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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Rywalizacja międzypartyjna i wewnątrzpartyjna w kampanii referendum europejskiego w Wielkiej Brytanii z 2016 roku

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Inter‑party and intra‑party rivalry in the 2016 EU referendum campaign in the United Kingdom
 The objective of this paper is an analysis of the course of the 2016 EU referendum campaign from the perspective of the political battle between the parties and between intra‑party factions. Besides the main goals of the UK’s leaving the EU or remaining within it, the stakes of the battle included the strengthening of one’s own political camp, the weakening of one’s opponents, the gaining of power within a party or, eventually, the gaining of power in the country. The article is divided into two major parts devoted to the analysis of inter‑party rivalry and intra‑party rivalry respectively. The referendum (both its campaign and results) has demolished the existing political make‑up determined by the results of the latest parliamentary elections (2015). The analysis is based on the following two theoretical categories: an opportunity structure and a political strategy. In accordance with these categories, an assumption has been adopted that the referendum opened a new opportunity structure on the British political scene, encouraging the parties, their factions and individual politicians to use the elections as a means of pursuing their own political agendas and goals not necessarily related directly to the EU referendum.