The process of democratization varies greatly between states that attempt it. While some states successfully achieve democratization at an alarmingly fast rate, other states remain stagnated for...Show moreThe process of democratization varies greatly between states that attempt it. While some states successfully achieve democratization at an alarmingly fast rate, other states remain stagnated for years, sometimes even decades, ultimately being labeled as failed democratization attempts. Specifically concerning former Soviet Union (USSR) states, many have attempted democratization, yielding vastly different results. Some states, such as Estonia, have successfully democratized, and are now officially considered to be a democratized state. However, other states, such as Moldova, have been unable to progress further towards democratization, plagued by political, social and economic unrest. When looking at the case of Ukraine, we see a similar situation as Moldova—a stagnated process of democratization, plagued by unrest and conflict. However, in the case of Ukraine, there is still a chance at democratization. How will this become so? Why is it that some former USSR states have achieved democratization, while others have fallen behind and stagnated? This thesis will focus on evaluating the role of third-party mediation and Russian interference in the democratization of Ukraine, specifically considering the Eastern Ukrainian War in Donbas. This research will draw from established factors of successful democratization and apply several theories to analyze the impact Russian interference and failure of third-party mediation efforts during a conflict have on these factors. The research finds that Ukraine’s path towards democratization has been stagnated in part due to the failure of credible third-party mediation to monitor Russian aggression and commitment to ceasefire agreements. The visible effects can be seen during, and after, the War in Donbas. This research builds on existing factors of democratization in order to analyze a new argument of why democratization has failed, using the new factors of credible third-party mediation and Russian intervention again the theoretical framework of multidimensional prevention and the commitment problem.Show less
The derogation clause of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) allows states to limit the exercise of most human rights in time of war and public emergencies threatening the life of the...Show moreThe derogation clause of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) allows states to limit the exercise of most human rights in time of war and public emergencies threatening the life of the nation. To fight off the exceptional circumstances brought by the COVID-19 global pandemic, governments are extensively restricting human rights. Almost all states have introduced emergency measures, however only ten Member States of the Council of Europe have formally derogated from the ECHR by notifying the Secretary General. This thesis will attempt to explain why some states derogate from their human rights obligations whilst others do not when they take emergency measures. The thesis will move beyond the already existing theory of which states derogate and why they do so by looking at the differences within regime type rather than only looking at regime type. By comparing two very similar countries, Latvia and Lithuania, which only differ on whether they have derogated or not, the dissimilar element that will be found is likely to be the explanatory variable on why some states derogate whilst others do not. The willingness of states to maintain parliamentary democracy in time of crisis, seems to be the explanatory variable for why some states derogate when taking emergency measures whilst others do not derogate when taking emergency measures. In the end, this thesis would like to generate a more thoroughgoing view on why states derogate in time of crisis.Show less
Euroscepticism is a topic that is becoming increasingly more important to study, and yet there is little research that explores its implications outside of the EU context, more specifically in the...Show moreEuroscepticism is a topic that is becoming increasingly more important to study, and yet there is little research that explores its implications outside of the EU context, more specifically in the candidate states. This study aims to understand how Euroscepticism in the EU can create a mimicking effect on the Euroscepticism in the candidate countries. This study uses two case studies, Serbia and Turkey, who have similar onset but are on the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of how likely they are to join the EU. By using content analysis to decode the government press releases in the years between 2017 and 2021, in-depth observation of how a country seeking membership to the EU can show skepticism about it. This study concludes that the rise of Euroscepticism in the EU increases the frequency and the severity of the Eurosceptic proclamations by the selected cases. The research finds that this link is caused by the candidacy status itself, regardless of their prospect of joining.Show less
Scholars have argued over time whether geographical indicators play an explanatory role in Eurosceptic voter behavior. This paper revisits the investigation of geographical indicators, focusing on...Show moreScholars have argued over time whether geographical indicators play an explanatory role in Eurosceptic voter behavior. This paper revisits the investigation of geographical indicators, focusing on the urban/rural divide in Eurosceptic behavior. Scholars have not fully agreed whether the urban/rural divide could play an explanatory role in Eurosceptic voter behavior, where different scholars either state that such a divide matters, where others say the contrary. Using theoretical narratives from a variety of scholarly literature, this paper reinvestigates the urban rural divide in Euroscepticism. Using the European Values Survey, this study quantitatively assesses the impact of the urban/rural divide in Eurosceptic views among respondents in the candidate countries of the European Union. The candidate countries were chosen for the analysis as it offers a fresh new insight into the discussion, as quantitative research on these countries has not been conducted in the past. Statistical analysis has shown that in the candidate countries, the urban/rural divide does not play a significant explanatory role in Eurosceptic views among respondents. It is thus recommended that other explanations are treated with a higher level of importance in Eurosceptic voting behavior rather than the urban/rural divide.Show less
The paper looks at the process of the fight against corruption in Slovakia and Malta after the accession to the European Union and, in particular, analysing the impact of the murder of...Show moreThe paper looks at the process of the fight against corruption in Slovakia and Malta after the accession to the European Union and, in particular, analysing the impact of the murder of investigative journalists in both countries. It shows that even though membership brings new means of influence, it also failed several times to fully tackle the corruption in both countries. Moreover, to prove the point that the anti-corruption policies were not sufficiently effective before the murder, I will compare these two countries of the European Union with a similar context.Show less
This thesis examines in a comparative fashion the experiences of two post-conflict European polities, the Republic of North Macedonia (hereafter “North Macedonia”, for ease of reference, regardless...Show moreThis thesis examines in a comparative fashion the experiences of two post-conflict European polities, the Republic of North Macedonia (hereafter “North Macedonia”, for ease of reference, regardless of the state’s official name at the historical moment in question) and Northern Ireland. It seeks to answer the puzzle of why the Northern Irish experience has been characterised by institutional instability and periodic collapse, in contrast with the far more stable institutional performance in post-conflict North Macedonia, in spite of their manifold similarities as cases. Through analysis of the electoral performance of extreme parties in both jurisdictions, and process-tracing of certain instances of particular instability and crisis, it tests hypotheses surrounding the distinctive roles of the European Union in both polities and the effect of electoral systems on consociational governing structures. The findings suggest that, contrary to what the literature would lead one to suspect, Northern Ireland’s instability cannot be attributed to any significant degree to its electoral system, and that a more salient point of difference lies in the European Union’s scope for direct action in North Macedonia, whilst calling for further research on the distinction between intra- and inter-communal crises.Show less
As reaction to the corona crisis, EU Member states agreed in July 2020 to imple-ment a corona recovery fund, the Next Generation EU (NGEU) fund. Under its framework, the EU Commission started to...Show moreAs reaction to the corona crisis, EU Member states agreed in July 2020 to imple-ment a corona recovery fund, the Next Generation EU (NGEU) fund. Under its framework, the EU Commission started to take on joint debt on the financial markets and is transferring this money partly in form of grants to member states. Earlier attempts of debt-mutualization had failed due to the resistance of Northern member states. This thesis aims to answer the fol-lowing research question: Given the long-standing record of opposition to debt-sharing, why did government leaders of EU member states agree to adopt the NGEU fund? The objective was to provide an explanation why it was agreed on debt-sharing in the NGEU fund. This the-sis argues that the corona crisis can be considered a critical juncture that activated latent spill-over effects. Explaining-outcome process-tracing methods were applied in a within-case, sin-gle outcome case study. The case of Germany was analysed representing the Northern EU member states, Italy the Southern ones. Furthermore, it was aimed at contributing to deepen the understanding of the drivers of fiscal integration in Europe by providing new insights into the application of combined European integration theories.Show less
This research signifies the first political persuasion experiment on Universal Basic Income (UBI) in the Netherlands. By applying the counterargument technique in an online survey, this study has...Show moreThis research signifies the first political persuasion experiment on Universal Basic Income (UBI) in the Netherlands. By applying the counterargument technique in an online survey, this study has presented Dutch respondents with arguments that contradict their initially expressed opinion on UBI, in which the arguments would either be focused on the recipients of UBI, or on the financial consequences of implementing UBI. This study has demonstrated that within a Dutch sample of 557 respondents aged between 18 and 88 years and which predominantly consists of higher educated, left-leaning women with a general interest in politics, support for UBI is strong and predominantly robust. It proved harder to persuade the initial supporters of UBI than the initial opponents. The findings provide validity for the issue-specific explanation on attitude change, as respondents were more likely to be persuaded when the arguments are more in line with their ideological views. However, contrary to what was expected, the initial supporters who are socio-economically more left-wing were substantially more susceptible to the financial arguments than arguments on the recipients UBI, while the initial opponents who place themselves more towards the right were substantially more susceptible to the arguments on the recipients than the financial arguments. The findings of this study are relevant for scholars of political persuasion and those interested in the public legitimacy of the welfare state and UBI. It has shown that con arguments are not always more persuasive than pro arguments and that the content of the arguments matters for political persuasion on UBI. This can also inform advocates and opponents of UBI about the political feasibility of a coalition against or for the implementation of UBI.Show less
