What theories explain the rise of Euroscepticism?

Abstract

The predictions of Henry Kissinger regarding the imminent collapse of the European Union did not happen. Nevertheless, painstakingly strengthening Euroscepticism totters the very idea and the foundations of unity in the Old Continent. The reasons behind Euroscepticism are variable from country to country stretching from concerns about democratic deficit of the EU to fears to lose the national identity. In almost all the EU member states the so-called Eurosceptic parties are operating. Notably, some of them have quite a coarse approach towards European integration thus rejecting it outright. However, there are also so-called soft Eurosceptic parties that disagree with the Union institutions on certain issues. Moreover, the overall turnout in the EU Parliament elections shows decreasing tendency, while the Eurosceptic parties further reinforce their presence in the hemicycle after each and every election. The analysis based on the survey data shows that in 2014 EU Parliament elections, the UK voters voted for the Eurosceptic parties not because of drastic opposition towards government policy vector, but because of dissatisfaction of EU politics, policies and polity. Therefore, the EU-issue voting theory has the biggest explanatory power to elucidate the considerations of the UK voters during 2014 EU Parliament elections.