Dutch Euroscepticism: The Manifestation of Pre-Financial Crisis Fears in Post- Financial Crisis Politics and Voting Patterns

This paper seeks to explain the recent rise in Dutch Euroscepticism, especially in the wake of the Great Recession and the Euro Crisis. The rise of Eurosceptic sentiment reflects more than just a “left-” versus “right-wing” political divide in Dutch politics; rather, it signals an increasingly prevalent divide between pro-EU and anti-EU voters and policies. Though Eurosceptic sentiment already existed in Dutch politics at the beginning of the 21st century, this paper argues that the financial crises of the 2000s played a major role in the significant rise of Eurosceptic sentiment and rhetoric... Mehr ...