The important role of Russia in satisfying European gas demand and the subsequent gas disruptions in 2006 and 2009 have scrutinized the role of Russia in developing a Common Energy Policy for the...Show moreThe important role of Russia in satisfying European gas demand and the subsequent gas disruptions in 2006 and 2009 have scrutinized the role of Russia in developing a Common Energy Policy for the EU. Those skeptical of Russian influence have emphasized the threats to the internal market and the security of supply in constructing new pipeline infrastructure for the trade of gas. This research determines that the perceived threats to the internal market and the security of supply are unjustified. In addition, pragmatic economic interests have incentivized actors to oppose Nord Stream and South Stream.Show less
In 2014 EU-China relations have been substantially reformed with a new comprehensive strategic partnership agreement. It is ever more important for the EU to have a coherent EU-wide policy approach...Show moreIn 2014 EU-China relations have been substantially reformed with a new comprehensive strategic partnership agreement. It is ever more important for the EU to have a coherent EU-wide policy approach towards China as it creates greater mutual benefits for all member states. With a trade volume of 428 billion€ in 2013 and annual trade growth rate of 6.8% since 2009, the PRC is one of the EU’s most significant partner in trade and vice versa. Moreover, both regions could potentially impact international relations altogether by jointly challenging conventional norms and US hegemony via international institutions. Yet, various disputes have previously hampered the success of the strategic partnership. These include uncertainty within the EU to what direction the partnership should take, and, the weak institutional mechanism of annual summits with no clear objective. The goal of this dissertation is therefore, to find out what has to change in the EU strategy and member states interest accumulation and perception of China that can make the relationship more effective. Accordingly, the following research questions were addressed: How can the EU-China strategic partnership be more effective and constructive in foreign policy making? 1. To what extent is the newly formulated Europe-China 2020 Strategic Agenda of 2013 an improvement of the EU-China strategic partnership? 2. Are British and German national foreign policies vis-á-vis China competing with each other, which ultimately hampers the effectiveness of the EU-China strategic partnership?Show less
Since the onset of the European project, there has been a pronounced tendency to work with the African continent – from trade arrangements through development cooperation, and more recently...Show moreSince the onset of the European project, there has been a pronounced tendency to work with the African continent – from trade arrangements through development cooperation, and more recently incorporating intensified political dialogue and a human rights dimension. In the year of 2000 the Cotonou Agreement ushered in a new phase in the EU-ACP relations: the EU undertook negotiations on a new framework – Economic Partnership Agreements – for its relationship with the ACP region. The EPAs combine trade, development and human rights dimensions, but also work toward the ultimate goal of ‘eradication of poverty’. Adopting Normative Power Europe as a theoretical framework, the thesis includes a comparative politics methodology and investigates the EPA implications for human rights in three African states. The findings confirm that the EU holds regular dialogue and actively encourages human rights promotion in Africa but is wary to invoke essential elements clauses and suspend aid when it comes to its strategic partners or trading concerns.Show less
The bombings in New York on 9 September 2001 (9/11) made the European Union (EU) realize that it would be necessary to change European policies to combat this form of terrorism. This asked for a...Show moreThe bombings in New York on 9 September 2001 (9/11) made the European Union (EU) realize that it would be necessary to change European policies to combat this form of terrorism. This asked for a strong cooperation between different elements of the EU, such as the EU self, Member States and the European Police Office (Europol). Although it is Europol’s role to gather information that comes from the Member States concerning terrorists’ acts or behaviour and to act as an umbrella organisation, the cooperation between Europol and the Member States is difficult. Even so, after 9/11 the EU was capable in creating the ‘Plan of Action on Combating Terrorism’ to create the first guidelines to prevent that the EU would also be a victim of this form of terrorism in the future. To understand what the effect was of this Plan, this thesis looks into the question to what extent the EU has been using arguments such as terrorism to incentivize the Member States to take action against terrorism. This thesis will argue that this Plan was not very successful. The member states should make more use of the EU’s and Europol’s capabilities and increase and improve the cooperation between them all and that the EU should enhance the capabilities of Europol. Furthermore, the Member States should not only act when there is a massive attack as on 9/11, because it is better to prevent certain attacks and to minimalize the consequences and victims.Show less
A theory that can give us another perspective of the world we live in is the constructivist theory. Although constructivism, like realism, takes the state as the centre of its research,...Show moreA theory that can give us another perspective of the world we live in is the constructivist theory. Although constructivism, like realism, takes the state as the centre of its research, constructivism offers different insights in world politics. By analysing Russia’s policies through both theories, this research tries to offer new ways of understanding Russia under Putin and how Russia positions itself in world politics. This paper will focus on Russia’s policies under Putin, because Putin made several policy changes in Russia on both a domestic and international level.These policy changes raised questions about how to understand Russian politics and position in the world. Whereas these policy changes are often explained through a realist lens, constructivism can offer new insights. Furthermore, this paper will focus on Russia’s policies towards the Middle East, because the Middle East can be seen as a cockpit of confrontation in international politics between states. Events in the Middle East are often viewed from a realist perspective, which makes it interesting to shine a different light on the events in the Middle East. Consequently, the research question of this paper will be; “What does Russia’s position in the Middle East under Putin reveal about how Russia positions itself in the world.”Show less
In the past five years, a variety of social movements have used the information and communication technologies (ICTs) in ways that were not foreseen in order to coordinate, debate, denounce and...Show moreIn the past five years, a variety of social movements have used the information and communication technologies (ICTs) in ways that were not foreseen in order to coordinate, debate, denounce and protest. The participants in these actions have brought publicity to practices of hacktivism, an integration of activism and ICTs (mobile phones, Internet, computers, and dedicated applications) which aims to expand political, social and economic freedom. The aim of this paper is to identify which aspects of hacktivism are problematic in regulatory terms, hindering the fulfilment of its positive effects. This study conducts a preliminary, descriptive and analytical account of these problems focusing, first, on hacktivism internally (its conceptualisation, typology and consequences), to proceed to the problems linked to its context (global Internet governance, EU multilateralism and self-regulated regulation). Lastly, these challenges are briefly categorised and attention is paid to how new directions in decision-making methods may be incorporated into EU Impact Assessment in order to systematically identify new problems that may arise in the future.Show less
Based on the legal base of the SSM, Council Regulation (EU) no 1024/2013 and a literature overview, this thesis will approach the main question: Is there a need to change accountability practices...Show moreBased on the legal base of the SSM, Council Regulation (EU) no 1024/2013 and a literature overview, this thesis will approach the main question: Is there a need to change accountability practices of the ECB now that it has new tasks regarding prudential supervision? This new Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) will divide the European Central Bank (ECB) tasks into a monetary function and a supervisory function. Hereby the ECB and the national central banks (NCBs) of all Member States of the euro zone form the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). The debate involving the ECB independence and its new integrated supervisory tasks alongside monetary policy raises a number of questions. This particularly relates to central bank independence, since the possibility of trade-offs between monetary policy and supervisory tasks could lead to conflicts of objectives. Hence, reputational risks are significant challenges and threats, which need to be overcome. Moreover, when executing the two tasks during crisis situations within the euro zone, the ECB must have a high incentive to improve its accountability practise towards the European public to strengthen its credibility. Therefore, the existing accountability framework of the ECB must be critically reviewed. Thus the ECB could take certain extra measures to maintain its high standard of accountability.Show less
This thesis is concerned with the question why social democratic parties in Western Europe have shifted their socio-economic policies towards the right of the political spectrum in the 1990s. In...Show moreThis thesis is concerned with the question why social democratic parties in Western Europe have shifted their socio-economic policies towards the right of the political spectrum in the 1990s. In particular, labour market reforms that substantially conflict with social democratic ideology and conduce to the gradual erosion of the welfare state are under scrutiny. Building on the theoretical innovations of discursive institutionalism, it contributes to the academic effort of resolving the research gap on the motivation of social democratic parties legitimising this shift by focussing on the communicative discourse of social democratic parties governing in the Netherlands (PvdA) and Germany (SPD). Moreover, communicative discourse is posed as the independent variable explaining the strong difference in the degree of societal protest to the respective national reforms – within a timeframe of similar socio-economic challenges and with (ideologically) similar reforms. The thesis concludes, firstly, that the motivation of the PvdA and the SPD are generally alike in terms of their emphasis on the necessity to reform/modernise the labour market given internal and external challenges to the welfare state. Secondly, subtle but significant differences in the consistency, cognitive soundness and considerateness of the conveyance of the respective discourses explains why public protest in Germany was stronger than in the Netherlands.Show less
The study of NATO’s discourse during the crises in Abkhazia, South Osetia and Crimea ofers a posibilty to analyse the way NATO presents itself and influences its identiy. By means of a discourse...Show moreThe study of NATO’s discourse during the crises in Abkhazia, South Osetia and Crimea ofers a posibilty to analyse the way NATO presents itself and influences its identiy. By means of a discourse analysis of NATO’s published texts during these two crises, this thesis wil elaborate on the role discourse has played in the shaping of NATO’s identiy. This thesis wil show that the identiy presented by NATO is that of an organisation that is mainly concerned with international norms and values. However, when confronted with a perceived threat by Rusia to the organisation itself, this identity also includes an emphasis on the miltary background of the organisation, which responds to a foreign threat. The identiy of NATO is thus more nuanced than frequently described and lies in the midle of the two identies that are most often atributed to NATO by the existing literature.Show less
In the wake of the Asian financial crisis Indonesia was faced by a political transition, when president Suharto was forced to resign in May 1998 after an authoritarian rule of more than thirty...Show moreIn the wake of the Asian financial crisis Indonesia was faced by a political transition, when president Suharto was forced to resign in May 1998 after an authoritarian rule of more than thirty years. This event was of tremendous historical significance as it marked the beginning of a democratization process, leading to general elections in 2001 and the first presidential elections in Indonesian history three years later. The thesis focusses on the foreign policy of Indonesia in the post-Suharto period. More specifically an answer is given to the following research question: to what extent do democratic values shape Indonesian foreign policy? In order to answer this question the thesis uses the policy towards Myanmar during the presidencies of Megawati Sukarnoputri and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as a case study. As the theoretical framework used for this thesis, the value-action framework, argues that the content of foreign policy depends on the actors involved, the investigation is split into three parts. In the first part, the policy during the Megawati presidency on the bilateral level, within ASEAN and the UN is investigated. This process is repeated for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's presidential terms in the second and third part.Show less
