This research aims to examine and elaborate on possible changes in the degrees of respect for human rights in Libya and Tunisia before and after the events that took place in 2011, which are known...Show moreThis research aims to examine and elaborate on possible changes in the degrees of respect for human rights in Libya and Tunisia before and after the events that took place in 2011, which are known as the Arab Spring uprisings. By examining the spiral model by Risse and Sikkink (1999) this research is set up to trace a process of change in the degree of respect for human rights towards compliance to human rights norms in both countries. Results show in the case of Libya that the mobilization of both national as well as international actors evidently contributed to regime change during the Arab Spring and improved human rights conditions to a certain extent. Comparable transnational mobilization took place in Tunisia, where domestic opposition was likewise blocked. Tunisia’s post-Arab Spring period marks a time of considerable improvements in human rights conditions and the general respect for human rights. Although human rights violations are still occurring in both countries, the evaluation of past research and the tracing of current transnational involvement with respect to human rights conditions can contribute to the scientific and public understanding of the importance of human rights advocacy. In the long run, the mobilization and support of transnational human rights organizations continues to contribute to future compliance to human rights norms, in these countries and around the globe.Show less
This research tries to scrutinize the influence of pro-migration interest group arguments towards the immigration policy of the European Union. As a case study the influence of different kinds of...Show moreThis research tries to scrutinize the influence of pro-migration interest group arguments towards the immigration policy of the European Union. As a case study the influence of different kinds of arguments of pro-migration interest groups used as an answer on a public consultation about the Common European Asylum System in 2007 is chosen to investigate. Via a documentary analyses the influence between human rights-based arguments and cost arguments were tried measured. This was not possible, because the pro-migration interest groups almost only made human rights-based arguments. There is though evidence found that suggest that the Commission copied mainly recommendations that were in line with the aims that the Commission stated in the Green Paper. This seems to suggest that the Green Paper is an agenda-setting power tool that diminishes the amount of influence that pro-migration interest groups can have on the European immigration policy.Show less
Regional integration is on the political agenda in all parts of the world. During the time of post-colonial development and liberation struggles, Southern Africa saw its share of attempts at closer...Show moreRegional integration is on the political agenda in all parts of the world. During the time of post-colonial development and liberation struggles, Southern Africa saw its share of attempts at closer economic and political ties between states within the region. Today, the dominant regional organization in Southern Africa is the Southern African Development Community. Many regional organizations in the developing world, including SADC, explicitly state that a large part of the regional integration project is towards a goal of attracting an increase in foreign direct investment. The ability to attract FDI is based on various factors; covering many of these is the combined level of perceived political risk. Economic and political instability, social unrest, ethnic and military conflict, corruption in government, the threat of expropriation and breaches of contract; political risk is a multi-faceted concept. The thesis identifies what types of political risks are prevalent in the Southern African region. The research focus addresses what SADC as a regional actor has contributed towards lowering the levels of political risk in specific countries and parts of the region. The thesis demonstrates that as theoretical assumptions and empirical evidence argue that regional integration is positive for the ability to attract FDI, Southern African countries face many obstacles on the way towards a fully integrated economic community. Meanwhile, the prospects for peace and security in the region are better at present than twenty years ago. The establishment and maintenance of legal, security and financial frameworks that would add to securing the interests of both the foreign investors and the host country and government are often lacking. Furthermore, the implementation of regional institutions have been hampered by various factors, including the member states’ own interests and a general unwillingness towards ceding sovereignty to transnational institutions . The role of South Africa as a regional hegemon and key policy-maker within SADC is discussed in order to further examine the regional dynamics in Southern Africa.Show less
There are a number of entities such as Abkhazia, Taiwan, Somaliland, East Timor, to name a few, that are all secessionist de facto independent states. However, they are treated differently by the...Show moreThere are a number of entities such as Abkhazia, Taiwan, Somaliland, East Timor, to name a few, that are all secessionist de facto independent states. However, they are treated differently by the international community, and external recognition was only granted for East Timor. As long as the pattern behind the selective recognition of new states is unclear and while ongoing secessionist conflicts persist around the world, this thesis aims to answer the following question: what are the main factors behind the external recognition of newly created states? In other words, why are some secessionist states externally recognized while others are not? It is argued here that there is not one specific factor that leads to external recognition; rather, there is a set of factors that together explain selective recognition of secessionist states. In order to answer the research question and to define this set of factors qualitative comparative analysis is used in this work.Show less
The central research question presented in this thesis is: To what extent does Europeanization create barriers and/or opportunities for a transition towards competitive authoritarianism in Turkey?...Show moreThe central research question presented in this thesis is: To what extent does Europeanization create barriers and/or opportunities for a transition towards competitive authoritarianism in Turkey? In order to answer this question, this thesis employs an institution-centered theoretical framework of a qualitative case study that uses process tracing to analyze formal and informal institutional change in Turkey. Institutional change is operationalized by the conversion/layering model, which identifies how the characteristics of institutions have been transformed by the Europeanization process. This study determines that under the AKP administration, the Europeanization process has created more opportunities than barriers for Turkey to transition from democracy consolidation towards a competitive authoritarian regime.Show less
Wars have substantial consequences for the consolidation of democracy, and have caused demographic, socio-economic and social problems in the countries of the Former Yugoslavia. However, what is...Show moreWars have substantial consequences for the consolidation of democracy, and have caused demographic, socio-economic and social problems in the countries of the Former Yugoslavia. However, what is striking is that not only has their Europeanization process differed from other Central and Eastern European countries, but also that among them a differentiated form of integration has taken place. On the one hand there are countries like Slovenia, a full EU member state, and Croatia, an acceding country set to join in July 2013, and on the other hand, countries like Serbia, a candidate country, and Bosnia i Herzegovina, a potential candidate, which have a long way to go on the path to membership. What are the reasons for these differences? How can we explain such variation in degrees of EU membership given that these countries were part of the same state a mere twenty-two years ago? What factors explain the quick democratic consolidation and compliance with EU conditionality of some FY states, on one hand, and the fragmented, problematic and generally slow Europeanization process of other FY states on the other? In order to answer these questions, this thesis examines the role of two key factors in determining different degrees of EU membership – the role of ethnicity, and the legacy of civil war in the internal political environment.Show less
This thesis is an attempt to refresh the research done on the indicators for the allocation of Common Agricultural Policy funds. The European Union has changed its formation, structure and...Show moreThis thesis is an attempt to refresh the research done on the indicators for the allocation of Common Agricultural Policy funds. The European Union has changed its formation, structure and institutions over the past decades but the research on CAP hasn’t been updated along with it. This thesis borrows from the multi-level governance theory and molds the idea of the “winners-” and “losers of EU integration” debate into expectations for the predictive powers of various variables. These variables simulate two theories which have been predominant in research which has been previously done for the Common Agricultural Policy: the theory of need and the compensatory theory. The total area used for agriculture, the number of farms and GDP per Capita will represent the theory of need whilst the compensatory mechanism is simulated through a public opinion form of euroscepticism and a variable which calculates the net contribution to the EU budget to the EU budget. Key results for the thesis and improvements to the existing literature are the establishment for the net contribution to the EU budget variable, agricultural employment and GDP per Capita as predictors of CAP allocations and establishing the strength of the EU’s official allocation criteria for the CAP. Furthermore, for the first time the NUTS 2 regions have been included in research concerning CAP funding as a unity of analysis, leading to more statistically sound conclusions than what would otherwise be the case.Show less
This thesis looks at the relationship between regional integration and the number of conflicts. It compares this relationship to the one between two variables that have been shown to have an effect...Show moreThis thesis looks at the relationship between regional integration and the number of conflicts. It compares this relationship to the one between two variables that have been shown to have an effect on the number of conflicts in other studies: democratic freedom and prosperity. The study is conducted using descriptive statistics and statistical analysis with data from various publicly available datasets for each of the variables. The dataset for regional integration is compiled based on the theoretical framework proposed by Balassa (1962) and uses regional economic integration as its basis. 175 countries in five geographical regions are observed over a period of 21 years from 1991 to 2011. The study finds that each of the three variables has an effect on the number of conflicts, in most, but not all cases the variables have an inverse relationship with the number of conflicts. The two control variables have a much more significant effect on the number of conflicts than regional integration, with democratic freedom having an effect in all but one observed region. Regional integration’s effect on the number of conflicts increased in significance over the observed time period.Show less
In the European Union (EU) accession process the EU tries to transfer EU rules to the candidate states through conditionality. The acquis legislation and laws are not hard to implement and...Show moreIn the European Union (EU) accession process the EU tries to transfer EU rules to the candidate states through conditionality. The acquis legislation and laws are not hard to implement and therefore almost all candidate states did comply with this part of the acquis. However, there is a second element of the acquis, the democratic conditionality, concerning the fundamental political principles of the EU, the norms of human rights and liberal democracy. According to the EU one of those fundamental political principles is the need to curb corruption. In what way is the EU capable of influencing the anti-corruption policy of the candidate states? Is the EU thereby affecting corruption in the candidate states? In this thesis the role of the EU on the candidate states’ anti-corruption policy is tested. Is there any relation between the role of the EU, compliance of the member states and the real level of corruption? Statistical analysis and five short case studies show that there is a difference between simple rules, laws on corruption on the one hand and perceived corruption in a state on the other. The two are not related per se and therefore the EU influence in fundamentally curbing corruption is limited. The only way corruption can be stopped is when EU efforts are back upped by national actors.Show less
This thesis analyzes how variations in regional polarity influence the processes of regional cooperation. A small N-analysis has been made on Mercosur, the League of Arab States and ASEAN. These...Show moreThis thesis analyzes how variations in regional polarity influence the processes of regional cooperation. A small N-analysis has been made on Mercosur, the League of Arab States and ASEAN. These organizations are the most institutionalized forms of cooperation in three distinctive regions: Southern-America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. The configuration of polarity is determined by the distribution of material capabilities amongst states. Therefore, the more symmetrical the distribution the larger the amount of regional powers present within the region. Theory asserts that as the amount of regional powers increases, prospects for regional cooperation decrease. Indeed, the findings show that a regional bipolar configuration is more prone to cooperation than a multipolar setting. The case of unipolarity in ASEAN has limited generalizability.Show less
This paper analyzes the impact of acquisition of membership of international organization (in this case, WTO) on member states' domestic trade laws reforms. For this end, multilevel governance...Show moreThis paper analyzes the impact of acquisition of membership of international organization (in this case, WTO) on member states' domestic trade laws reforms. For this end, multilevel governance theory is used to pinpoint the conductive roles of state authority, industry and local norm system in the indigenization of international laws.Show less
