The LGBTIQ rights landscape in the European Union is undergoing change. Government-endorsed discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity has been on the rise in its...Show moreThe LGBTIQ rights landscape in the European Union is undergoing change. Government-endorsed discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity has been on the rise in its Easternmost member states. In response to recent events, the European Commission has communicated that the Union must be at the forefront of efforts to better protect LGBTIQ people’s rights. This study critically examines the changing self-perception of the European Commission as it engages with the conflict over LGBTIQ rights. Process tracing of the emergence, (lack of) diffusion and subsequent contestation of the LGBTIQ norm in the region reveals that the ongoing dispute of values between the East and the West is a self-inflicted wound which can be traced back to the Eastern enlargement accession negotiations. The timid approach to the enforcement of European Union membership criteria has caused a normative gap post-accession, resulting in a regional identity crisis. Norm polarisation theory is proposed as a theoretical framework which can describe the deepening rift between the Union’s human rights profile on one hand, and Polish insistence on the right to tradition and sovereignty on the other.Show less
Turkey has applied to be member of the European Community already in 1987. Up to this day however, it has not joined and the negotiations have come to a halt. The debate about whether Turkey should...Show moreTurkey has applied to be member of the European Community already in 1987. Up to this day however, it has not joined and the negotiations have come to a halt. The debate about whether Turkey should join the European Union and whether it is compatible with its community has been highly politicised over the last years. The discussion usually revolves around whether Turkey is Eu- ropean enough to be a part of the Union, whether it fulfils all the fundamental criteria to join on an economic, political and social level as well as whether Turkey’s membership would bring about a form of cultural clash. The discourse around the topic and the language employed by policy makers has so far not been as well researched. This paper therefore explores the following research questi- on: “What is the role of an ‘othering’ discourse in the Turkey EU membership negotiations?”. It explores the theoretical framework of Othering and how it connects to the concept of Orientalism. Building on how Europe historically defines itself against an Other, both sides will be analysed on their language. Using methods of critical discourse analysis, the language of Turkish and EU insti- tutional policy makers is examined. Based on this research, tentative conclusions are drawn about the underlying meaning of speeches and remarks and how they fit into the framework of Othering.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
