evaluations of the EU and national political systems have also grown further apart. The heterogeneity in public preferences that this book has uncovered makes a one-size-fits-all approach to addressing Euroscepticism unlikely to be successful.
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spelling doaj.art-dfc9ddb18bf4493fb3b94dd7f2f9ab692023-03-13T08:54:12ZengInstitute of International Relations PragueCzech Journal of International Relations0323-18442570-94292021-03-01561Catherine E. de Vries: Euroscepticism and the Future of European IntegrationJan Kovář0Institute of International Relations, Prague, Czech Republic The European Union (EU) is facing one of the rockiest periods in its existence. At no time in its history has it looked so economically fragile, so insecure about how to protect its borders, so divided over how to tackle the crisis of legitimacy facing its institutions, and so under assault by Eurosceptic parties. The unprecedented levels of integration in recent decades have led to increased public contestation, yet at the same the EU is more reliant on public support for its continued legitimacy than ever before. This book examines the role of public opinion in the European integration process. It develops a novel theory of public opinion that stresses the deep interconnectedness between people’s views about European and national politics. It suggests that public opinion cannot simply be characterized as either Eurosceptic or not, but rather that it consists of different types. This is important because these types coincide with fundamentally different views about the way the EU should be reformed and which policy priorities should be pursued. These types also have very different consequences for behaviour in elections and referendums. Euroscepticism is such a diverse phenomenon because the Eurozone crisis has exacerbated the structural imbalances within the EU. As the economic and political fates of member states have diverged, people’s experiences with and evaluations of the EU and national political systems have also grown further apart. The heterogeneity in public preferences that this book has uncovered makes a one-size-fits-all approach to addressing Euroscepticism unlikely to be successful. https://cjir.iir.cz/index.php/cjir/article/view/64
spellingShingle Jan Kovář
Catherine E. de Vries: Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration
Czech Journal of International Relations
title Catherine E. de Vries: Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration
title_full Catherine E. de Vries: Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration
title_fullStr Catherine E. de Vries: Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration
title_full_unstemmed Catherine E. de Vries: Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration
title_short Catherine E. de Vries: Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration
title_sort catherine e de vries euroscepticism and the future of european integration
url https://cjir.iir.cz/index.php/cjir/article/view/64
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