The outcome in the Netherlands of the 2016 Ukraine referendum was influenced by Eurosceptic voting. Both this thesis and The National Referendum Research show that a lack of trust in the European...Show moreThe outcome in the Netherlands of the 2016 Ukraine referendum was influenced by Eurosceptic voting. Both this thesis and The National Referendum Research show that a lack of trust in the European Union corresponds with a ‘No’ vote. This thesis takes the analysis of the role of Eurosceptic voting a step further by using more explanatory models of Euroscepticism, giving insight on not only the relationship with Euroscepticism as a linear factor, but also as a multi-dimensional concept and a benchmark concept. With these models, this thesis shows that perceived utility of the EU - separate from trust in the EU - is an important factor that influenced the outcome of this Ukraine referendum. Beyond this, it shows that the referendum voters’ average trust in the EU’s policy and regime is lower than their trust in the national policy and regime. This leads to the conclusion that the Dutch voters have sent a message to The Hague and Brussels that they must put more effort in showing the Netherlands’ benefits through EU membership, for lack of confidence in the EU’s utility has been a key element in not accepting this international association agreement. On a methodological level, this thesis aims to contribute to a new research method predicated on the idea of ‘average towns’ because its data is collected based on the comparability of the municipality of Heemskerk with the Netherlands as a whole, in both demographics and voting outcomes.Show less
In this research the effects of religion on the perceived impact of immigrants on society is analysed for Poland and Czechia. The data used in this research is from the European Social Survey from...Show moreIn this research the effects of religion on the perceived impact of immigrants on society is analysed for Poland and Czechia. The data used in this research is from the European Social Survey from 2014 and 2016. The data shows that Poland is the most religious country in Europe and Czechia the least religious. The timeframe for this research was based to understand the effect of the refugee crisis on the perception towards immigrants, by analysing the same variables before and after the crisis. The data is analysed first by using an independent samples t-test to compare the means of religious and non-religious respondents. The results from this test indicated that a statistically significant difference between religious and non-religious respondents was found in Poland, but not in Czechia. Furthermore, a logistic regression is performed. The results indicated that religion does not have a predictive factor in both countries. The implications of these results are discussed throughout the analysis section.Show less
