Marrying European and Domestic Politics? Investigating the European Dimension of the 2013 Croatian Marriage Referendum using a Value-Based Euroscepticism framework

Abstract

On 1 December 2013, Croatia voted in a referendum on the constitutional definition of marriage. Whilst recent scholarship highlighted the symbolism nature of the referendum in domestic politics, its European dimension has not been reflected on. Using Leconte’s notion of value-based Euroscepticism this article explores the role of European politics in the marriage referendum, using electoral data at the municipal level. As the analysis demonstrates that the referendum, at least partly, was a proactive attempt to halt the Europeanisation of same-sex marriage, the article also sheds light on local resistance to EU’s homonationalist politics.