This thesis makes use of framing theory in order to analyze and evaluate the ways in which the media reported on the 'migrant crisis' in both the year 2015 and the year 2022. The investigation is...Show moreThis thesis makes use of framing theory in order to analyze and evaluate the ways in which the media reported on the 'migrant crisis' in both the year 2015 and the year 2022. The investigation is conducted in the form of a case study that investigates, in great detail, how the German quality daily newspaper 'Die Süddeutsche Zeitung' covered the two crises. As a result of Germany's prominent participation in both crises and its continued ability to influence European policy responses, particularly in 2015, the country was selected as the focus of the case study. The idea of framing indicates that there is a direct relationship between the way an issue is portrayed in the media and the impact that it may have on public opinion. As the number of people migrating into the European Union continues to rise, the subject of migration and the media is becoming an increasingly important issue. For this reason, it is essential to have a solid understanding of how the media organizes information and how it did so throughout these two crises. This will allow one to determine whether or not there were any changes and, if so, what those differences may have been caused by.Show less
This thesis’ objective is to gain an understanding of how American popular culture impacts the Dutch youth’s perception of and resonance with American culture, taking the sitcom Modern Family as...Show moreThis thesis’ objective is to gain an understanding of how American popular culture impacts the Dutch youth’s perception of and resonance with American culture, taking the sitcom Modern Family as its case study. In this thesis, ‘perception’ refers to the way that American culture is viewed, and ‘resonance’ indicates the experienced affinity with American culture. This thesis statement is confirmed through the employment of a survey targeted at Dutch youth aged 16-25, in which the Dutch attitudes towards American culture are measured according to the reaction of the Dutch youth to the characterization of American culture as described by Wright and Rogers. They constitute five American values; ‘Freedom’, ‘Prosperity’, ‘Efficiency’, ‘Democracy’ and ‘Fairness’; and some features: ‘Individualism’, and ‘Cultural Pluralism and Tolerance’, which are present in Modern Family. The key finding of the quantitative research is that higher exposure to American popular culture through TV leads to a higher level of normalization of American values. The analysis of exposure levels to American popular culture and its relation to Dutch attitudes towards American culture is performed by comparing the watch histories of respondents: 81% have watched Modern Family whereas 19% have not. Expanding on the concept of ‘Perception’, this thesis demonstrates that the more one is exposed to American popular culture (like the viewers of Modern Family), the more one has normalized the American values, which impacts the Dutch perception of American culture. ‘Resonance’ builds upon this and finds that this normalization of American values among viewers of Modern Family has reached such high extents that they have become incorporated into Dutch culture. American popular culture has boosted the omnipresence and normalization of American values, which has, in turn, impacted the way Dutch youth resonate with American culture.Show less
Since the referendum in 2016, Brexit has had an undeniable effect on the International relations scene, showing that not all countries invite globalisation, in what is a rapidly globalising world....Show moreSince the referendum in 2016, Brexit has had an undeniable effect on the International relations scene, showing that not all countries invite globalisation, in what is a rapidly globalising world. The decision has been researched to a large extent already, but what most dominant literature debating the topic of Brexit currently neglects, is understanding local causes and reasons for this outcome. Whilst it has been sufficient thus far to categorize reasons into wider meta narratives, this thesis instead aims to take a different scope and understand what has happened at a local level to uncover why the British public came to this conclusion. This will be done by analysing data from local counties, with a focus on two counties in particular: Lincolnshire and Essex. These two regions were some of the most pro-Brexit out of the whole of the United Kingdom it came to show, but this thesis looks to understand how and why, in order to produce differing conclusions to compare to one another. This is with the aim to prove that local level needs to be looked at instead of meta narratives, which we see for example in the current domination discourse of culturally left behind vs socioeconomic reasons. By comparing these contrasting reasons, my thesis hopes to help us understand something beyond public opinion surveys and understand different streams of opinion which may have made up the Brexit coalition, and bring light to a new method of analysing causes of Brexit. In a time where major International organisations such as the European Union aim to delegate more power to local communities, this new method of analysis can help understand where improvements to communication and power can be made on a local scale.Show less
The media has played a centripetal role in shaping public opinion and setting domestic and foreign affairs agendas. The Republic of Turkey is a ubiquitous factor in Greek historiography, nation...Show moreThe media has played a centripetal role in shaping public opinion and setting domestic and foreign affairs agendas. The Republic of Turkey is a ubiquitous factor in Greek historiography, nation-building processes, and foreign security policy. Throughout their unstable and fluctuating relations, the Greco – Turkish dyad has received copious media attention. In 2019 Turkey and Libya signed a maritime exclusive economic zone (EEZ) Memorandum of Understanding. Such a settlement allegedly balked the EU's planned project to enhance the EastMed pipeline and violated Greece's EEZ, consequently causing an intense media reaction throughout Greece. This thesis applies Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to the publications of Kathimerini and Ta Nea, Greece's most widely read daily newspapers. The analysis brings insight into the media's sociopolitical role, its position regarding the citizenry and the state, and Turkey's importance as an external agent that reinforces the Greeks' in-group cohesion. Considering Aristotelian topoi to approach CDA, the analysis indicates that the Greek media's narrative on the Turkey-Libya settlement frames (i) Turkey as a threatening 'other,' (ii) portrays Greece as the referent object, and (iii) rejects the validity of such a settlement under international law, reinforcing the previous two points.Show less
This thesis aims to uncover what factors explain the quality of democratic consolidation, whilst focussing on the recently transitioned democracies of Eastern and Central Europe. Building upon...Show moreThis thesis aims to uncover what factors explain the quality of democratic consolidation, whilst focussing on the recently transitioned democracies of Eastern and Central Europe. Building upon literature by scholar David Beetham, the thesis provides a framework of conditions that influence democratic consolidation. The thesis then uses this framework to analyse the quality of democratic consolidation concerning two opposites on the spectrum of democratic consolidation in Eastern and Central Europe: Hungary and Estonia. From this analysis, the thesis concludes that economic growth, quality of education, antidemocratic behaviour, and the proportionality of the electoral system are the conditions that best explain the contrasting outcomes regarding the quality of democratic consolidation in Hungary and Estonia.Show less
Ever since the Republic of Indonesia had gained its independence, Dutch society and various political Governments have been in debate with each other on how to memorise the period of the...Show moreEver since the Republic of Indonesia had gained its independence, Dutch society and various political Governments have been in debate with each other on how to memorise the period of the Netherlands as coloniser of the East Indies. This has resulted in a wide range of perspectives on this part of the Dutch history by scientists. Although, there are many references to the Dutch East Indies within the contemporary society of the Netherlands, people tend to know more about the Holocaust rather than the heritage of the Dutch East Indies. This has resulted in the aim to examine why the heritage of World War II in the Dutch East Indies became a forgotten war for Dutch society. The study will be done by trying to verify three hypotheses surrounding the following themes: concealment, lack of public attention and memory.Show less
Over the past few years, European countries have faced one of the most defining challenges since the beginning of the 21st century, the European migration crisis. The European migration crisis...Show moreOver the past few years, European countries have faced one of the most defining challenges since the beginning of the 21st century, the European migration crisis. The European migration crisis started in 2015 after a large number of migrants fled from danger and instability and asked for asylum in Europe. The debate about the incoming migrants has caused a lot of disagreement amongst European member states on how to deal with this challenge. Some member states of the European Union but also European citizens, see migrants as a threat towards their ‘own’ nations, even though numbers are declining. The securitisation theory can explain this perception towards migrants. Since, the theory takes into account that political leaders/parties can construct an issue, like migration, into a security threat. This thesis addresses the theory of securitising migration and how political parties have used the theory on a national level, in the Netherlands, and in particular one party. Therefore, this thesis will analyse the research question “To what extent has the PVV used the securitisationof migration - in response to the European migration crisis - as a political tool within their policies?” In order to understand the relationship between the securitisation of migration and the Dutch right-wing party the PVV. This thesis first aims to provide a discussion on how the PVV constructed the issue of migration into a security threat and later will analyse how this impacted or is related to different policy areas. It will do this by using a qualitative method of a discourse analysis on three different policy areas: the welfare state, European integration and the Dutch health care system. In doing so this thesis hopes to identify to what extent the PVV has used the securitisation of migration as a political tool for their own electoral gain.Show less
