Leiden University Student Repository

Maasdam, Amy van (2021)

Ideological Differences Within the European Parliament: How European Parliament Groups Use Gender Equality Within the Turkey Issue

Master thesis | International Relations (MA)

Although the formal role of the European Parliament in European foreign policy is formally limited, it has gained influence in the last years, especially after the Lisbon Treaty. This has given the Parliament more power to promote certain policies, such as human rights or gender policy. Whilst this has been extensively researched, little has been published about the inner dynamics of the political groups regarding foreign policy, even though they decide on the final resolutions. This thesis examines these dynamics through a content analysis of several debates regarding the EU's relations with Turkey between 2016 and 2021. Particularly, seeing as the European Parliament is often hailed as a 'champion of gender policy', this thesis pays special attention to the salience of gender policy and equality within these debates, in order to cast a light on the priorities of the party groups: are they really championing gender policy, or are there more pressing issues regarding Turkey?

European Parliament, political ideology, political parties, gender policy, Turkey

Author

Maasdam, Amy van

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

European Union Studies

Supervisors

Shaev, B.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en