Minority representation is a hot topic in U.S. politics. This paper will explore the effects of racial redistricting on minority representation by focusing on the Black and Hispanic minority in the...Show moreMinority representation is a hot topic in U.S. politics. This paper will explore the effects of racial redistricting on minority representation by focusing on the Black and Hispanic minority in the United States. Using quantitative analysis, this paper will use nationwide data on electoral districts and their representatives in the House of Representatives to test four hypotheses. It will underline the importance of majority-minority districts to ensure equal representation for minority groups.Show less
The European Union is often considered a powerful force in democracy promotion in its neighbourhood, widely being credited with the successful democratisation of many Central and Eastern European...Show moreThe European Union is often considered a powerful force in democracy promotion in its neighbourhood, widely being credited with the successful democratisation of many Central and Eastern European countries (Dimitrova & Pridhram, 2004; Pop-Eleches, 2007; Schimmelfennig, 2007). It is all the more puzzling therefore that this successful push for democratisation has not materialised in the Western Balkans, where many countries, despite their status as candidate member states of the union, have experienced prolonged periods of democratic backsliding (Castaldo, 2020, 1633). Why is the EU’s strategy to promote democratic performance failing here? Several researchers have pointed towards the EU’s own policy agenda as an important contributor to the decrease in democratic performance (Huszka, 2018, 361; Castaldo, 2020, 1633). This thesis set out to contribute to these studies by analysing the effects of an EU-sponsored media reform in Serbia that has been accused of decreasing media freedom in the country (Freedom House, 2016; Huszka, 2018, 361; Castaldo, 2020, 1630-1631). Through a mixed quantitative and qualitative content analysis, it aimed to answer the question: how has the EU-sponsored media strategy impacted progovernment bias in the Serbian media? It found that pro-government bias in the media was not significantly affect by the media strategy.Show less
Contemporary European politics has seen a surge of new political parties successfully gaining political representation across the national parliaments. However, many disintegrate soon after...Show moreContemporary European politics has seen a surge of new political parties successfully gaining political representation across the national parliaments. However, many disintegrate soon after recording their parliamentary breakthrough, but some manage to survive and establish themselves in their party systems. What can explain these contrasting fates? First, a brief review of the available literature on the topic is presented and various theories are examined, which leads to the specification of the research question: “Does the homogeneity of party elites’ social backgrounds increase the likelihood of new party survival?” This thesis aims to contribute to the empirical research on the survival of new parties and answer the research question using a qualitative analysis of an extensive dataset of party elites’ social backgrounds in five new political parties in Slovakia. The research did not find compelling evidence to support the hypothesis that the homogeneity of party elites’ social backgrounds increases the likelihood of new party survival. The thesis concludes by discussing the reasons for this, explores alternative explanations, addresses its limitations and identifies areas for further research.Show less
This study examines the impact of African Youth Activists (AYAs) at last year's Conference of the Parties (COP27). Despite being disproportionately affected by climate change, marginalized groups,...Show moreThis study examines the impact of African Youth Activists (AYAs) at last year's Conference of the Parties (COP27). Despite being disproportionately affected by climate change, marginalized groups, such as AYAs, often face challenges in having their voices adequately heard due to underlying structures that favor countries and non-governmental organizations from the Global North. The Political Opportunity Structure can be used to examine whether AYAs have opportunities to make a difference in a system. This involves evaluating whether there are entry points for new actors to enter the political process and whether the existing mechanisms within the system effectively accommodate and integrate new perspectives. To explore this, the study conducted 12 semi-structured interviews with AYAs to investigate how the existing power relations at COP impact their participation. The perception of AYAs on power relations and their opportunities for intervention provide insights into their reality and how they navigate the structural aspects of the political process. The findings of this research can be used to find places to intervene in the UNFCCC- system and improve activists' work at COPs in the future.Show less
Political participation is typically associated with conventional forms of participation, but in recent years academics have been increasingly interested in unconventional political participation...Show morePolitical participation is typically associated with conventional forms of participation, but in recent years academics have been increasingly interested in unconventional political participation due to declining turnout rates across European democracies. Unconventional forms of participation in politics are quite freely practiced in democratic countries, however, it remains unclear which factors influence unconventional modes of participation in non- democratic countries. The aim of this thesis is to examine the individual and context-level factors that may influence the patterns of unconventional political participation in Turkey. For this purpose, drawing on the civic voluntarism model and the political opportunity structure as the theoretical backbone of the study, regression analyses are conducted using World Values Surveys for the years 1996, 2001, 2007, 2011, and 2018 to see how the impact of various individual-level variables and the rule of law index changes over time. The findings indicate that more educated and politically interested citizens as well as members of civil society organizations have a greater likelihood to engage in unconventional political participation.Show less
Groups working within the same contested issue-area often make different claims although they are working within the same cause. This research explores this phenomenon by comparing two Palestinian...Show moreGroups working within the same contested issue-area often make different claims although they are working within the same cause. This research explores this phenomenon by comparing two Palestinian rights advocacy groups in the Netherlands and explaining their claim-making strategies through the framework of political context which is measured in terms of institutional access, alliance structure, and conflict structure. This case is chosen as it examines a contested issue within a political environment that has historically proven to be hostile towards it. This study argues that the political context of a group plays a key role in determining whether they employ an inside- oriented or outside-oriented claim-making strategy. Through a qualitative comparative analysis, this research has demonstrated that, with consideration to other possible explanations, differing political contexts lead to divergent claim-making strategies for advocacy groups despite their similar characteristics. Additionally, while the political context shapes the claim-making strategy, this does not diminish group agency.Show less
The current debate on nudging is dichotomous since it either mentions the arguments in favor of or opposed to nudging. Proponents of nudging also assume that nudges should pursue the goal to...Show moreThe current debate on nudging is dichotomous since it either mentions the arguments in favor of or opposed to nudging. Proponents of nudging also assume that nudges should pursue the goal to produce certain desired outcomes. This paper questions the current dichotomy of the debate and the assumption on the goal of nudges by differentiating between an output-oriented and a process-oriented conception of nudging. The aim of the thesis is to argue that process-oriented nudges rather than output-oriented nudges are desirable because they can promote the autonomy-based freedom of individuals. The thesis formulates three conditions that process-oriented nudges should satisfy in order to promote autonomy-based freedom and it applies the process-oriented conception of nudging to three different nudges. The paper concludes that especially the nudges that make relevant information salient and that change defaults are compatible with a process-oriented conception of nudging. The process-oriented conception of nudging was applied to the empirical case of vaccination policies in order to find out what kind of nudges would be compatible with a process-oriented conception of nudging.Show less
In a context of insufficient climate action on the part of governments, the question of whether individuals have any underlying moral responsibility concerning climate change has become...Show moreIn a context of insufficient climate action on the part of governments, the question of whether individuals have any underlying moral responsibility concerning climate change has become increasingly relevant. However, despite various theoretical attempts to ground such responsibility, none of them has been completely satisfactory, resulting in a lack of consensus in the scholarly literature. In this thesis, I engage with this debate, guided by the following research question: what is the nature of individual responsibility for climate change? I build on Iris Marion Young’s Social Connection Model (SCM) of responsibility to respond to this question. I argue that using Young’s SCM to conceptualize individual responsibility to face climate injustice is appropriate because it captures the structural nature of the problem. The shared and forward-looking responsibility it entails and its focus on collective political action provide a framework to respond to climate injustice meaningfully. However, while Young sees the nature of such responsibility as being strictly political, I engage critically with the author and argue that, instead, the responsibility we bear to face climate injustice is moral. Despite concerns about moral responsibility and the blameworthiness it entails, I explore how blame can be a mechanism of accountability and social enforceability, fundamental for ensuring effective collective climate action.Show less
How and why do civilians refuse cooperation with governments during wartime mobilisation? Research examining civilian cooperation and non-cooperation within conflict studies has largely overlooked...Show moreHow and why do civilians refuse cooperation with governments during wartime mobilisation? Research examining civilian cooperation and non-cooperation within conflict studies has largely overlooked the micro-level dynamics of civilian resistance in inter-state war. Addressing this gap, this study uses testimonial data on the lived experiences of Russian civilians who refused cooperation with the Russian state following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The paper develops an argument that manifestations of civilian non-cooperation are shaped by individual and collectivised security seeking behaviour within repressive governance structures. It integrates theories of civilian agency and authoritarian repression. Lived experiences of violent repression both construct the image of the state as a violent institution and inform the efficacy of tactics of resistance, resulting in variation between avoidance, overt-resistance and oblique-resistance behaviours. As an exploratory study, the paper identifies gaps in our understanding and avenues for future research on civilian cooperation and non-cooperation in inter-state armed conflict.Show less
The refugee crisis which engulfed Europe in the period between 2015 and 2017 sparked the proliferation of securitising discourse targeting migrants across the European Union. Whist plenty of...Show moreThe refugee crisis which engulfed Europe in the period between 2015 and 2017 sparked the proliferation of securitising discourse targeting migrants across the European Union. Whist plenty of scholarly ink has been dedicated to the study of the securitising rhetoric emanating from political representatives of individual EU member states, little attention has been paid to that of the heads of key EU institutions. To fill this gap, I have chosen to examine the President of the European Council’s securitisation of migrants by conducting a discourse analysis on 120 of his speeches, press remarks and interviews that occurred in the years between 2015 and 2017. Having coded this large body of data, I have been able to establish that Tusk systematically securitised migrants by presenting them as existential threats in relation to the Schengen Agreement, public order and security, as well as European values and subsequently calling for policies to regulate their entry into the EU. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the manner in which asylum-seekers are securitised differs to that of ‘irregular’ migrants, in ways that have not been extensively covered in securitisation literature thus far.Show less
The UN, as a prime global norm entrepreneur, has launched countless efforts to spread its norm on women’s political participation globally. Whether this norm is accepted and implemented on the...Show moreThe UN, as a prime global norm entrepreneur, has launched countless efforts to spread its norm on women’s political participation globally. Whether this norm is accepted and implemented on the ground, depends on local contexts. Using Acharya’s (2004) framework of norm localization, it becomes clear that the prevailing traditional and patriarchal norms prevent the substantive participation of women in politics in both India and Indonesia. In India, instances of norm localization have taken place due to the potential for framing, grafting and reconstruction of traditional family norms. The norm of women’s political participation has been reconstructed to fit into the pre-existing familial structures. In Indonesia, no such localization has taken place. Strong religious and cultural norms, and the absence of frameworks for reconstruction, prevent norm localization. Instead, evidence points towards norm resistance. Even though instances of norm localization have taken place only in India, this has not led to a substantial change in the level of norm implementation between the countries. In both India and Indonesia, the norm is accepted on paper, but in reality, the traditional social norms prevent the full and equal participation of women in the political realm.Show less
This thesis explores the lobbying strategies used by multinational agribusinesses to shape the global food security regime as part of global capitalism management. My case study focuses on how the...Show moreThis thesis explores the lobbying strategies used by multinational agribusinesses to shape the global food security regime as part of global capitalism management. My case study focuses on how the four largest grain traders in the world lobby the Food and Agriculture Organization to promote market-based policies for global food security. I find substantial evidence for four strategies: multi-stakeholder fora, corporate-FAO partnerships, lobbying national governments, and revolving door practices. The four strategies help agribusinesses be involved in decision-making, increase their market and structural power, and promote the private sector as a legitimate and essential actor in the regime’s governance. The findings fit within a neo-Gramscian framework and can be interpreted as strategies used by the transnational capitalist class to support the transnationalization of social relations of production and the promotion of the neoliberal world order.Show less
