PARTY-LEVEL EUROSCEPTICISM OF THE RADICAL POPULIST POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES: THE CASES OF THE UNITED KINGDOM INDEPENDENCE PARTY (UKIP) AND THE COALITION OF THE RADICAL LEFT (SYRIZA) A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY EBRU ECE ÖZBEY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EUROPEAN STUDIES SEPTEMBER 2016 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Tülin GENÇÖZ Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Galip YALMAN Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özgehan ŞENYUVA Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zana ÇITAK (METU, IR) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özgehan ŞENYUVA (METU, IR) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dimitris TSAROUHAS (Bilkent Uni., IR) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name: Ebru Ece ÖZBEY Signature: iii ABSTRACT PARTY-LEVEL EUROSCEPTICISM OF THE RADICAL POPULIST POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES: THE CASES OF THE UNITED KINGDOM INDEPENDENCE PARTY (UKIP) AND THE COALITION OF THE RADICAL LEFT (SYRIZA) ÖZBEY, Ebru Ece Master of Science, Department of European Studies Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özgehan ŞENYUVA September 2016, 159 pages In this thesis, I investigate the strategic and ideological aspects of the Euroscepticisms of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) as examples of radical populist parties which have been on the rise in Europe for the last three decades –especially since the 2014 European Parliamentary elections. I contest the way these parties are represented in media and academia, which is often alarmist and devoid of nuance, and claim that deeming these parties as a threat to the European integration without considering their historical and ontological differences is a capital mistake, as these parties’ perceptions of and expectations from the European integration are often very diverse. In order to reveal the specific elements of each parties’ Euroscepticism, I first examine their radicalism and populism both as an ideology and as a way of political communication. Then, I disintegrate the parties’ discourses on the European issue into four dimensions, Economic, Political, Cultural, and Legal and three categories, Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Motivation. Pursuant to an in-depth analysis of the selected parties’ and leaders’ Eurosceptic rhetoric, I iv demonstrate that while SYRIZA and UKIP share some similarities with regard to their strategic considerations, their ideological inheritances rigorously separate them in terms of their stances vis-à-vis the European Union. In conclusion, I assert that the former is critical of the Union’s current status but eager to take part in the integration with a more supranational nature, but the latter rejects to be involved in such an integration and calls for withdrawal from the Union. Keywords: Euroscepticism, Radicalism, Populism, United Kingdom Independence Party, Coalition of the Radical Left v ÖZ AVRUPA BİRLİĞİ ÜYE ÜLKELERİNDEKİ RADİKAL POPULİST SİYASİ PARTİLERİN PARTİ-DÜZEY AVRUPA ŞÜPHECİLİĞİ: BİRLEŞİK KRALLIK BAĞIMSIZLIK PARTİSİ (UKIP) VE RADİKAL SOL KOALİSYON (SYRIZA) ÖRNEKLERİ ÖZBEY, Ebru Ece Yüksek Lisans, Avrupa Çalışmaları Bölümü Tez Danışmanı: Doç. Dr. Özgehan ŞENYUVA Eylül 2016, 159 sayfa Bu tezde, Avrupa’da özellikle 2014 Avrupa Parlamentosu seçimlerinden bu yana olmak üzere son otuz yıldır yükselişte olan radikal popülist siyasi partilerden olan Birleşik Krallık Bağımsızlık Partisi’nin (UKIP) ve Radikal Sol Koalisyon’un (SYRIZA) Avrupa Şüpheciliği’nin ideolojik ve stratejik yönlerini araştırmaktayım. Bu partilerin medyada ve akademide genellikle nüanstan yoksun ve panik yaratan bir şekilde yer bulmasına karşı çıkmakta ve söz konusu partilerin Avrupa bütünleşmesine ilişkin algıları ve beklentileri genellikle büyük ayrışmalar gösterdiğinden, kendilerinin, tarihsel ve ontolojik farklılıkları göze alınmaksızın Avrupa bütünleşmesine bir tehdit olarak addedilmelerinin büyük bir hata olduğunu iddia etmekteyim. Her iki partinin Avrupa Şüpheciliği’ne dair özel unsurları ortaya koyabilmek adına, önce, radikalizmi ve populizmi hem bir ideoloji hem de bir siyasi iletişim biçimi olarak incelemekteyim. Daha sonra, partilerin Avrupa konusundaki söylemlerini Ekonomik, Politik, Kültürel, Yasal olmak üzere dört boyuta ve Tanı, Tedavi, Amaç olmak üzere üç kategoriye ayırmaktayım. Seçilmiş partilerin ve parti liderlerinin Avrupa Birliği’ne ilişkin şüpheci retoriklerinin detaylı analizine vi verdiğim referanslarla, SYRIZA’nın ve UKIP’in stratejik değerlendirmeler açısından benzerlikler gösterdiklerini, ancak bu partilerin Avrupa Birliği karşısındaki duruşlarının, ideolojik mirasları söz konusu olduğunda keskin bir biçimde ayrıldığını göstermekteyim. Sonuç olarak, SYRIZA’nın Birlik’in mevcut durumuna karşı eleştirel bir tavır sergiler iken ulusüstü niteliklerin daha baskın olduğu bir entegrasyonda yer almaya istekli olduğunu, UKIP’in ise buna benzer bir entegrasyona dâhil olma fikrini reddederek Avrupa Birliği’nden ayrılmak için çağrıda bulunduğunu ortaya koymaktayım. Anahtar Kelimeler: Avrupa Şüpheciliği, Popülizm, Radikalizm, Birleşik Krallık Bağımsızlık Partisi, Radikal Sol Koalisyon vii To my dear family, for their endless support and devotion viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It has been a period of intense learning for me, not only in the scientific arena, but also on a personal level. It is a pleasure to thank the many people who have supported and helped me throughout this period. This thesis owes its existence to you. Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özgehan Şenyuva for his continuous support, patience, and encouragement. His guidance helped me in all the time of research and writing of this thesis. He is not only the best advisor I could ever imagine but also a great source of inspiration for me to become a great academician one day. I also would like to thank Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zana Çıtak and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dimitris Tsarouhas for their insightful comments and contributions, but also for the hard questions which incented me to widen my research from various perspectives. My special thanks to my dear family, Ayla Özbey, Murat Ziya Özbey, Efe Emre Özbey, and Kübra İşekaçan for encouraging me in all of my pursuits and inspiring me to follow my dreams. You are the closest to my heart and without you, I would not be the person I am. I cannot overstate my gratitude to Hakan Çetinkaya who has lived through this hard process with me and yet, did not only tirelessly show his kindness but also helped me with every detail he could. You should know that I would be lost without you. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all my friends, for listening to my constant complaints, offering me advice, and constantly supporting me –to Ceren Korkmaz in particular, for her matchless friendship since 1997 and her contributions! My dearest Merve Sivri, Koray Muratoğlu, Didem Türe, Çağlar Şakar, and Dilege Gülmez thank you for always being there for me and bearing all ix the social media posts of mine! Yunus Kaan Akıncı and Ömer Güneş, I know that you will always be there to save the day and I cannot thank you enough for that! The beloved members of the “Thesis Squad”, Ecem Gizem Hüner, Eda Ceren Güngör, and Erse Kahraman-, you show know that those sleepless nights at the office would not be this fun without you. I also owe many thanks to the members of the Center for European Studies for their understanding and warm help during this time. A special mention goes to Nurdan Selay Bedir for taking on all the work and to Eleonora Tafuro her useful comments and filling with my belly with all kinds of food! Lastly, I would like to thank my babies, Anakin and Luke, for cheering me up when I finally get home every day. Nothing makes me feel better than a warm hug from my cats! I do not want to leave anyone out but in case I already did, you, mysterious stranger, should know that every contribution you have made to this thesis meant the world to me. I am tremendously fortunate to have wonderful people like you in my life. Thank you all once again with all my heart. x TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM ...................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... iv ÖZ .......................................................................................................................... vi DEDICATION ..................................................................................................... viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................... ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................ xiii LIST