Anger and protest: referenda and opposition to the EU in Greece and the United Kingdom

Abstract

The public image of the European Union (EU) has met increasingly negative evaluations since the economic and financial crisis hit its peak. Although opposition towards the EU has been pitched as a temporary phenomenon, it has now become a distinctive characteristic of European integration, described as ‘embedded’. Recent analyses on citizens’ attitudes towards the EU underline a rational utilitarian dimension, stressing that EU attachment is affected by future life expectations. Are rationalist perspectives the only possible explanation behind the rise of Euroscepticism, though? This article offers an alternative approach, by using discourse analysis, and examines how emotions, as embedded in Eurosceptic discursive frames and practices, may affect attitudes towards the EU. We argue that an analysis of citizens’ opposition through emotions when the salience of the EU increases can show how a Eurosceptic emotion-laden public discourse may become prominent at the domestic level.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank Jason Glynos and Yannis Stavrakakis for their helpful comments and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive criticism.

Notes

² See also the categorization of most-visited Greek portals according to Alexa traffic rank at https://www.topgr.gr/index.php?sort=rank&category=2

³ To be precise, we examine the blog entries and accompanying comments of ‘The world of tomorrow’ from 10 June, 29 June, 6 July and 9 July and the blog entry and comments of ‘Economic controversies’ from 30 June.

⁴ The story of Switzerland and Norway being role models to follow has often frequented the British press, reinforcing the prevalent Eurosceptic discourse in the country (Hawkins 2015).