Giorgos Charalambous

All the shades of red: examining the radical left's Euroscepticism

This paper seeks to apply the relevance of Euroscepticism literature to the study of radical left party outlooks on European integration and by doing so: (1) outlines general patterns of opposition to European integration, by 11 radical left parties that are housed in the European United Left/Nordic Green Left group of the European Parliament, in the 1990s and beyond; (2) assesses the congruence between the outlooks of these parties or the lack thereof; and (3) illuminates the factors conditioning these outlooks by addressing the ideology–strategy debate. To this end, the paper employs two, widely referenced and historically relevant, analytical frameworks of party-based Euroscepticism (by Paul Taggart and Aleks Szczerbiak, and by Petr Kopecký and Cas Mudde), and applies them to the radical left as a whole and its various sub-sets, as identified by the literature so far. The analysis leads to the following three findings. First, a moderating approach can be observed on average, thus leading to an increase in overall congruence. Second, congruence increases slightly, as we move towards a more specific typology but overall no systematic congruence is to be found in the radical left as a whole or most of its sub-sets, in the period examined. Third, while ideology carries causal weight, strategy appears more prominent as a conditioning factor of outlooks.

The political contestation of European integration in Southern Europe: Friction among and within parties

The ways in which political actors form positions on European integration in the face of exogenous shocks, such as the financial crisis that spilled over to the Eurozone countries, have become a key question in studies of politics in Europe. In the article, we show that party system polarization over European integration has increased during the crisis, but only with respect to the parties’ public stance. Instead, the crisis does not appear to pose a real threat to the consensus on the European Union among party elites serving in public office, which remains almost as strong as before. Hence, a so far unconsidered consequence of the crisis may concern a mounting tension inside political parties, between a leadership that is more sensitive to popular pressures and to Euroscepticism and public office holders that reiterate the traditional elite consensus on Europe.

Realignment and Entrenchment: The Europeanisation of Rifondazione Comunista

Abstract This study explores the impact of European integration on Rifondazione Comunista, through a conceptual approach that draws upon the Europeanisation literature and evaluates two sub-processes: (1) positional realignment towards European integration and (2) the entrenchment by the party of an EU dimension of issues and activities. The empirical evidence and analysis presented draws upon the partys functions of patterns of party competition, programmatic change and affiliations beyond the national party system. Findings show that Rifondazione gradually increased the use of the issue of European integration in an attempt to differentiate its European vision, thus presenting the EU as a necessary terrain of struggle. Second, it underwent slight programmatic and attitudinal realignment towards a softer approach. The intervening variables conditioning each sub-process reflect a nuanced picture, with most identified factors playing a role. These factors also reflect the wider patterns of Italian politics observed so far, allowing us to highlight the significance of national and party specificities in party-based Europeanisation.

Political Dissatisfaction and Decline of Party Identification: Societal Depoliticisation in the Republic of Cyprus (2006–2012)

Societal depoliticisation refers to disenchantment with politics at the electorate level. Societal depoliticisation, however, is studied conceptually; thus, empirical studies about its determinants or the association between societal and “conventional” depoliticisation remain largely unclear. Using party identification as an indicator of societal depoliticisation, this chapter tries to explain the decline in partisanship/party identification among Cypriots. The Republic of Cyprus is an European Union (EU) country that had the highest levels of party identification. However, the period between 2006 and 2012 saw a dramatic decline. Relying on survey data and additionally employing literature review and qualitative interviews with citizens to give meaning to the correlation found in the survey analysis, this chapter shows that political dissatisfaction played a significant part in the drop in party identification in Cyprus.