This thesis’ objective is to gain an understanding of how American popular culture impacts the Dutch youth’s perception of and resonance with American culture, taking the sitcom Modern Family as...Show moreThis thesis’ objective is to gain an understanding of how American popular culture impacts the Dutch youth’s perception of and resonance with American culture, taking the sitcom Modern Family as its case study. In this thesis, ‘perception’ refers to the way that American culture is viewed, and ‘resonance’ indicates the experienced affinity with American culture. This thesis statement is confirmed through the employment of a survey targeted at Dutch youth aged 16-25, in which the Dutch attitudes towards American culture are measured according to the reaction of the Dutch youth to the characterization of American culture as described by Wright and Rogers. They constitute five American values; ‘Freedom’, ‘Prosperity’, ‘Efficiency’, ‘Democracy’ and ‘Fairness’; and some features: ‘Individualism’, and ‘Cultural Pluralism and Tolerance’, which are present in Modern Family. The key finding of the quantitative research is that higher exposure to American popular culture through TV leads to a higher level of normalization of American values. The analysis of exposure levels to American popular culture and its relation to Dutch attitudes towards American culture is performed by comparing the watch histories of respondents: 81% have watched Modern Family whereas 19% have not. Expanding on the concept of ‘Perception’, this thesis demonstrates that the more one is exposed to American popular culture (like the viewers of Modern Family), the more one has normalized the American values, which impacts the Dutch perception of American culture. ‘Resonance’ builds upon this and finds that this normalization of American values among viewers of Modern Family has reached such high extents that they have become incorporated into Dutch culture. American popular culture has boosted the omnipresence and normalization of American values, which has, in turn, impacted the way Dutch youth resonate with American culture.Show less
Since the referendum in 2016, Brexit has had an undeniable effect on the International relations scene, showing that not all countries invite globalisation, in what is a rapidly globalising world....Show moreSince the referendum in 2016, Brexit has had an undeniable effect on the International relations scene, showing that not all countries invite globalisation, in what is a rapidly globalising world. The decision has been researched to a large extent already, but what most dominant literature debating the topic of Brexit currently neglects, is understanding local causes and reasons for this outcome. Whilst it has been sufficient thus far to categorize reasons into wider meta narratives, this thesis instead aims to take a different scope and understand what has happened at a local level to uncover why the British public came to this conclusion. This will be done by analysing data from local counties, with a focus on two counties in particular: Lincolnshire and Essex. These two regions were some of the most pro-Brexit out of the whole of the United Kingdom it came to show, but this thesis looks to understand how and why, in order to produce differing conclusions to compare to one another. This is with the aim to prove that local level needs to be looked at instead of meta narratives, which we see for example in the current domination discourse of culturally left behind vs socioeconomic reasons. By comparing these contrasting reasons, my thesis hopes to help us understand something beyond public opinion surveys and understand different streams of opinion which may have made up the Brexit coalition, and bring light to a new method of analysing causes of Brexit. In a time where major International organisations such as the European Union aim to delegate more power to local communities, this new method of analysis can help understand where improvements to communication and power can be made on a local scale.Show less
This thesis analyses the development of Nordic cooperation in the Arctic and the reasons behind this development. It argues that Nordic cooperation has played an important role in the policy areas...Show moreThis thesis analyses the development of Nordic cooperation in the Arctic and the reasons behind this development. It argues that Nordic cooperation has played an important role in the policy areas of security and defence, and regional development. Regarding security and defence, NORDEFCO has complemented the limits of NATO in providing the Nordics with security guarantees and involving partners in the North Cap region, in order to respond to the growing Russian threat. Regarding regional development, the NCM and other Nordic venues have established an elaborate policy framework for addressing transnational issues, coordinating intra-Nordic cooperation and cooperation with other Arctic actors, and managing and implementing EU funding programmes. Through this, Nordic cooperation has fulfilled an important role in complementing and supplementing various shortcomings of EU and NATO Arctic policies. Nordic cooperation is analysed as a form of sub-regionalism, which has allowed for a nuanced, realistic understanding of the functioning of Nordic cooperation in the Arctic, in relation to the national and regional level. Through this, this thesis has contributed to strengthening the nexus between the scholarship on Nordic cooperation and sub-regionalism. The analysis consists primarily of a document analysis of the Nordic Arctic strategies and policy documents of the Nordic institutions, combined with elements of (comparative) institutional analysis and a semi-structured interview.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
Few policy areas are as closely guarded by the member states of the European Union as their foreign policy. This is visible on the EU-level, in the Common Foreign and Security Policy and its...Show moreFew policy areas are as closely guarded by the member states of the European Union as their foreign policy. This is visible on the EU-level, in the Common Foreign and Security Policy and its individual policies, as the CFSP is considered to be a salient example of intergovernmentalism’s hold on aspects of EU policy-making. However, there have been some examples of small states influencing EU foreign policy. Malta is a relevant object for this study, as it is undoubtedly a small state. This makes it an interesting case study, as it, nonetheless, has clearly defined interests in the Southern neighbourhood. The Southern neighbourhood aspect of the ENP has itself been an under researched area in recent years, as it is widely considered a failed policy, and the interest of EU-scholars has largely shifted away from the Southern neighbourhood to the Eastern neighbourhood, where the threats to the EU, and its influence on the ‘ring of friends’ it aims to create, seem more pressing. Has Malta, despite its status as a small state, and the current general disinterest in the Southern neighbourhood, managed to capture EU policy-makers’ attention and successfully Europeanised its domestic foreign policy preferences? Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis, which traces frames and discursive constructions across the domestic level, to the European level, before concluding with a comparative analysis of two EU foreign policy documents, this study demonstrates that Maltese policy preferences were uploaded to the level of EU foreign policy, more specifically, the ENP's Southern Neighbourhood component.Show less
