Award Date

May 2017

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Political Science

First Committee Member

Christian B. Jensen

Second Committee Member

David Damore

Third Committee Member

Michele Kuenzi

Fourth Committee Member

Robert Futrell

Number of Pages

142

Abstract

Eurosceptic political parties are predicted to over perform in second-order elections such as the European Parliamentary (EP) elections. Yet, not all eurosceptic parties have been successful in taking electoral advantage of their second-order electoral benefits. I argue that EP voters respond to EP legislative behavior and reward eurosceptic parties that actively oppose the EU by posing questions and attending plenary sessions, while EP voters punish eurosceptic parties that do not actively participate in the EP. Furthermore, the media provide the vital link between eurosceptic party EP legislative engagement and EP voters by providing increased levels of media exposure for engaged eurosceptic parties. There is an electoral benefit to public grandstanding, and eurosceptics who engage strategically are able to tap into EP voter malaise in ways that extend beyond mere anti-EU ideology.

Keywords

European Parliament; Euroscepticism; Legislative Behavior; Second-Order Elections

Disciplines

Political Science

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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