This thesis analyses how Brexit and its causes and consequences are reflected in three contemporary English novels. Scholars such as Anderson, Said and Leerssen have shown that national and...Show moreThis thesis analyses how Brexit and its causes and consequences are reflected in three contemporary English novels. Scholars such as Anderson, Said and Leerssen have shown that national and cultural identities are constructions. A decisive moment such as the outcome of the Brexit referendum shows how people have different constructions with regard to their common nation. This thesis explores what is distinct about English identity and shows the fragmented way in which it is formed. The chosen novels explore how these constructions influence both individuals and relationships. Anthony Cartwright’s The Cut, Amanda Craig’s The Lie of the Land, and Jonathan Coe’s Middle England show how people are confronted with the fact that they have been imagining their nation in fundamentally different ways than their fellow countrymen. The analysis shows that fragmentation and imagination have been key factors in the Brexit process.Show less
This thesis analyses competing discourses around the 2017 Catalan independence referendum. Taking a quantitative approach, several distinct text-mining techniques are applied to political speech...Show moreThis thesis analyses competing discourses around the 2017 Catalan independence referendum. Taking a quantitative approach, several distinct text-mining techniques are applied to political speech transcripts and newspaper opinion pieces of pro-independence and pro-union elites in order to identify broad lexical patterns in discourse. These results are then interpreted with the guidance of previous literature and within the theoretical framework of discursive institutionalism. The analysis finds that the most salient patterns are a pro-union emphasis on law and the constitution, and a pro-independence focus on the symbolic imagery produced by the referendum, such as polling stations, ballot boxes, and police violence. The results also find differing representations of the relationship between Catalonia and Spain, and to a lesser degree, the role of Europe within the dynamic. Taken together, these findings illuminate broad discursive strategies employed by both sides of the independence debate as they seek to either provoke or prevent institutional change.Show less
The thesis researches the question of how people came to vote in favor of leaving the European Union during the 2016 referendum on the UK's EU membership. It critically assess one of the main...Show moreThe thesis researches the question of how people came to vote in favor of leaving the European Union during the 2016 referendum on the UK's EU membership. It critically assess one of the main explanations for public Euroscepticism: the identity approach. The authors argues that this approach is too static and doesn't fully explain the mechanisms and dynamics behind the Leave vote due to a over-reliance on qualitative methods and four theoretical misconceptions within the approach. Based upon a qualitative research strategy, and a case study involving Leave voters in England, the author argues that a wider theoretical framework, including the cultural schema of people, the public mood in the country and the opportunity for change theory, could help us to understand the mechanisms leading to the meanings and beliefs that underlie the 2016 Leave vote.Show less
In this thesis, political theory on party discipline is used to shed light on the disunity within the British Labour Party on the European Question during 1965-1975. The managerial regime of the...Show moreIn this thesis, political theory on party discipline is used to shed light on the disunity within the British Labour Party on the European Question during 1965-1975. The managerial regime of the Whip System used to contain rebellious behavior within the MP's of the Labour Party, but was challenged by the growing amount of leftist MP's who considered the EEC too capitalistic. The management of this discord by the party top and Harold Wilson in particular is what is researched in this thesis.Show less
