'Dark matter': institutional constraints and the failure of party-based Euroscepticism in Germany

The article is built on four propositions. First, that there is a latent potential within the German polity for the mobilisation of what remains a significant level of popular unease about aspects of the ongoing process of European integration. Second, that at present this potential is unfulfilled and, as a result, Euroscepticism remains the ‘dark matter’ of German politics. Third, that the absence of a clearly stated Eurosceptical agenda is not due to the inherent ‘enlightenment’ of the German political class about the European project, but rather is the result of systemic disincentives shaping the preferences of rational acting politicians. Finally, that these systemic disincentives are to be found within the formal institutions of the German polity. The article posits the ideas of ‘hard’ versus ‘soft’ Eurosceptical narratives, sustained versus heresthetic agendas, and ‘polis constraining’ versus ‘polis shaping’ strategies for their promotion. The article argues that political agents’ choice of strategy depends on the nature of the institutional setting within which they are operating. The article concludes by arguing that the institutional configuration of the Federal Republic provides poor returns for party-based Euroscepticism, and that the mobilisation of popular unease about aspects of European integration remains an unattractive option for rational acting political agents.