Euroscepticism has become a central feature of political debate across Europe, but it encompasses a wide range of positions towards European integration and the European Union. It may involve opposition to particular EU policies, concerns about sovereignty and democratic accountability, demands for institutional reform, or more fundamental rejection of the direction or legitimacy of European integration. While the distinction between “hard” and “soft” Euroscepticism has played an influential role in the literature, contemporary forms of EU contestation increasingly challenge simple classifications.
The meaning and expression of Euroscepticism have also changed over time. Economic crises, migration, Brexit, geopolitical insecurity, changing party systems, and debates over national and European identity have all reshaped the ways citizens, parties, movements, and governments engage with the European project. In some contexts, Euroscepticism is associated with demands to withdraw from or resist further integration; in others, it is articulated through attempts to redefine the priorities, institutions, and political direction of the EU from within.
This Collection examines Euroscepticism as a political, social, cultural, and institutional phenomenon. We are particularly interested in how opposition to, criticism of, or dissatisfaction with European integration is constructed, mobilised, and transformed across different political and historical contexts. Contributions may explore the relationship between Euroscepticism and questions of sovereignty, representation, democratic legitimacy, identity, inequality, political trust, and competing understandings of Europe.
We welcome submissions from political science, sociology, law, history, communication studies, economics, political theory, and related disciplines. The Collection invites theoretical, empirical, historical, and comparative research examining both established and emerging forms of Euroscepticism, as well as the ways European institutions, governments, parties, and citizens respond to changing attitudes towards integration.
Suggested themes include, but are not limited to:
- Theories, concepts, and changing definitions of Euroscepticism
- The historical development of opposition to European integration
- Post-Brexit transformations of Eurosceptic politics
- Euroscepticism and competing visions of European integration
- Reformist, rejectionist, and alternative models of European cooperation
- Euroscepticism within mainstream and challenger parties
- Political mobilisation, electoral competition, and EU contestation
- Public attitudes towards the EU, integration, and European institutions
- Sovereignty, democratic legitimacy, and political representation
- National, regional, and European identities
- Euroscepticism, populism, and radical politics
- Economic inequality, insecurity, and attitudes towards European integration
- Migration, borders, and the politics of European belonging
- Media, political communication, and representations of the EU
- Generational and social differences in attitudes towards European integration
- Euroscepticism across different national and regional contexts
- Legal and constitutional contestation of European integration
- Differentiated integration and changing models of EU membership
- The international and geopolitical dimensions of Euroscepticism
- Future visions of Europe and the changing boundaries of European political cooperation
We invite contributions using qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, comparative, and theoretical approaches. By bringing together different disciplinary and methodological perspectives, this Collection aims to deepen understanding of how Euroscepticism is changing, what drives its different forms, and what these developments reveal about the contested nature and future direction of European integration.
Editors
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