European Narratives and Euroscepticism in the Western Balkans and the EU

This book investigates Euroscepticism from below, from both the Right and the Left, from political parties and social movements in five countries in Europe.

Moving from a social movement perspective, this timely volume examines narratives on Euroscepticism and frames on Europe from below, at the party and social movement levels. Revealing perspectives from both the Right and the Left, it unpacks the emergence, re-emergence and increase in critical 'voices' and opposition towards Europe.

Based on extensive fieldwork in two candidate countries for accession to the EU and three member states, it offers insight from analysis of focus groups, interviews with Eurosceptic and pro-European political actors and ordinary citizens, together with frame analysis and scrutiny of archival material, electoral manifestoes and organisational documents. Revealing the development of Eurocritical frames, it demonstrates the differences and similarities in narratives used to address Europe and the conceptualisation of Euroscepticism. Key cases examined include the rise of illiberalism in post-transition Slovenia; complex Euroscepticism in Poland; the path from strong support to harsh opposition in Italy; indecision over membership in North Macedonia; anticipating the future while revisiting the past in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Offering guidelines for the direction of future research and policy, European Narratives and Euroscepticism in the Western Balkans and the EU is essential reading for scholars and students of political sociology, political science, European studies and international relations, as well as policy makers concerned with trajectories pro and against Europe and the European integration process.

Autorentext

Manuela Caiani, Associate Professor in Political Science, Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy.

Benedetta Carlotti, Researcher, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy.

Marko Lovec, Associate Professor and Research Fellow, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Faris Ko an, Researcher, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Maria Winc awska, Associate Professor of Political Science, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toru , Poland.

Adam Balcer, Program Director, Jan Nowak Jezioräski College of Eastern Europe, Poland.

Inhalt

Chapter 1. European narratives and Euroscepticism: An introduction

Chapter 2. Our cases: setting the context of political and cultural opportunities for Eurosceptic narratives

Chapter 3. A poorly contested entry to the EU, external shocks and the rise of illiberalism in Slovenian

Chapter 4. If you scratch the surface: Euroscepticism in Poland

Chapter 5. From strong support to harsh opposition to the EU: the case of Italy

Chapter 6. To join or not to join?: The case of North Macedonia.

Chapter 7. Anticipating the (European) future while revisiting the (troubled) past: the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Chapter 8. Conclusion: varieties of Euroscepticism: between parties and social movements, Left and Right, old and "newer" members