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Introduction

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Opposing Europe in the European Parliament

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics ((PSEUP))

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Abstract

The European Union (EU) is once again in the midst of a storm. The ongoing economic crisis, the migration crisis and the Brexit have reopened debates and provoked tensions on the nature and “raison d’être” of European integration. These crises, combined with the current context of democratic malaise, provide fertile ground for the success of radical, populist and Eurosceptic parties, especially during the 2014 EP elections. As such, this opposition to the European project is far from new, and Eurosceptics have constituted a persistent minority in the EP for more than 40 years. But limited attention has been devoted to Euroscepticism within the supranational chamber. This introductory chapter explains why it matters to analyse Eurosceptic MEPs and their strategies. It also sets out the research design followed in the book and presents the data and the methodology.

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Brack, N. (2018). Introduction. In: Opposing Europe in the European Parliament. Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60201-5_1

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