ABSTRACT
The spreading phenomenon of Euroscepticism has been an invitation for debate among scholars about how to theorise European integration. This chapter argues that Euroscepticism is best understood as a delegitimating practice that unfolds through normative assessment and cognitive framing of the legitimacy of the EU polity. Drawing on the Durkheimian account and its focus on irrational group behaviour, the responsive and often consequential character of Euroscepticism has been emphasised, reacting to perceived normative breaches of democracy, instead of passively submitting to them. Drawing on the Rokkanian account and its focus on the role of strategic actors who align along ideological or identitarian cleavage lines, the cognitive and cultural framing of Euroscepticism has been emphasised, impacting on strategic action frames. The chapter further considers EU news coverage through mass media as one of the principal infrastructures for cognitive-cultural structuration of the mindsets of the Europeans.
