United in diversity: examining the diverging attitudes towards the European Union on the ideological fringes

Abstract

Despite their partial move towards the political mainstream, radical right and radical left parties are still habitually considered as ardently sceptical towards European Union. Recent scholarship has, however, observed that the nature of radical right and radical left Euroscepticism is not as uniform as previously expected. In this article, I provide support for the argument that both the radical right and the radical left family are, in terms of standpoints towards the European Union, united in diversity; both families include parties with a variety of positions, ranging from hardline Euroscepticism to soft criticism and acceptance. More importantly, the article also examines the possible reasons underlying these differences. Using the policy, office or votes-framework, it provides robust support for the view that radical right and radical left parties’ attitudes towards the current European integration process are shaped by their overall (sociocultural and socioeconomic) policy profiles rather than by office- or vote-seeking incentives.