Samenvatting

The Dutch ‘NO’ during the Dutch referendum regarding the treaty establishing the European Constitution in 2005 was considered a political earthquake for the integration process of the European Union. A high percentage of ‘NO’-voters (>80%) lived in the five Dutch municipalities of Urk, Reiderland, Staphorst, Pekela, and Oldebroek. In this research, the concept of partisanship, measured using the act of stable voting behaviour, is used to explain the high rate of ‘NO’-votes in these municipalities. The concept of partisanship argues that partisanship can influence voting behaviour during elections and referendums because individuals who display partisanship towards a political party are likely to follow the vote recommendation of that party. Therefore, based on this logic, it is assumed that, in these five municipalities, there was stable electoral support for the political parties opposed to the European Constitution. To prove or disprove this assumption, the political parties that enjoyed the highest level of electoral support during the Second Chamber elections from 1986 to 2003 and the European Parliament elections from 1989 to 2004 are examined. This research found that in the municipalities of Urk, Staphorst, and Oldebroek there was stable electoral support for the political parties opposing the European Constitution during the European Parliament elections from 1989 to 2004. Thus, the assumption that partisanship can explain the high rate of ‘NO’-votes in these municipalities can be partially answered positively.