Authors: Stijn van Kessel, Nicola Chelotti, Helen Drake, Juan Roch, Patricia Rodi
Affiliation: Queen Mary University of London
Organization/Publisher: Sage
Date/Place: January 3, 2020, London, U.K.
Type of Literature: Journal Article
Number of Pages: 20
Link:https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1369148119886213
Keywords: Brexit, Euroscepticism, Politicization, Populism, Radical right
Brief:
European Union has been seen as an ideal example of economic, social and political integration by most of the liberal commentators. The institutional process of enlarging and deepening the boundaries of EU, motivated several under-developed States to raise their standards of socio-economic institutions, in terms of getting accession. But after the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom in 2016, the Eurosceptic voices became louder. This paper analyzes the motivational factors behind Euroscepticism in France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. The study is based on interviews of masses and Populist Radical Right parties regarding the potential determinants of their respective campaigns. Interestingly, the result shows that radical right parties are not centralizing their themes around Brexit, although they have unconditionally supported it. Whereas, their primary focus is to instigate the masses regarding issues of national sovereignty, open borders, mass immigrations and economic deprivation as being inside the chains of EU. This study concludes that the complex process of Brexit is a demotivating factor for Populist Radical Right; therefore, in the near future more withdrawals are not possible. The only possible scenario is if a political entrepreneur is able to formulate a convincing strategy for a smooth exit from EU.
By: Muhammad Taimoor Bin Tanveer, CIGA Research Associate
