Varieties of Euroscepticism: The Case of the European Extreme Right

Abstract

The European extreme right has been understood as a monolithic entity regarding its Euroscepticism. Contrary to this, it is demonstrated in this article that in fact the extreme right adopts varying positions on Europe. Theoretically, party positions on Europe are conceptualised as a three-fold dimension, namely positions on first the principle, second the practice, and third the future of EU cooperation. From this, three types of Euroscepticism are identified. First, the ‘rejecting’ type comprising parties against all abovementioned dimensions. Second, the ‘conditional’ type containing parties not against the principle of EU cooperation but against its practice and its future. Third, the ‘compromising’ type including parties accepting both the principle and the practice of EU cooperation but opposing further integration. In accounting for this diversity, the article concludes that first, the parties displaying strong authoritarian values reject Europe regardless of their economic policy. Second, the parties refraining from ‘rejecting’ Euroscepticism support centrist and capitalist economic policies displaying comparatively less authoritarian values.