Since 2020 Poland has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, with the Law and Justice (PiS) government continuously diminishing women’s rights during their 2015-2023 ruling period....Show moreSince 2020 Poland has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, with the Law and Justice (PiS) government continuously diminishing women’s rights during their 2015-2023 ruling period. Therefore, as the Civic Coalition (KO) along with their coalition partners won the 2023 parliamentary elections, the hopes for overturning the trend were very high, considering how vocal the party was about strengthening women’s rights. In this context, the paper examines the differences in the PiS and KO discourse about abortion rights between 2015 and 2023. It argues that both parties instrumentalize women’s rights, which is investigated by using the Critical Discourse Analysis method. The analysed statements of the party politicians are categorized by time periods, which allows to distinguish discursive shifts, as well as, changing types of language, targeted audience and strategies. The results show that even though PiS and KO use different types of discourse, both parties instrumentalized women’s rights between 2015 and 2023. This implies that the crucial voice of female voters is often overused for political purposes, having a detrimental effect on women's rights.Show less
This thesis researches the development of the internal debates within the German Social Democratic party concerning Russian gas in relation to the energy transition.
In 2017, the European Commission, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament came together to agree upon the introduction of a “European Pillar of Social Rights” - the EPSR. It entails a set...Show moreIn 2017, the European Commission, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament came together to agree upon the introduction of a “European Pillar of Social Rights” - the EPSR. It entails a set of 20 social principles already recognized as binding in the EU social acquis, or that are yet to be implemented at EU or the domestic level. A recent deliverable thereof includes the Work-Life Balance Directive adopted in 2019. This thesis seeks to determine whether the EPSR can facilitate equal sharing of care within families and explores alternative approaches to that effect. The thesis argues that whereas the EPSR may have been criticized for merely paying lip service to social Europe, its strengths lie in its flexibility. A non-rigid approach to advancing social rights accommodates a wide diversity of preferences and facilitates enhanced cooperation as well as coordination of policy which both on the long term as well as on the short term may contribute to the advancement of social rights on an EU level, in particular in the field of care sharing in the family.Show less
This thesis analyses the Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) which is the European Union’s military operational headquarter (OHQ). Authors of articles on the MPCC explain its creation...Show moreThis thesis analyses the Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) which is the European Union’s military operational headquarter (OHQ). Authors of articles on the MPCC explain its creation by pointing at recent events and developments, such as the annexation of Crimea and the election of Trump. However, the creation of the MPCC is the culmination of decades worth of European defence cooperation. Its creation can therefore only be fully understood when taking the historical context in mind. This thesis therefore uses an historical approach to solve the gap in knowledge on the creation of the MPCC. It analyses the creation of six predecessors, all established European organisations that are similar to the MPCC as an OHQ, and compares them to each other. In this manner, this thesis argues that European defence cooperation since World War II is the result of the perceived interdependence between European states. Interdependence concerning national defence has led to the creation of the Western Union and the Western European Union. During the 90s, the perceived interdependence changed to focus on the ability for the states to play a significant and sovereign role on the world stage. This led to the creation of the EU Operations Centre, the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability and the option to use national OHQs and OHQs of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Around 2016 the perceived interdependence shifted for a second time, now combining the focus on national defence with the focus on playing a significant and sovereign role on the world stage. This led to agreement among EU member states to develop the EU’s military capabilities. The Brexit referendum result provided the window of opportunity to start with these developments and thus to begin creating the MPCC, which was completed in 2017.Show less
The European Union is directly affected by political crises within member states. One of the challenges many of the member countries face comes in the form of secessionism. The secessionist...Show moreThe European Union is directly affected by political crises within member states. One of the challenges many of the member countries face comes in the form of secessionism. The secessionist sentiment in Europe is especially felt in the United Kingdom and Spain. Whereby secessionism has been able to move to the political mainstream. This thesis has sought to analyse in accordance to the framework of Mechanics of Cultural diplomacy: A comparative case.” (Kizlari & Fouseki, 2017) how regional secessionist governments have instrumentalised semi-public institutions to conduct sub-state diplomacy. The thesis analyses the legal mandate, the operational structure of Scotland Europa and Diplocat to discover whether they subjected to the direct influence of their respective regional governments. Subsequently, the thesis analyses the frames employed by the organisations in their communications to understand the objective of their publications in order to conclude how regional governments instrumentalised them. The analysis demonstrates that in both the Catalan and Scottish case the organisations were indeed instrumentalised to conduct sub-state diplomacy. Yet, the objectives were different. On one hand the Catalans sought to internationalise their self-determination effort and appealed to the European Union to mediate in the national conflict. On the other hand, the Scottish government has sought to influence EU decision making through more conventional channels such as consultation responses and the publication of papers. Finally, it has become clear that both the Catalan and Scottish government see European Union membership as a crucial part of their independence.Show less
The process of European integration has created a multilevel federal polity in which regionalist parties can thrive. The European Union (EU) significantly reduced the cost of autonomy and...Show moreThe process of European integration has created a multilevel federal polity in which regionalist parties can thrive. The European Union (EU) significantly reduced the cost of autonomy and independence for regions, as it provides a viable alternative to belonging to a central state. Consequently, regionalist parties are more viable in the eyes of the electorate. Moreover, the EU has created a space that Member States cannot fully control. These two factors have thus contributed to the rise of regionalist parties in Europe. However, this cannot account for the discrepancies in electoral success between regionalist parties across Europe. This thesis seeks to account for these discrepancies by analysing the relative importance of domestic factors on the rise of regionalist parties. In that pursuit, this thesis compares Catalonia and Friesland. In Catalonia, domestic factors provided the momentum for the rise of regionalist parties, but European integration made them viable. In Friesland, the opposite holds true. Domestic variables and, in part, European integration itself, inhibited the rise of the Frisian Nationalist Party. European integration is therefore only relevant in relation to domestic factors and vice versa. As such, only an integrated approach can adequately account for the rise of regionalist parties in Europe.Show less
The Treaty of Maastricht halted the relatively straightforward process towards an ever closer European Union. Opinions about integration became more dispersed and resistance to European integration...Show moreThe Treaty of Maastricht halted the relatively straightforward process towards an ever closer European Union. Opinions about integration became more dispersed and resistance to European integration can now be found in all layers of society. This increased resistance, or its opposite support, can influence the opinion of citizens about European integration. One group of citizens is especially vulnerable, youngsters between 18 and 25, who are still in a period of extraordinary psychological and social change. Goal of this research project is to analyse if resistance or support of these groups of actors influences the opinion of youngsters, in this regard students, about European integration. To analyse the relation semi-structured interviews are employed with students from EU member states studying in the Netherlands. Along resistance and support of actors three additional factors were considered, political and economic considerations, identity and the role of the media. Of these factors a conceptualization of several elements of the identity of a respondent, their personal background, was found to be most important. Resistance and support and economic considerations were of secondary importance. The results point to a smaller influence of external factors than expected. As long as students are satisfied with their socio-economic position they are not influenced heavily by external factors. Instead they formulate their opinion about European integration based on their personal background. Based on the results of my research project European policymakers should focus on economic and social benefits if they want to ensure the support of the young generation. Further research should explore this conclusion in more depth by conducting interviews with a more diverse, lower educated, group of students.Show less
The research dealing with public attitudes has been around for many years. Citizens and their opinions have become very important in modern democracies as it is they who are the cornerstone of...Show moreThe research dealing with public attitudes has been around for many years. Citizens and their opinions have become very important in modern democracies as it is they who are the cornerstone of democratic systems. More attention has been paid to opinions at the EU level. Support for the EU among all Europeans has decreased and an era of Euroscepticism started. Scholars blamed many different reasons and events for increasing discontent with the EU, the lack of knowledge about the EU is just one of many. Slovakia has always been one of the most enthusiastic member states. In fact, this has not changed much despite the continental increase in Eurosceptic thinking. Moreover, Slovaks belong to more knowledgeable half of Europeans according to Eurobarometer and also this thesis. Despite a small drop in the positive views towards the EU among Slovak people in recent years, they stay on a positive side of thinking about the EU. This demonstrate no significant presence of Euroscepticism in Slovakia. However, the EP election turnout of Slovakia remains the lowest of all the member states and people are not interested in the EU affairs to a great extent at all. Hence, Slovaks in general cannot be classified as Eurosceptic as they express more positive views than negative, yet they definitely classify as indifferent.Show less
This paper engages in the debate on the banning of the burkini in coastal resorts in France in 2016. It uses this case study to assess whether there has been a change in attitudes towards Muslim...Show moreThis paper engages in the debate on the banning of the burkini in coastal resorts in France in 2016. It uses this case study to assess whether there has been a change in attitudes towards Muslim women in the country. The findings suggest that whilst perceptions remain similar there is now more open opposition towards women wearing Islamic veils. The history of France’s relationship with Islam, especially in regards to women, is used to put into perspective the 2016 bans. The differences between these prohibitions in comparison to previous laws regarding Islamic veils in France, but also the underlying similarities are analysed. Furthermore, the case study of France will be expanded EU-wide and will deliberate on the future of such restrictions to female Muslim dress.Show less
