Historical Perception of Europe as “the Other” as the Basis of British Euroscepticism

This paper proves that British Euroscepticism is not just a consequence of the peculiarities of the current political situation but the result of the centuries-old specific attitude of Great Britain to Europe as the other sociocultural space different in many senses from the United Kingdom. The roots of this attitude can be found in the English Reformation of the 16th century which rigidly opposed “British” Protestantism to “European” Catholicism. Several examples of historical events that have aggravated this religious and cultural rift are given. As a result, the British vision of Europeans shared by political elites as people with a different way of life, habits and traditions resulted in a sceptical attitude towards European integration and Britain's participation in it. The statements of famous British politicians regarding European integration and participation of Great Britain in it are cited to confirm the vision of Europe as “the Other” by the political elites of the United Kingdom. It is argued that British Euroscepticism is largely determined and inspired by cultural exceptionalism. Therefore, special attention is paid to the analysis of the British version of cultural Euroscepticism.