This thesis analyses regional variation in the communication of the German right-wing populist party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). A discourse analysis of party programmes and speeches for...Show moreThis thesis analyses regional variation in the communication of the German right-wing populist party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). A discourse analysis of party programmes and speeches for federal state election seeks to explore differences in the way issues such as national and regional identity, the EU as well as the past are framed. The results suggest that in the East German federal states that constituted the German Democratic Republic (GDR) a distinct regional identity and cultural memory are stressed and economic grievances are mobilised, which reinforces the persisting East-West divide in Germany.Show less
Throughout its existence, the European Union has been challenged and criticized by populist parties from both the left-wing and right-wing of the political spectrum. As the growing support for...Show moreThroughout its existence, the European Union has been challenged and criticized by populist parties from both the left-wing and right-wing of the political spectrum. As the growing support for populist parties within Europe could have negative consequences for the future of the EU, this thesis is concerned with the Eurosceptic behaviour of populist parties in one member state of the EU, namely the Netherlands. This thesis conducts an analysis of the discourse and voting behaviour of a Dutch left-wing populist party, the Socialist Party, and right-wing populist party, the Party for Freedom, regarding the European Union in order to find out to what extent populist parties with different ideological persuasions share a Eurosceptic stance due to their shared populism. As a result, the research question of this thesis is: In what ways do populist left-wing and populist right-wing parties’ discourse and voting behaviour on the issue of the EU differ in the Netherlands? Based on the analysis of the chosen sources, which include party manifestos, parliamentary debates and votes in the Dutch House of Representatives, the final results of this analysis reveal that the left-wing SP and right-wing PVV do have some similar stances on the EU due to their populist background, but predominantly have different motivations for their Eurosceptic stance due to their ideological persuasions. Therefore, this thesis concludes that we cannot speak of a unified populist Eurosceptic narrative.Show less
Why do Member States, that are similar in many aspects, still have varying levels of compliance? As current compliance theories are unable to answer this question a new theory has been developed...Show moreWhy do Member States, that are similar in many aspects, still have varying levels of compliance? As current compliance theories are unable to answer this question a new theory has been developed that adds an historical aspect into compliance research: the challenging attitude approach. This theory proposes that earlier adopted attitudes by Member States, that range from agreeable to challenging, which they display before, during and after infringement proceedings, affect future compliance. Member States initially base these attitudes on a normative assumption about the importance of compliance to a policy field. For this research the Netherlands has been compared to Belgium, which yearly faces twice the amount of infringement proceedings as the Netherlands. Portugal has been to Spain, which faces from 10% more to twice the amount of infringement proceedings as Portugal. Their portrayed attitudes in regards to the Dangerous Substances Directive and the Birds Directive have been studied. This research showed, however, that Belgium did not adopt a challenging attitude more often than the Netherlands. Spain did adopt a challenging attitude more often than Portugal. There was also great variation displayed by Member States in adopted attitude per directive. However, there appears to be a correlation between adopted attitude and future compliance. More research is needed to make substantial claims about the challenging attitude approach.Show less
Cohesion policy is one of the most important policies of the European Union which aims to promote economic, social, and territorial cohesion in support of the broader European integration project....Show moreCohesion policy is one of the most important policies of the European Union which aims to promote economic, social, and territorial cohesion in support of the broader European integration project. Despite the identification of spatial inequalities in Europe being soon identified as an action point for the Community, the means to achieve territorial integration have created considerable political debate. The promotion of cross-border cooperation (CBC) via European Territorial Cooperation programmes like Interreg has been one of the Commission's main policy tools to reduce spatial inequalities. The overall goal of this thesis is to analyse to what extent Interreg programmes have been effective in boosting European integration. The author argues that increasing CBC further advances European integration because intensive cooperation in border regions contributes to diminishing regional disparities while enhancing mutual trust and collaboration.Show less
This thesis explores the tension between norms and state-interests in EU foreign policy. It focuses on the energy sanctions against Russia in the context of the war in Ukraine and argues that it is...Show moreThis thesis explores the tension between norms and state-interests in EU foreign policy. It focuses on the energy sanctions against Russia in the context of the war in Ukraine and argues that it is a case in which norms prevail over state-interests. It uncovers the different steps from the beginning of the war on the 24th of February 2022 to the adoption of an oil embargo on the 3rd of June by the council. It analyses how despite diverging interests among the member states, a consensus was reached in the European council.Show less
Morocco and the European Union are intertwined through a constellation of interests. Migration is perhaps the most important of these interests, an issue that the European Union has identified as...Show moreMorocco and the European Union are intertwined through a constellation of interests. Migration is perhaps the most important of these interests, an issue that the European Union has identified as crucial in order to guarantee the stability of the region. Nevertheless, dealing with migration requires of close cooperation with third state countries like Morocco, which represents one of the main gateways of entrance of irregular migrants to the European Union. Shortly after the 2004 enlargement process, the European Union designed the European Neighbourhood Policy in order to strengthen the links with its southern and eastern neighbours and create a ring of well-governed, stable, and democratic countries. Through this paper we will take a closer look at Morocco as a partner country through the European Neighbourhood Policy, precisely in the field of migration, and how and to what extent the establishment of this policy has had an impact on Morocco's migration policy.Show less
