With the rise of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), established parties must decide on countering strategies against the populist radical right actor. While officially continuing a cordon...Show moreWith the rise of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), established parties must decide on countering strategies against the populist radical right actor. While officially continuing a cordon sanitaire and criticizing its extremist policy positions, especially the Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands (CDU) increasingly cooperates with the far-right party on federal levels. Differentiating between dismissive, accommodative, and adversarial countering strategies, this paper investigates changes within the 20th Bundestag. It seeks greater differentiation between established parties and within tactics, as well as updating changing dynamics. The applied frame analysis indicates an overall shift towards accommodative strategies: parties increasingly converge their policy positions closer to the AfD. Such tactics are more prevalent among demand-side tactics and center-right parties. Niche and mainstream parties display little differences.Show less
This thesis examines to what extent the securitisation model applies to the attempted OPCW hack, the Bundestag hack, and the SolarWinds operation concerning policy implementations. The...Show moreThis thesis examines to what extent the securitisation model applies to the attempted OPCW hack, the Bundestag hack, and the SolarWinds operation concerning policy implementations. The securitisation model analyses the securitising actor’s response to the threat. Further, it analyses whether the securitisation act enabled the securitising actor to implement drastic measures. This thesis uses the case study method and selected the cases with a shared perpetrator and objective. For the findings, this thesis concluded the following for the three cases. The Dutch government completed the securitisation act for the attempted OPCW hack but did not implement drastic policies. For the Bundestag hack, the Federal Government did not complete the securitisation act but did implement drastic measures. The United States completed the securitisation act and implemented drastic policies. Thus, the extent to which the securitisation model explains the response of the victim state differs in each case.Show less
During the 20th Century, both Germany and Spain had atrocities committed against specific groups of people at home under fascist leaderships. Both countries democratised with the death of their...Show moreDuring the 20th Century, both Germany and Spain had atrocities committed against specific groups of people at home under fascist leaderships. Both countries democratised with the death of their leader, leaving members from the previous regime in power. However, two very different approaches to reconciliation were taken. Germany prosecuted the leaders of the old regime, implemented collective guilt across the population, and either destroyed fascist memorials and insignias or actively challenged them with counter-memorials. As opposed to following the German path to reconciliation, the fruits of which could be seen during the democratisation of Spain, the new democracy decided to implement the 1975 Pact of Forgetting, an unwritten agreement to not bring up the atrocities committed under Franco for fear of retribution. In order to understand the events that led to two very different outcomes through the use of interviews, analysis of the Suárez’s cabinet, and analysis of the use of memorials in both cases, this paper will ask why did Spain choose to avoid a similar reconciliation process to the one taken by West Germany thirty years prior despite being in a similar state and what role did public history play?Show less
