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NATHALIEBRACK
RadicalandPopulistEuroscepticParties
atthe2014EuropeanElections:AStorminaTeacup?
TheEuropeanUnionisonceagainintheeyeofthestorm.Aftertwo
decadesoftreatyrevisionsresultingintheadoptionoftheLisbonTreatyin
2009,theongoingeconomicandfinancialcrisishasre-openeddebateson
thenatureandraisond’êtreofEuropeanintegration.TheEU’sscopefor
interventionanditslegitimacyareincreasinglybeingchallenged,especially
ineconomicgovernance.Thecurrentcontextofdemocraticmalaiseand
economiccrisishasprovidedfertilegroundfortheincreasedelectoralsuccess
ofradical,populistandEuroscepticpartiessuchastheUKIndependence
Party,theFrontNationalinFranceandtheDanishPeople’sParty.
ThisoppositiontotheEuropeanproject,labelledEuroscepticism,isfar
fromnew.Europeanintegrationhasalwaysbeenacontestedproject.TheEU
isapoliticalsysteminastateofquasi-permanentcrisis,whoseveryexistence
isfrequentlyquestionedandinwhichconstitutionalissuesarenumerous,
recurringandproblematic.1WhilesuchoppositiontotheEuropeanproject
havelongbeenseenasmarginalortemporary,thereisbroadconsensustoday
thatEuroscepticismhasnowbecomeacomplexandpersistentphenomenon
alloverEurope.2Indeed,almosteveryEUMemberStatehasatleastone
Euroscepticpartycompetinginelections,andEuropehasbecomeanissue,
ifnotadivider,inmostEuropeanpoliticalarenas.
EuroscepticismhasquicklybecomeevidentintheEuropeanParliament
(EP).Indeed,iftheEPisoftenpresentedasabastionofEurophiles,there
havebeenEuroscepticMEPssincethe1970swhohaveusedtheEuropean
1
K.Neunreither,“GovernancewithoutOpposition:TheCaseoftheEuropeanUnion,”
GovernmentandOpposition,vol.33,no.4,1998,pp.419-441.
2
S.Usherwood,N.Startin,“EuroscepticismasaPersistentPhenomenon,”Journalof
CommonMarketStudies,vol.51,no.1,2013,pp.1-16.
ThePolishQuarterlyofInternationalAffairs,2015,no.2
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