Bachelor thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (BSc)
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This thesis explores the role of nostalgia in shaping regional identity and political behavior in Eastern Germany, focusing on the rise of the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). It...Show moreThis thesis explores the role of nostalgia in shaping regional identity and political behavior in Eastern Germany, focusing on the rise of the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). It examines the historical context of Eastern Germany post-1949, detailing socio-economic and political changes since reunification in 1990, and the emergence of right-wing attitudes. The concept of "Ostalgie," or nostalgia for the former East Germany (GDR), is analyzed, highlighting its socio-political impact and how the AfD manipulates these sentiments to gain support. The study investigates the party's use of historical narratives and symbols from the GDR era to foster a sense of shared identity and community among Eastern German voters. The thesis also discusses the social and political implications of the AfD's strategies, including increased neo-Nazi activity and anti-foreigner sentiments. Ultimately, it aims to understand the politicization of historical narratives and collective memory, emphasizing the need to resist extremist ideologies and promote a more inclusive society.Show less
Populist forces in Europe are on the rise with parties like the National Rally in France and the Polish Law and Justice enjoying significant support of the population. While these parties often...Show morePopulist forces in Europe are on the rise with parties like the National Rally in France and the Polish Law and Justice enjoying significant support of the population. While these parties often focus on issues of immigration or security, their stance on LGBT rights is often less clear. Mudde's ideational approach describes populism as a “thin-centred ideology” dividing society into “the elite” and “the people,” implying that populists believe that there is no need for minority protection as the people are seen as “homogenous.” Populist parties in Western Europe, however, sometimes use LGBT rights to argue against immigration. As this trend seems to be absent from Eastern Europe, a “rainbow curtain” that divides LGBT-friendly and unfriendly populist parties could be drawn. This thesis challenges the assumption that Eastern European populism automatically opposes LGBT rights, focusing on the Czech populist movement Action of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO). Using a discursive approach that does not assume that populists are against minority protection, the thesis examines ANO's attitudes towards LGBT rights on online news platforms and social media discourse from 2013 to 2024, with a focus on Prague Pride, same-sex adoption, and marriage, and ANO's relationship with Hungarian Fidesz. The analysis shows that ANO's attitudes are ambiguous, influenced by the politician asked (liberal vs. conservative members), timing (early enthusiastic support vs. later disregard or opposition), specific rights (same-sex unions vs. marriage and adoption), and platform (news vs. social media). Two main explanations follow from the primary source analysis. ANO's catch-all strategy to attract diverse voters and its use of LGBT rights to polarise and split the governing coalition.Show less
This thesis examines how the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has contributed to the free speech crisis in American academia. More specifically, building upon Wilson and...Show moreThis thesis examines how the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has contributed to the free speech crisis in American academia. More specifically, building upon Wilson and Kamola’s insights about the libertarian “Koch donor network,” it considers the role that populism plays in the way this organization operates. In doing so, this thesis argues that FIRE exhibits, to some degree or another, all the core elements of what Benjamin Moffitt has termed “populist political style”—but also, crucially, that it does this in largely subtle and indirect ways. Rather than interpreting his analytical lens as inadequate, however, or considering FIRE to be a “bad” example for studying populism, the author argues that it is precisely the aforementioned subtlety and indirectness that illustrate the utility of Moffitt’s “populist style” framework. (It should be noted that—although it did end up receiving a sufficient grade and was even complimented on by its evaluators for its level of insight and originality—this thesis was not handed in as a finished product. It contains elements of a draft, and substantial portions of it are written in note-form.)Show less
This thesis takes a comparative approach to understanding the impact of TAN populist executives on the asylum systems of Hungary and Italy following the 2015/16 migration crisis. The interlinking...Show moreThis thesis takes a comparative approach to understanding the impact of TAN populist executives on the asylum systems of Hungary and Italy following the 2015/16 migration crisis. The interlinking concepts of TAN populism, autocratization, and their relationship with judicial control and the asylum seeker are first expanded upon in the Literature Review. Then, the Theoretical Framework chapter delves into the applicability of the path dependence approach for understanding the links between these concepts and hypothesises that the degree to which a TAN populist executive can inflict Asylum System Assault (ASA) depends on its ability to reshape judicial control. This hypothesis is tested using a research design based on MSSD-I which is discussed in the Methodological Approach chapter. The comparative part of the thesis begins with a chapter on the case study of Hungary. In this case we see how the drafting of a new constitution by the Fidesz party in 2010 severely weakened judicial independence, allowing for a path dependent trajectory of further autocratization and, following the migration crisis, of ASA. In turn, this led to the structural death of asylum in the country by 2020. Meanwhile, the next chapter on the Italian case shows how an independent judiciary can act as a lifebuoy for migrant rights by stopping the successful implementation of key TAN populist executive ASA policies. This being the case both during the Conte I government, and in the current Meloni-led government.Show less
Populism has been on the rise across liberal democracies and has been closely linked with the ero-sion of democratic institutions and standards. However there have also been links made between...Show morePopulism has been on the rise across liberal democracies and has been closely linked with the ero-sion of democratic institutions and standards. However there have also been links made between populism’s effect on an individual’s trust in institutions. Considering the contemporary importance of international organisations and the rise of populism, we seek to understand the effect populism has on trust in international organisations. We make use of the European Values Study to our two hypotheses. We find that populists are predicted to have a lower degree of trust in the European Union and United Nations compared to non-populists. Moreover, we find that populists’ trust in international organisations is expected to increase when a populist party is in government, compared to only being in opposition. Our findings suggest that populism poses a challenge to the continued legitimacy of international governmental organisations, and policymakers should seek to continue fostering greater public confidence.Show less
This paper analyzes the interaction between policy distance and issue salience using the proximity model of voting. It uses a quantitative analysis of items from the Dutch Parliamentary Electoral...Show moreThis paper analyzes the interaction between policy distance and issue salience using the proximity model of voting. It uses a quantitative analysis of items from the Dutch Parliamentary Electoral Survey (2021) and POPPA (2018) to research whether the more salience is attached to economic, socio-cultural, and political issues by voters, the more important the chosen dimension will be for their vote. The examination provides data on voters’ and party positions on these three dimensions, and the binary logistic regression finds that the effect is strongest for the socio-cultural issues, but also somewhat significant for political issues, which confirms the importance of populism in contemporary Western European democracy.Show less
Thousands of migrants trying to enter the EU are subjected to illegal pushbacks at the hands of the border protection functions of individual EU states. (In)securitization theory suggests that...Show moreThousands of migrants trying to enter the EU are subjected to illegal pushbacks at the hands of the border protection functions of individual EU states. (In)securitization theory suggests that these illegal pushbacks warrant the need for political justification. Yet the primary current academic literature regarding the (in)securitization of migrants in the EU does not even recognize that the pushbacks are taking place. This research project first offers an altered conception of (in)securitization that can better account for the illegal practices taking place. This conception of (in)securitization emphasizes a process-centric approach to the concept’s application that focuses on both the actual (in)securitization attempts by actors and their motives, and the actual practices taken by border control agents. This is in contrast to the primary usage of (in)securitization that instead is restricted to establishing an abstractly conceived general (in)securitized context. Secondly, the reconceptualization is applied to the three cases where the most significant number of pushbacks are taking place; Romania, Hungary and Croatia. The project's findings suggest that (in)securitization theory must take a step back and align more closely with its original conception, that emphasized specific political motivations, to better capture the actual extraordinary practices that need political justification.Show less
Populists play a central role in the current crisis democracy faces. Approaching populism as a style of communication is becoming more popular in academics. Yet, there has been little systematic...Show morePopulists play a central role in the current crisis democracy faces. Approaching populism as a style of communication is becoming more popular in academics. Yet, there has been little systematic research on indicators of populist rhetoric. This article presents a comparative case study examining presidential speeches in which populists frame democratic backsliding through populist rhetoric. It examines the use of populist rhetoric by seven Latin American presidents when they refer to their attempts to degrade the democratic system. Findings highlight that arguing to act in line with the will of the people, referring to actions as revolutionary and scapegoating opposing forces are frequently used frames to justify authoritarian behaviour and attacks on democratic institutions.Show less
The Dutch Socialist Party (SP) has often been categorised as a populist and (soft) Eurosceptic party. Lately, however, the party’s Eurosceptic and populist degree have been called into question....Show moreThe Dutch Socialist Party (SP) has often been categorised as a populist and (soft) Eurosceptic party. Lately, however, the party’s Eurosceptic and populist degree have been called into question. Some scholars claimed that the party’s Euroscepticism is becoming ambiguous, whereas others diverge on the SP’s populist nature. Some scholars (i.e., March, 2011; Otjes and Louwerse, 2015) claim that the SP is a populist party portraying the main characteristics of anti-elitism and people-centrism. Others in contrast, stress that the SP is not populist (e.g., Lucardie & Voerman, 2012). Accordingly, this research elaborates on two issues. First, a better understanding is grasped towards the party’s Eurosceptic and populist views. This is done alongside the frameworks provided by Vasilopoulou (2018), Keith (2017), Mudde, (2004) and Hameleers (2018). Secondly, this research examines whether the party has been shifting in its populist and Eurosceptic degree over the past few years in which emphasis is placed on the timeframe 2014-2021. As a result, the research question central to this thesis is: How can the Eurosceptic and populist character of the SP be understood and in what ways did the party shift in their Eurosceptic and populist degree between 2014 and 2021? Qualitative methods in the form of content analysis have accordingly been employed. Party manifestos and additional primary sources such as speeches and electoral campaigning videos have been selected and analysed. Based on the analysis of the main sources, the final results of this thesis reveal that the SP can be categorised as conditional Eurosceptic and populist. The party shows a constant Eurosceptic level, but its populist degree is shifting constantly. This seems to be a result both electoral success, poor electoral performances and party leadership change.Show less
In de literatuur zijn er verschillende definities en conceptualisaties van populisme in omloop en deze verschillende conceptualisaties worden ook op verschillende manieren gemeten. Dit onderzoek...Show moreIn de literatuur zijn er verschillende definities en conceptualisaties van populisme in omloop en deze verschillende conceptualisaties worden ook op verschillende manieren gemeten. Dit onderzoek heeft als doel de kernelementen van populisme vast te stellen en twee meetmethodes om populisme empirisch te meten met elkaar te vergelijken. Op deze manier komt er inzicht in de voor- en nadelen van elke onderzoeksmethode. De centrale vraag in deze scriptie is: In hoeverre profileren de PVV en FvD zich populistischer dan de VVD en GL in de voorbereide bijdragen van de Algemene Politieke Beschouwingen van 1 november 2017? Om deze vraag te kunnen beantwoorden is er eerst vastgesteld dat populisme in ieder geval bestaat uit twee kernelementen. Het eerste element is people-centrism. Een populist spreekt uit naam van dit volk en meent de belangen van dit volk mee te nemen in zijn politieke besluiten. Het tweede element is anti-elitism. Het benadrukken van de afstand tussen de establishment of de ‘elite’ (die in dit onderzoek als een en hetzelfde worden gezien) is iets dat in alle besproken definities voorbij komt. Vervolgens zijn twee deelanalyses uitgevoerd. De politicologische analyse is een man-machine contentanalyse, voorgesteld door Rooduijn & Pauwels (2011), waarbij het corpus eerst wordt geanalyseerd op het voorkomen van woorden die kunnen verwijzen naar een van de twee kernelementen van populisme. Daarna worden de alinea’s die een of meerdere woorden uit de woordenlijst bevatten, handmatig geanalyseerd op het voorkomen van de kernelementen. De taalkundig-stilistische analyse meet het populistisch gehalte van het corpus door te kijken naar de stijlmiddelen waarvan het aannemelijk is dat ze van invloed zijn op de uiting van populisme. In beide analyses hebben de PVV en FvD een hoger populistisch gehalte dan de VVD en GL, waaruit af te leiden is dat deze twee partijen zich populistischer profileren dan de VVD en GL in deze bijdragen. De man-machine contentanalyse geeft meer inzicht in de populistische inhoud van de tekst, terwijl de taalkundig-stilistische analyse juist meer inzicht geeft in hoe een populistische stijl tot uiting komt. Als vervolgonderzoek zou het interessant zijn om een methode te ontwikkelen waarin beide meetmethoden met elkaar gecombineerd worden.Show less
In this thesis I will zoom in on the populist leaders Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia. By reason of the continuous rise and fall of populism since the 1930s, the focus of this...Show moreIn this thesis I will zoom in on the populist leaders Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia. By reason of the continuous rise and fall of populism since the 1930s, the focus of this research will be which factors, based on the theory of populism, contributed to the appeal of Chávez and Morales. This will lead to the following research question: “What factors enabled the rise of populist leaders Hugo Chávez and Evo Morales?” Answering this will contribute to the theory of populism and will teach us more about the state of democracy.Show less
The thesis quantitatively measures the extent to which a selection of speeches of two Dutch and two UK politicians, Thierry Baudet, Geert Wilders, Nigel Farage, and Boris Johnson, contain lexical...Show moreThe thesis quantitatively measures the extent to which a selection of speeches of two Dutch and two UK politicians, Thierry Baudet, Geert Wilders, Nigel Farage, and Boris Johnson, contain lexical and grammatical indicators of a populist communication style.Show less
This thesis analyzes the changes in the political behavior of Peronist leaders towards the memory of the dictatorial past. It offers a comparative analysis of Menemism and Kirchnerism, their...Show moreThis thesis analyzes the changes in the political behavior of Peronist leaders towards the memory of the dictatorial past. It offers a comparative analysis of Menemism and Kirchnerism, their discourse regarding the last military dictatorship and their relationship with human rights activist groups, notably Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo. Additionally, it attempts to conduct an early analysis of newly elected president Alberto Fernández and whether he is likely to follow the ideological path of his predecessor, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. It understands post-dictatorship Argentina through the lenses of global issues such as populism and collective memory.Show less
My analysis provides little support for the claim that Instagram’s algorithm is exploited in an attempt to increase the exposure to RNQs’ content/narratives or instill users with a fake sense of...Show moreMy analysis provides little support for the claim that Instagram’s algorithm is exploited in an attempt to increase the exposure to RNQs’ content/narratives or instill users with a fake sense of organic support, by employing bots to amplify their messages and enlarge their following. Although at first glance, it appears like bots make up a substantial amount of their followers, compared to other established media, their number is not significant, but rather a representation of the overall inauthentic bot population on the SMP. Among the inspected outlets, only the Italian outlet “ilGiornale” exhibited abnormal metrics throughout all steps of the analysis and is therefore considered to benefit from CP methods. Since this RNQ has not uploaded any content to Instagram since May 2019 and only has 16 posts in total, an increased exposure to their content is considered to be no threat to democratic deliberation. Rather, even without CP, it is an emerging right-wing media ecosystem that poses an increasing challenge to EU democracy. These findings, however, should be taken cautiously, as in the course of the empirical chapter, it becomes obvious that qualitative bot-detection models were designed for Twitter or Facebook and do not adequately take the platform-specifics of Instagram into account. Hence, the number of bots and subsequently the number of RNQ accounts that benefit from CP might actually be higher than this analysis suggests.Show less
Over the last several years, a shift toward Eurosceptic populism has been apparent in the Dutch political landscape. The rise of Eurosceptic populism and the subsequent erosion of traditional...Show moreOver the last several years, a shift toward Eurosceptic populism has been apparent in the Dutch political landscape. The rise of Eurosceptic populism and the subsequent erosion of traditional centrist parties have been described as one of the most prominent changes of the last decade. One party that is relatively new to the Dutch political landscape is Forum for Democracy (FvD). This party soon has been characterised as hard Eurosceptic, anti-EU, and populist by political opponents and mass media. Although far-right political parties are often labeled Eurosceptic and populist, Euroscepticism is not a phenomenon with a single explanation. Political parties differ in their critical attitude toward the EU, and distinctions can be made between categories of populist right-wing parties. This thesis, therefore, examines the Eurosceptic and populist nature of FvD. In addition, it analyses what factors contribute to the success of far-right Dutch political parties, such as FvD. Qualitative research has been used to examine the degree of Euroscepticism, the populist nature and the factors contributing to the success of populist Eurosceptic parties. The FvD party is used as a case study in this paper. This research project is based on party manifestos, speeches and debates. The results show that FvD can be classified as a hard rejectionist Eurosceptic party and as populist radical right-wing. The success of far-right populist political parties can be explained on the basis of different aspects, such as anti-immigration sentiments, political distrust among voters, increased volatility, and charismatic leadership. Each aspect can be found in the manifestos and other related texts of FvD. Hence, these aspects can be considered one of the main reasons explaining the rise of far-right parties such as FvD. However, it should be noted that the factors based on voter motivations have largely been excluded. An additional focus on the factor of voter motives could have drawn a bigger picture and provided a better explanation for the recent rise of far-right political parties. Therefore, it is recommended that more research shall be conducted.Show less
