EU-scepticism as phenomenon: Transferring the concept to the Netherlands
Author
Lynggaard, Tommy
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2008
Pages
73
Abstract
I årtier blev Nederlandene set som en drivkraft bag europæisk integration, som stiftende medlem med et klart ønske om tættere samarbejde og en “stadig snævrere union”. Men i 2005 afviste de nederlandske vælgere EU’s forfatningstraktat: 61,6 % stemte nej ved en valgdeltagelse på 62,8 %. Det pegede på en mere kritisk holdning end tidligere målt. Dette speciale undersøger EU-skepsis, dvs. kritiske holdninger til Den Europæiske Union og yderligere integration. Først afklares begrebet med udgangspunkt i centrale forskere. Dernæst anvendes Kopecky og Muddes model – en ramme, der skelner mellem forskellige typer EU-skepsis – til at identificere, hvilke former der findes blandt nederlandske borgere og i det nederlandske politiske system. Analysens omdrejningspunkt er selve afvisningen i 2005, hvor Eurobarometer, EU’s meningsmålingsundersøgelse, udgør hoveddatakilden. Afslutningsvis ser specialet på nyere partipolitiske udviklinger ved at anvende modellen på partiprogrammer for at kortlægge mønstre i nederlandsk EU-skepsis.
For decades, the Netherlands was seen as a driving force behind European integration, as a founding member committed to closer cooperation and an “ever closer Union.” In 2005, however, Dutch voters rejected the European Constitutional Treaty: 61.6% voted No with a 62.8% turnout, signaling a more critical stance than had previously been recorded. This thesis examines EU-scepticism, meaning critical attitudes toward the European Union and further integration. It first clarifies the concept using key scholarly work. It then applies the Kopecky and Mudde model—a framework that distinguishes different types of EU-scepticism—to identify which forms appear among Dutch citizens and within the Dutch political system. The central focus is the 2005 rejection, for which Eurobarometer, the EU’s public opinion survey, provides the main data. Finally, the thesis considers recent party-political developments by applying the model to party programmes to map patterns of Dutch EU-scepticism.
[This summary has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]