‘Who is Telling us What to Do?’: The Role of Directness of EU Policy Influence on Frame Building by Eurosceptical Parties in the Context of Politicisation of European Integration

This thesis analyses the role of directness of EU policy influence on the frame building by Eurosceptical parties in the context of politicisation of European integration. The thesis consists of a structured focused comparison of two cases in which domestic policy contestation took place regarding two European(ised) issues that differed in regards to the directness of EU policy influence present. These cases concern the EU’s ban on pulse fishing and the Dutch nitrogen crisis. In analysing the frame building present in each case an inductive qualitative content analysis is conducted on parliamentary contributions by the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV) and Forum for Democracy (FvD) and their party manifestos are reviewed. The findings show that although both topics as such have become politicised in the domestic arena the frame building differs per case. When EU policy influence can be considered more direct, frames more directly involve the European dimension and tap more into external...Show moreThis thesis analyses the role of directness of EU policy influence on the frame building by Eurosceptical parties in the context of politicisation of European integration. The thesis consists of a structured focused comparison of two cases in which domestic policy contestation took place regarding two European(ised) issues that differed in regards to the directness of EU policy influence present. These cases concern the EU’s ban on pulse fishing and the Dutch nitrogen crisis. In analysing the frame building present in each case an inductive qualitative content analysis is conducted on parliamentary contributions by the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV) and Forum for Democracy (FvD) and their party manifestos are reviewed. The findings show that although both topics as such have become politicised in the domestic arena the frame building differs per case. When EU policy influence can be considered more direct, frames more directly involve the European dimension and tap more into external EU delegitimising discourses. However, when EU policy influence can be considered more indirect the domestic dimension is addressed more prominently and focus lies more on chastising the government and disputing the issue on party ideological grounds. These findings hint at the potential causal relevance of such a concept of ‘directness of EU policy influence’ that consolidates insights from the literature on Europeanisation and Multi-Level Blame Games. The thesis forwards a conceptualisation of this directness involving (1) the underlying authority structure of the European(ised) policy, (2) the degree of policy misfit it involves, (3) the soft or hard nature of the policy and (4) the visibility of the European dimension in the policy. The insights of the thesis might be of interests to scholars of politicisation of European integration, particularly post-functionalist scholars, as they help illuminate how the politicisation of a European(ised) policy does not necessarily bring about equivalent politicisation of European integration as a whole.Show less

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‘Who is Telling us What to Do?’: The Role of Directness of EU Policy Influence on Frame Building by Eurosceptical Parties in the Context of Politicisation of European Integration