The National Traditions According to Populist Parties and Their Consequences for Euroscepticism
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The national traditions according to populist parties and their consequences for Euroscepticism MA Thesis in European Studies Graduate School for Humanities Universiteit van Amsterdam Author: Bernadet Neven Student Number: 10547339 Main Supervisor: dr. R.J. de Bruin Second Supervisor: dr. A. van Heerikhuizen January, 2018 Preface In front of you, you have the thesis “The national traditions according to populist parties and their consequences for Euroscepticism”. This has been written by a qualitative testing method. The thesis is written within the framework of my graduation for the master European Policy at the University of Amsterdam. From March 2017 until January 2018 I have worked on this research. Together with my thesis supervisor, Robin de Bruin, I conceptualized the research question for this thesis. After a lot of improving the question and the content of the thesis, I managed to answer the research question. During my research, my supervisor, Robin de Bruin, helped a lot. With many meetings and feedback, this is the end result. Hereby, I would like to thank my thesis supervisor, Robin de Bruin, a lot with the great guidance and support during this process. At the same time, I would like to thank my friends and family for brainstorming with me about this topic and for supporting me morally during this writing process. I wish you a lot of pleasure reading this thesis. Bernadet Neven Amsterdam, January 15th 2018. Abstract Euroscepticism is of all times. It had its ups and downs, but Euroscepticism already occurred since the beginning of the European cooperation. Since the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty, Euroscepticism had many peaks, for example with the Big Bang in 2004 and the euro crisis in 2008. Partly thanks to the rise of populist parties, the EU finds itself in heavy weathers these days. Populist parties always think that the national history and traditions of their own country is most important, but is this also the main cause of Euroscepticism? In this thesis, this question has been researched on the basis of three populist parties: Front National from France, Alternative für Deutschland from Germany and Partij voor de Vrijheid from the Netherlands. A first important thing that immediately comes forward in the existing literature, is the fact that there are several types of Euroscepticism. In this thesis, one will find out that national histories and traditions are definitely not the only driver of Euroscepticism; other events also contribute to Euroscepticism, such as the euro crisis. Table of contents Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 British Euroscepticism as paradigm ....................................................................................... 5 Evolution of Euroscepticism ................................................................................................... 6 Differences in Euroscepticism ................................................................................................ 8 British Euroscepticism compared to continental Euroscepticism ....................................... 11 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 12 Migration processes ................................................................................................................ 13 Colonial migration ................................................................................................................ 14 Labour migration .................................................................................................................. 16 Refugee migration ................................................................................................................ 18 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 22 Using national past ................................................................................................................. 23 Front National vs. Charles de Gaulle .................................................................................... 24 Charles de Gaulle ......................................................................................................... 25 Alternative für Deutschland vs. Konrad Adenauer ............................................................... 29 Konrad Adenauer .......................................................................................................... 30 Partij voor de Vrijheid vs. Willem Drees ............................................................................. 34 Willem Drees ................................................................................................................ 35 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 39 Using traditional enemies and allies ..................................................................................... 40 Russian threat vs. populism .................................................................................................. 41 NATO vs. populism .............................................................................................................. 46 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 50 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 51 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 54 1. Introduction “Seizing on Euroscepticism and anti-immigration sentiment in the face of the refugee crisis, populist right-wing parties have managed to attract voters from across the political spectrum.”1 According to The Telegraph populism is rising in Europe and the main driver of this populism is Euroscepticism. Populism is not very new in Europe, however, the combination of a rise in populism and Euroscepticism is relatively new. Eurosceptics are citizens or politicians who present themselves as critical to the European Union. The EU takes, according to Eurosceptics, the power away from their national government and poses a threat to national sovereignty.2 However, one must be careful with the term Euroscepticism. Where Euroscepticism is adopted in the context of national political debates, it assumes a meaning which must be understood to the different national traditions and experiences of European integration which frames these debates.3 Although we must be careful with the term, many common factors contributed to the fact that people became Eurosceptic. Take for example the refugee crisis as The Telegraph also mentioned: how the EU is handling this crisis is disapproved by a lot of European citizens. Populistic parties used this disapproval to gain popularity in several countries and spark Euroscepticism. However, the handling of the refugee crisis is obviously not the only reason that made many Europeans Eurosceptic. Another factor could be, for example, the national history of the countries. In this thesis, I will research this factor by questioning whether national history is used against the EU, according to populist parties. These parties argue that every time European integration will be expanded, the national states have less influence in the EU. In this thesis it is important to research the perception of these parties when it comes to national history and traditions. How do they use these history and traditions against the EU. Since the EU is too big to research every country, the thesis will focus on three countries: France, Germany and the Netherlands. 1 Ashley Kirk. 2017. How the rise of the populist far right has swept through Europe in 2017. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/24/rise-populist-far-right-has-swept-europe-2017/. Accessed on: October 24th, 2017. 2 Euractiv. 2013. Euroscepticism: more than a British phenomenon. http://www.euractiv.com/section/med- south/linksdossier/euroscepticism-more-than-a-british-phenomenon/. Accessed on: July 12th, 2017. 3 Will Carter. 2016. A Guide to Europe’s key Eurosceptic Parties, and how Successful they are. http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/brexit/2016/08/guide-europe-s-key-eurosceptic-parties-and-how- successful-they-are. Accessed on: May 17th, 2017. 1 But first of all, what is populism exactly? According to the dictionary, populism is “a political approach that strives to appeal ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups”.4 The book of Anselmi goes further than this; populism is a demand for more democracy on the part of citizens. Anselmi argues that populism refers to a complexity of phenomena which are key to democracy.5 More important is the definition of radical right- wing populism, because I will research this type of populism in my thesis: “The new radical right-wing parties share an emphasis on ethno-nationalism rooted in myths about the distant past. Their program is directed toward strengthening the nation by making it more ethnically homogeneous and by returning to traditional values.”6 Although all three definitions are slightly different, all are telling us that citizens and the populist party as well are dissatisfied with the national ruling; they want