Turning against the union? The impact of the crisis on the Eurosceptic vote in the 2014 European Parliament elections

Hobolt, Sara B. and de Vries, Catherine E. (2016) Turning against the union? The impact of the crisis on the Eurosceptic vote in the 2014 European Parliament elections. Electoral Studies . ISSN 0261-3794 (In Press)

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Abstract

The 2014 European Parliament elections were held against the backdrop of the worst economic crisis in post-war Europe. The elections saw an unprecedented surge in support for Eurosceptic parties. This raises the question of whether the crisis, and the EU's response to it, can explain the rise of Eurosceptic parties. Our analysis of the 2014 European Election Study demonstrates that the degree to which individuals were adversely affected by the crisis and their discontent with the EU's handling of the crisis are major factors in explaining defection from mainstream pro-European to Eurosceptic parties in these elections. This suggests that far from being second-order national elections concerned only with domestic politics, European issues had a significant impact on vote choices.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://www.journals.elsevier.com/electoral-studies
Additional Information:	© 2016 Elsevier Ltd.
Library of Congress subject classification:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe)
Sets:	Departments > European Institute
Date Deposited:	10 Jun 2016 14:02
URL:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/66831/

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