Euroscepticism: A Pawn in the League's Agenda

Populism is becoming more and more a predominant political phenomenon with several European countries. Many are the debates concerning the real nature of populism, its political affiliation, agenda and particular features. Although there is not a comprehensive and clear definition of populism yer, many scholars have proposed a set of themes aimed at grouping populist parties according to some specific characteristics. One of these themes is Euroscepticism. Indeed, common understanding refers to populist parties as profoundly Eurosceptic. However, this thesis argues that populist parties are not intrinsically Eurosceptic, rather their Euroscepticism depends on their intrinsic need to create an adversary, an enemy to combat that can take countless forms as the European Union. This thesis investigates one example, the Italian populist 'League' party, which has recently achieved an important electoral victory. The party's ambiguous rhetoric and agenda will be considered. This in order...Show morePopulism is becoming more and more a predominant political phenomenon with several European countries. Many are the debates concerning the real nature of populism, its political affiliation, agenda and particular features. Although there is not a comprehensive and clear definition of populism yer, many scholars have proposed a set of themes aimed at grouping populist parties according to some specific characteristics. One of these themes is Euroscepticism. Indeed, common understanding refers to populist parties as profoundly Eurosceptic. However, this thesis argues that populist parties are not intrinsically Eurosceptic, rather their Euroscepticism depends on their intrinsic need to create an adversary, an enemy to combat that can take countless forms as the European Union. This thesis investigates one example, the Italian populist 'League' party, which has recently achieved an important electoral victory. The party's ambiguous rhetoric and agenda will be considered. This in order to highlight the natural behaviour of the League, always keen on identifying one enemy to battle per time. Three are the periods taken into consideration and, accordingly, three are the enemies upon which they have focused their agenda: the southerners, the European Union and the Immigrant.Show less

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Euroscepticism: A Pawn in the League's Agenda