Euroscepticism Concept in International Relations

Abstract

The article explores Euroscepticism as public’s critical, skeptical attitude towards the European Union, the processes of political and economic integration of European countries and European-wide politics. It is noted that the emergence of Euroscepticism is a logical phenomenon in democratic societies since it demonstrates how much a nation is ready to accept or resist various global cataclysms, entities and challenges. In the early 1950s European states are challenged to create a new type of international organization to involve very close relations between its members.

It has been analyzed that Euroscepticism as an ideological trend has been developed in many European countries. In the first studies Euroscepticism is defined only as insufficient support for the further process of European integration. In the future, the phenomenon is described as total or partial opposition to the integration process. Nowadays Euroscepticism encompasses all political forces that do not support the European idea or its institutional embodiment.

It is proved that the conventional theory of Euroscepticism has not been able to be developed to date due to the lack of a unified view of the problem and terminology. Most often scholars adhere to the concept of British political scientists P. Taggart and A. Shcherbiak dividing all Eurocritics into moderate or radical ones. The former are opposed to certain policy measures and institutional aspects of integration, without questioning the idea of a united Europe. The latter is in principle opposition to the project of European integration and they are in favor of their countries leaving the EU.

The conclusion states that Euroscepticism is free flow of European states or a kind of European regionalism supported by representatives of various political and ideological trends. Proponents of Euroscepticism fear the loss of national sovereignty of their states and therefore stand in support of nation states and their sovereignty. The Eurosceptics goals from different countries are also significantly different: some seek the exit of their countries from the EU or the eurozone, others are in favor of the Union reform but remaining its full member.