The rise of right-wing populism has received much attention in academic literature. However, most of the research on right-wing populism focuses on what drives the electoral success of these...Show moreThe rise of right-wing populism has received much attention in academic literature. However, most of the research on right-wing populism focuses on what drives the electoral success of these parties. Less light has been shed on factors that mitigate voting on right-wing populist parties, although there are indicators that the welfare state can play a key role here. Therefore, this thesis investigates the relationship between welfare state generosity and right-wing populist vote share. Using a Tobit analysis, this thesis analyses 91 elections in 16 countries over the period 1997-2018. The results of this model indicate that a generous welfare state can weaken the positive effect of trade globalization on electoral support for right-wing populist parties.Show less
The European Green Deal has sparked my interest as the deal became increasingly present on the European political stage. As a French speaker, I remember the Gilets Jaunes movement that went against...Show moreThe European Green Deal has sparked my interest as the deal became increasingly present on the European political stage. As a French speaker, I remember the Gilets Jaunes movement that went against announced carbon taxes in 2018 very well. I wanted to know what the Gilets Jaunes, a movement previously against a national climate policy, thought of the European Green Deal. I realised that there was no research yet on that specific subject. I therefore decided to focus my thesis on this topic by posing the following research question “What do the Gilet Jaunes think about the European Green Deal?”. After a first attempt to understand the movement's stance on the EGD through social media, I interviewed three affiliates of the GJ and asked them about their opinions on the EGD. In general, the participants were very keen on the idea of a climate policy that would, for instance, make European cities less polluted. However, the participants did not agree with the current implementation of the EGD by the European Union. They find that the new EGD laws are difficult to apply for the commoners (i.e., not everyone can afford an electric car) and that there is too much disconnect between the population and the decision makers in Brussels.Show less
This research project attempts to answer how the European Union has evolved its policymaking perspective towards Africa and the Africa Union in particular, in the light of developments over the...Show moreThis research project attempts to answer how the European Union has evolved its policymaking perspective towards Africa and the Africa Union in particular, in the light of developments over the past 15 years. It does so by building a broad theoretical framework based on different perspectives within IR, applied to the EU-Africa relationship. The framework consists of neorealism, neoliberal, constructivist perspectives, as well as the literature on Market Power Europe. Joint policy documents by the European Union and the African Union, as well as statements and speeches by top-level EU officials constitute the means by which these policymaking changes can be captured. Any captured change or shift in the perspective and motivation of policymakers could then be situated within the theoretical framework provided. It was found that there had indeed been a shift in policymaking perspective over the stated period, from a more basic neoliberal understanding of international relations and particularly cooperation and development, to a more robust normative and assertive geopolitical and cooperative stance. It is likely that these policy shifts were informed at least in part by the changes global and geopolitical landscape. This paper affirms the continued importance of the EU-Africa relationship, not just to the EU or Africa, but to the world as a whole.Show less
This thesis is concerned with the behaviour of Eurosceptic parties, especially in light of Eurosceptic success. Specifically studying the Eurosceptic response to Brexit, this thesis conducts a case...Show moreThis thesis is concerned with the behaviour of Eurosceptic parties, especially in light of Eurosceptic success. Specifically studying the Eurosceptic response to Brexit, this thesis conducts a case study of three Dutch Soft Eurosceptic parties and their rhetoric and behaviour in the years after the Brexit vote. The results of this qualitative content analysis are mixed, with every party analysed showing different results. Overall, though, it seems that a party’s ideological orientation has more of a role in determining its response to Brexit than its Eurosceptic identity. This conclusion adds to doubts, previously articulated by other scholars, concerning the strength of classifying a party as Soft Eurosceptic. This thesis therefore calls for a renewed focus on national case studies in future research in order to expand our knowledge on what shapes Eurosceptic (parties’) behaviour.Show less
This study applies the gravity model to explain Sino-European trade flows. It constructs a model with trade conformity to identify the logic underlying Chinese trade flows, trade complementarity to...Show moreThis study applies the gravity model to explain Sino-European trade flows. It constructs a model with trade conformity to identify the logic underlying Chinese trade flows, trade complementarity to test unused trade potential and predicts trade flows between China and the EU28 to estimate the unexhausted trade potential. The empirical results show that global Chinese trade flows follows a Heckscher-Ohlin model with dominant inter-industry trade. For Sino-European trade, Heckscher Ohlin explains EU exports. However for EU imports of China and total Sino-European trade flows, no model could be identified. The calculated Trade Complementarity Index shows that EU imports have a higher complementary with Chinese exports than EU exports and Chinese imports, indicating that the EU is a better export market for China than vice versa. The complementarity explains trade flows better than the conformity model and predicts unexhausted trade potential between the EU and China. Large unexhausted potential is mostly found in Chinese exports to the EU, indicating that China benefits most from improving trade relations between the EU and China. On the member state level, large heterogeneity in trade potential is found. A small number of member states outperform their predicted trade flows. Most EU member states have unexhausted export potential with China, and China has unexhausted export potential towards the majority of EU member states.Show less
This thesis researches how Dutch PRRPs agree or disagree over EU policy areas and whether this changes over time. At the national level, it is important to know how their EU positions vary for...Show moreThis thesis researches how Dutch PRRPs agree or disagree over EU policy areas and whether this changes over time. At the national level, it is important to know how their EU positions vary for gauging the possibility of long-term cooperation and the exact areas that they might influence in the future. The content analysis based on election manifestos shows that there is a variety of views on the EU, while all parties are generally Eurosceptic. Further, it is shown that PRRPs do adopt a stable position on the EU and that the source of significant position change is a split of a PRRP. So, it is expected that PRRPs will stay Eurosceptic and therefore keep trying to complicate further European integration in the future.Show less
