This thesis investigates the effect of the Euro crisis on the positions of the German mainstream parties SPD and CDU/CSU. Even though national parties are crucial political actors, their responses...Show moreThis thesis investigates the effect of the Euro crisis on the positions of the German mainstream parties SPD and CDU/CSU. Even though national parties are crucial political actors, their responses to the crisis have been researched insufficiently. To fill this gap, this thesis employs deductive, qualitative research. It combines data of party manifestos, televised debates and seven interviews with parliamentarians and parliamentarian assistants. In contrast to other studies on party position changes that are mostly quantitative, this thesis employs a qualitative design. The results entail that there was a small change in the positions of the two parties. The reactions of the parties were mostly similar. They did not change their stance towards the EU fundamentally; however, the EU gained salience. Through the crisis, the par-ties felt urged to give more explanations about the EU and their position towards it to citi-zens. This need arose from the increasing public Euroscepticism as well as the party-bound Euroscepticism embodied by the novel party AfD. CDU/CSU and SPD aimed at responding to these developments and at defending their traditionally pro-European stance. The results are relevant to researchers of European integration and party positions. They also generate advice for practitioners. Party politicians are recommended to make a distinct choice in case a novel (challenger) party emerges; to move closer to the party, or to stick to their own posi-tion. There can be valid reasons for both options but failure to make a clear enough decision can lead to regrets.Show less
This thesis project focus on the 2015 Syrian refugee crisis and its impact on Germany politics. This paper will explore in what way Syrian refugee has impacted the Germany politics. The main...Show moreThis thesis project focus on the 2015 Syrian refugee crisis and its impact on Germany politics. This paper will explore in what way Syrian refugee has impacted the Germany politics. The main argument in this project is (How has the Syrian refugees' crisis in Germany contribute to the rise of the right-wing populist party?). The findings and analysis of the above mention issue will be drawn from existing primary and secondary data using peer-reviewed literature on the subject. The data will be used from different journal and articles based on the political issues in Germany, statistics data from the European Union and Germans government institutions, as well as from different national and international body predominantly working on that issue of refugees within Germany. In the end, this thesis project also unveil the rise of right-wing populist parties in Germany Alternative for Germany(AfD) from the aftermath of 2015 refuge crisis. This project will also try to analyze how Germany position itself within the negotiation in the EU concerning the migration.Show less
Motivated by the dramatic outcomes of the 2017 German federal election, this thesis essentially investigated how the significant discrepancies in the electoral support of the right-wing populist...Show moreMotivated by the dramatic outcomes of the 2017 German federal election, this thesis essentially investigated how the significant discrepancies in the electoral support of the right-wing populist party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) across the sixteen German federal states in this election can be explained. In particular, it could be observed that the party could attain exceptionally high electoral results predominantly in the eastern states of the country while its electoral performance in large parts of the West was significantly weaker. In the search to explain this pattern, the ‘losers of modernisation’ theory generally appears as a promising approach as it highlights the factor of socio-economic deprivation as one of the main causes for the success of right-wing populist parties, such as the AfD. And, indeed, when evaluating the geographic patterns of the party’s results in the respective election, it stands out that the electoral strongholds of the AfD in the eastern states of Germany appear to be less wealthy and economically productive than their Western counterparts. As a consequence, in order to test the explanatory validity of the ‘losers of modernisation’ theory in understanding the electoral success of the AfD in 2017 German federal election, this thesis poses the following research question: To what extent do factors of socio-economic deprivation explain the electoral success of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in the 2017 German federal election? In a nutshell, however, the findings of this thesis emphasised that the ‘losers of modernisation’ theory does not possess the explanatory validity to explain the electoral results of the AfD in the 2017 German federal elections and that the factor of socio-economic deprivation had no significant impact on the party’s electoral performance in this respective election.Show less
