Model of “soft” and “hard” euroscepticism: Estonian case

Abstract

The article explores the features of party Euroscepticism on the example of the Estonian case. A classification of a number of modern Estonian political parties is given on the basis of their classification as “hard” or “soft” Eurosceptics. Based on this typology the author structured the Estonian party-political landscape on the issue of European integration. The importance of this factor in the Estonian party-political space, which influences the further course of European integration in this Baltic state, is highlighted. The scale of anti-European sentiments in modern Estonia has been determined. The study identifies the reasons for the significant increase in electoral support for parties advocating anti-EU positions. It is revealed that the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (CPPE) demonstrates a consistent increase in the number of its members and is gaining more and more popularity among the Estonians and has an ever-increasing influence on Estonian politics. Represented in Parliament since 2015, the CPPE has achieved in 2019-2021 its entry into the government coalition. It is considered how the CPPE, which previously occupied a marginal position, is implementing its goal of gradually increasing its influence and entering the political forefront. Taking into account the analysis of the latest election program of the CPPE (for the parliamentary elections in March 2023), it was determined in which direction the radical Estonian populists are moving. At present the trend towards a steady increase in Euroscepticism in Estonia has changed to a course towards relative stabilization of the Eurosceptic mood of voters. Discursive and institutional methods were applied in the study.