Love me, love me not… A typology of public euroscepticism

This paper demonstrates the multifaceted nature of public euroscepticism, which hitherto has been under researched. Through a theoretically - and empirically informed concept
analysis, the relevance of four independent types of euroscepticism is confirmed, namely utilitarian, sovereignty-based, democratic and social euroscepticism. Applying this typology, the paper demonstrates pronounced differences in euroscepticism across member states and over time. A central argument is that euroscepticism assumes forms that are contradictory, and that this has consequences for the success of pan-European strategies and communication plans: What citizens want from the EU differs from member state to member state, and insensitivity to the various types of scepticism may result in counterproductive efforts.

Website: European Parties Elections and Referendums Network (EPERN) http://www.sussex.ac.uk/sei/1-4-2.html

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