Euroscepticism in central Europe

Laure Neumayer

pp. 159-178

in: Stanislav J. Kirschbaum (ed), Central European history and the European union, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007

Abstract

The study of Euroscepticism is one of the main bodies of a larger literature that focuses on the attitudes of political parties towards European integration in old and new member states of the EU.¹ Far from being an analytical notion, the term "Euroscepticism" has a strong normative and polemical dimension that qualifies it as a political tool. Moreover, it presents a risk of "conceptual stretching" because it lumps together parties that have various political identities, express diametrically opposed views on European issues, and show different degrees of opposition to the European project. This chapter offers a critical analysis of a category that is simultaneously a buzzword in scholarly literature and a term used to disqualify political opponents.