Research master thesis | Political Science and Public Administration (research) (MSc)
open access
The main hypothesis which is tested in this paper is that voters who experience more fear are more likely to vote for radical right parties. The underlying idea of this hypothesis is that important...Show moreThe main hypothesis which is tested in this paper is that voters who experience more fear are more likely to vote for radical right parties. The underlying idea of this hypothesis is that important explanations mentioned in the literature about the radical right vote are based on the experience of some sort of economic or symbolic threat. Research has shown that fear can influence people's decision-making and electoral behavior. Different analyses conducted in the paper support the claim that fear as a personal characteristic plays a role on its own when it comes to voting for radical right parties. While the measurement of fear was not optimal, the results show that further research should take the role of fear into account. These studies also have the task to find better ways to measure fear to look at the relationship in more detail.Show less
Research master thesis | Political Science and Public Administration (research) (MSc)
open access
2017-08-01T00:00:00Z
Since the proliferation of democratizing countries in Africa, ethnic conflict has also increased. One of the explanations for this phenomenon is that ethnicity become politicized when democratic...Show moreSince the proliferation of democratizing countries in Africa, ethnic conflict has also increased. One of the explanations for this phenomenon is that ethnicity become politicized when democratic institutions are installed, and ethnic cleavages are widened, creating more conflict. In order to temper conflict and stabilize the democratization process it is sometimes needed to use undemocratic tools, such as party bans. While sometimes banning an ethnic party leads to less conflict, sometimes it also leads to more. This thesis will explain how a party ban will decrease conflict when it is based on old, existing law or regulation and accompanied by other institutional arrangements giving incentives for inter-ethnic cooperation and promote cross-cutting cleavages. Two cases of party bans in Mauritania and two cases in Nigeria are used to explain the mechanism of the causal effect between party ban and conflict level.Show less
Research master thesis | Political Science and Public Administration (research) (MSc)
open access
One of the main discussions surrounding the evolution of decentralised agencies in the European Union deals with questions of autonomy. This thesis fulfils two purposes: first, it searches for...Show moreOne of the main discussions surrounding the evolution of decentralised agencies in the European Union deals with questions of autonomy. This thesis fulfils two purposes: first, it searches for empirical evidence for the claim that EU agencies develop a de-facto autonomy independently from their formal autonomy and institutional design. Second, it tries to explain the development of different levels of informal autonomy between decentralised agencies. Based on four case studies ranging over a decade of agency development, the paper discusses the factors influencing informal autonomy: conflicts between the agencies’ multiple principles or network and reputation building efforts by the agencies’ directors? To achieve this aim, the paper draws on EU documents, as well as interviews with officials in institutions, member states and agencies. In the end it seems that an agency’s level of autonomy is a result of lobbying and reputation building by its Executive Director, influencing in turn the relations between the principals both in- and outside the agency’s management board. However, these dynamics are also influenced by external events, such as the financial and economic crisis.Show less
Research master thesis | Political Science and Public Administration (research) (MSc)
open access
Since the end of the 1990s, the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been increasingly divided over the organization’s longcherished code of conduct (known as...Show moreSince the end of the 1990s, the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been increasingly divided over the organization’s longcherished code of conduct (known as the ASEAN-Way). For thirty years, a strict policy of respect for each other’s sovereignty, non-interference in domestic affairs of other member states and decision making by consensus characterized the organization. As of late however, a number of member states have been challenging and defying these rules, which are widely perceived to be of primary importance for the organization’s functioning. This thesis argues that a key determinant in explaining the changing ASEAN policies of a number of member states is alteration in, and a strong discrepancy between, the stability of the various ruling regimes of the ASEAN member states. These alterations in regime stability are strongly related to changes in the political legitimacy of a regime. This theory is tested by first examining developments in the regime stability of four ASEAN member states: Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. Subsequently the policies of these states towards ASEAN’s pariah member Myanmar are analyzed – functioning as a proxy for state behavior with regard to the larger ASEAN-Way issue – in order to assess whether expected behavior on the basis of a state’s regime stability aligns with member state attempts to alter ASEAN’s status quo.Show less
Research master thesis | Political Science and Public Administration (research) (MSc)
open access
This study investigates the relationship between actorness and effectiveness and questions the direct influence of coherent behavior united positions of EU member states on the degree of activeness...Show moreThis study investigates the relationship between actorness and effectiveness and questions the direct influence of coherent behavior united positions of EU member states on the degree of activeness the EU exerts during an international crisis. It looks at the interplay between actorness, the institutional setup of the EU and the role it took up during different crises. In addition to that, it questions the direct relation between a high degree of actorness translating into more influence on the international stage. It does so by answering the question if a more coherent foreign policy – as it is generally argued – would better enable the EU to exploit its capability as an international actor in global affairs. Two cases were studied to find answers on these questions: the Mali and the Syrian crises. In fact, the Mali crisis was characterized by a high degree of cohesive behavior, whereas in the Syrian crisis frictions were predominant even though a comprehensive sanctions regime could be installed. Institutional aspects, namely the changes with regards to EU foreign policy introduced by the Lisbon Treaty as well as characteristics of the member states, including size and length of membership, were vital as well. Further, the activeness of the EU in both crisis was different in the way that the EU took up a more active and decisive role in the Mali crisis as compared to Syria. Therefore, the expected effect could be found in both cases.Show less
Research master thesis | Political Science and Public Administration (research) (MSc)
open access
Public managers engage in networking relationships with a wide variety of external actors and organizations from which they can draw different types of support to the core agency. They thus face a...Show morePublic managers engage in networking relationships with a wide variety of external actors and organizations from which they can draw different types of support to the core agency. They thus face a wide array of possible actions and strategic choices with regard to their potential networking behaviour. Most empirical studies on managerial networking, however, merely expose different levels of networking activity, as if it were a uni-dimensional concept. This inadequacy potentially obscures information on the actual patterns to be found in networking behaviour itself. To make up for this theoretical-empirical incongruence, this paper accordingly uses Mokken-Scaling to expose different dimensions of managerial networking. By demonstrating how public managers differentiate between different external actors and organizations, it thus facilitates the environmental complexity in which public management takes place. The research context for this analysis is found in the recent shift from central to local authority marked by the Social Support Act (SSA/WMO).Show less
