Avrupa Meselesi Çerçevesinde Britanya’da Sağ Siyasetin Evrimi

Öz

Bu çalışma, Avrupa bütünleşmesini merkeze alarak Britanya’da sağ siyasetin evrimini ele almayı amaçlamaktadır. Britanya açısından her zaman tartışmalı bir konu olan Avrupa meselesi, ülke siyasetinin iki büyük aktörü olan İşçi Partisi ve Muhafazakâr Parti arasındaki rekabeti etkilediği gibi sağ siyaseti de derinden etkilemiştir. Margaret Thatcher’ın Muhafazakâr Parti genel başkanlığına seçildiği 1975’ten Birleşik Krallık’ın resmen Avrupa Birliği (AB)’nden ayrıldığı 2020’ye kadarki süreci kapsayan üçlü bir dönemselleştirmeye dayanan bu makalenin temel savı, Avrupa meselesinin yarattığı çok boyutlu etkiyle Muhafazakâr Parti’nin Britanya sağındaki tartışılmaz hegemonyasını kırarak sağ siyasette yapısal bir değişime neden olduğudur. Bu uzun vadeli değişim, bütünleşme konusunun hem Muhafazakâr Parti içinde derin ayrışmalara yol açarak partiyi kamuoyunda siyaseten güçsüz duruma düşürmesi hem de Britanya sağında Avrupa karşıtı radikal sağ partilerin (Birleşik Krallık Bağımsızlık Partisi-Brexit Partisi-Reform UK) ciddi birer rakip olarak ortaya çıkıp güçlenmesine zemin hazırlamasıyla yaşanmıştır. Karşılaştırmalı tarihsel sosyoloji yaklaşımı uyarınca Avrupa meselesinin Britanya sağ siyasetine olan etkisi temel patika bağımlılığı olan yerleşik İngiliz Avrupa şüpheciliği çerçevesinde ele alınmaktadır. Söz konusu etki, önemli genel ve Avrupa Parlamentosu seçim sonuçlarını, Margaret Thatcher ve David Cameron gibi İngiliz sağ siyasetinin önemli siyasi aktörlerinin Birleşik Krallık-AB ilişkileri açısından dönüm noktası niteliğindeki konuşmalarını ve önemli hükümet/parti politikalarını kapsayan kritik dönemeçler itibarıyla analiz edilmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Avrupa bütünleşmesi
• Brexit
• Muhafazakar Parti
• Avrupa şüpheciliği
• UKIP

The Evolution of the British Right Around the European Question

Öz

This study aims to examine the evolution of right-wing politics in Britain by centering on European integration. The European issue, which has always been a controversial issue in Britain, has deeply affected right-wing politics as well as the competition between the two biggest political actors, the Labour Party and the Conservative Party. Based on a three-dimensional periodization covering from 1975, when Margaret Thatcher was elected leader of the Conservative Party, to 2020, when the United Kingdom officially left the European Union (EU), this article mainly argues that the multi-dimensional effect of the European issue has broken the Conservative Party's indisputable hegemony on the British right and caused a structural change in right-wing politics. This long-term change has occurred both because the integration issue has caused deep divisions within the Conservative Party that weakened the party in public opinion, and because anti-European radical right parties (UK Independence Party, Brexit Party, Reform UK) have emerged as strong rivals on the British right. In line with the comparative historical sociology approach, the impact of the European issue on British right-wing politics is examined within the framework of entrenched British Euroscepticism as the fundamental path dependency. This effect is analyzed based on some critical junctures, including key general and European Parliament election results, landmark speeches delivered by leading political figures on the right such as Margaret Thatcher and David Cameron as to UK-EU relations, and key government/party policies.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• European integration
• Brexit
• Conservative Party
• Euroscepticism
• UKIP

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