Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Communism – Europe, Western'

This study examines the development of Western European Communist parties (WECPs) and their post-Communist successor parties. These parties had always adapted in surprising ways as they struggled in political systems that they sought to overthrow. Following the collapse of Communism in 1989 in central and Eastern Europe (CEE) they continued to amaze. Some reformed themselves dramatically, sacrificing or transforming their policies in search of office and votes. A number of them moved into mainstream politics and became more influential as other parties brought them into governing coalitions or they expanded at elections. Several WECPs disappeared but others resisted compromising their orthodox Marxism- Leninism. These hard-line Stalinist parties managed to remain significant players in their party systems. This in-depth study analyses the reasons behind the divergent trajectories of five WECPs and their post-Communist successor parties in the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland and Portugal. It does this by importing and refining an analytical framework developed to explain the diverse adaptation of Communist parties in CEE. Extensive primary research based on elite interviews and the analysis of party programmes is used to evaluate the framework's usefulness and its implications for studying the trajectories of Communist parties in Western Europe (and beyond). There are two main empirical findings from this research. First, it was elites with experience in working with groups and institutions outside their parties that led efforts to reform WECPs, just as in CEE successor parties. Second, mid-level elites in WECPs were not necessarily hardliners bent on resisting reform. Their leaders could be extremely effective in advocating reforms and convincing members into supporting them, meaning that organisational democratisation could be compatible with reform. This meant that organisational centralisation was not as necessary as it was in the successor parties in CEE. Moreover, reformist party leaders had not, like their counterparts in CEE, learnt to be centralisers through past struggles over reform. When party leaders did pursue elitist strategies to promote programmatic transformation this usually took place through shifting power to the party in public office rather than central office.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a topic that has been widely researched and is still a progressing and important subject to study. Many researchers have focused on the importance and risks of CSR but have been unsuccessful in conducting research that brings forth managerial implications regarding the challenges and complexity that comes from contextual differences. Furthermore, little attention has been assigned to consumer awareness, perception of CSR as well as analysing differences in related markets such as developed Western European countries (WECs) and emerging Post-Communist countries (PCCs) of Eastern Europe. This research is essential as theoretical ground and for managers to be able to successfully adapt and implement their CSR strategies to various markets, something that is beneficial for gaining a long-term competitive advantage. This study wishes to fill the existing research gap by gaining an insight into the differences in perceptions of CSR between consumers from WECs and PCCs. The outcomeof this study contributes to the existing frame of research regarding consumers’ perceptionson CSR and the importance of adapting a firm's CSR strategies to differentiating perceptions when operating in various international markets. The research was executed by using a qualitative method, carrying out three focus groups with participants originating from the two different regions respectively, and later mixed in a third group. The outcome from these focus groups was analysed using relatedtheoretical frameworks such as Carroll’s pyramid for corporate social responsibility (1991)and Dhanapal, Vashu, and Subramaniam (2015), who explores influencers affecting consumer perception. The findings conclude that CSR is gaining awareness among consumers across both regions, who agree that companies should be engaged in CSR, whereas members from PCCs desires a higher commitment than is currently done. Consumers are willing to pay a higher price when they know that the companies implement philanthropic projects. However, for WECs, this depends on the price of the product, and for PCCs, on whether the activities are locally implemented or not. Finally, this study concluded that companies can gain a competitive advantage by concentrating on social CSR in the PCC region and environmental CSR in the WEC region since the findings indicate that these are the most prioritised issues in each region. Furthermore, managers should adapt their CSR strategies based on these findings in order to relate to the consumer, create legitimacy, and gain trust.

Music has been part of human culture since the beginning of civilization. All musical types, styles, and genres are products of different cultures at different times. What we refer to today as Classical Music are the musical compositions written for standard Western European orchestral instruments ranging from solo to chamber music to symphony orchestra. Towards the end of the nineteenth-century classical music gradually came to be seen as "serious" music that required deeper knowledge in order to truly appreciate it. With the rise of the popular music category, classical music itself has become less relevant and less a part of today’s society. Classical music institutions have thus been trying to find different strategies to reconnect classical music with audiences. Examples include attractive subscription schemes, varied concert formats, and community and educational projects. It is also notable that non-musical aspects connected with concerts also contribute to an audience’s overall decision making. The quality of the performance is not the only factor anymore that needs to be considered to ensure success. This dissertation explores different strategies used by some prominent Western European art music organizations, mainly orchestras, to creatively engage their audiences. These strategies are examples of successful audience engagement that can serve as a resource for other organizations in their quest to engage their own audiences.

Les Balkans occidentaux (BO), déchirés après 1989 par les guerres dont les plus sanglantes et les plus problématiques en Bosnie-Herzégovine, au Kosovo, et en Albanie, ne pouvaient plus laisser indifférentes les puissances occidentales, et en particulier l’OTAN et l’UE. La survenue de ces conflits a confronté en effet les pays européens à la guerre près de chez eux signifiant une éventuelle déstabilisation de la région et la gestion d’un grand nombre d’immigrés en provenance des BO. C’est pourquoi l’OTAN et l’UE se sont depuis largement investies dans des missions de pacification et de reconstruction étatique dans cette région, par la mise en place de politiques de sécurité et de défense, puis par le biais de politiques d’élargissement. L'action de ces différentes organisations, à côté de celle des BO, a permis la fin de la guerre et une certaine stabilisation de ces pays. Mais, cette dernière est loin d'être complétement acquise. En effet, c'est la non consolidation des institutions étatiques et de la démocratie qui menace encore l’effondrement de l’Etat et qui continue à constituer un enjeu de taille pour les pays des BO.Notre thèse a pour objet d’analyser l'évolution de la stabilisation des BO depuis la chute du mur de Berlin en étudiant et en mettant en confrontation des ensembles complexes de relations entre acteurs, enjeux, moyens et processus. Afin d'analyser ce processus complexe, nous proposons un modèle qui s'appuie sur le concept des « communautés de sécurité » (CS) de Deutsch et al. (1957). Cependant, pour les besoins de notre étude, nous reconceptualisons ce concept à l’aide de variables que nous avons choisies en européanisation et en démocratisation que les auteurs n’avaient pas pu prévoir à l’époque de la rédaction des CS.Ainsi, le concept de CS reconceptualisé permet de répondre à notre problématique: pourquoi et comment une CS comprenant les pays de la région encore instable des Balkans occidentaux se construit-elle sur le continent européen autour de l'OTAN et de l'UE, depuis la chute du Mur de Berlin ?Notre hypothèse est la suivante : la construction d’une CS s’explique par la combinaison de deux éléments : d’une part la pression exogène des organisations régionales exigeant des changements concrets en termes de démocratisation et de sécurisation, et d’autre part l’acceptation de ces exigences de la part aussi bien des élites que des populations des pays concernés. En d’autres termes, plus la pression des organisations régionales est perçue comme légitime et mise en œuvre, plus la création d’une CS est probable.La variable dépendante que nous analysons est la construction d’une CS européenne comprenant les Balkans occidentaux (CSEBO) pluraliste. Les moyens de construction de cette communauté de sécurité correspondent à nos variables indépendantes choisies en sécurité, européanisation et démocratisation et qui sont de deux types : endogènes et exogènes. Il s’agit d’une part, des variables portant sur le rôle des facteurs et acteurs externes (OTAN et UE) en vue de la stabilisation des BO, et donc de leur contribution à la construction de la CSEBO. Il s’agit d’autre part, d’une série de variables endogènes portant cette fois-ci sur le rôle des facteurs et acteurs internes (élites et populations des pays des BO) dans la formation de la CSEBO. Nous montrons que les niveaux interne et externe sont en permanente interaction.Les résultats de notre étude, obtenus dans le cadre de la méthode de process-tracing à partir de sources primaires et secondaires, ainsi que d’entretiens semi-directifs, montrent un découpage dans le temps dans la construction de la CSEBO: avant et après 2000. Ainsi une première période allant de la chute du Mur de Berlin jusqu'au début des années 2000 connaît l’absence quasi-totale des conditions constitutives des CS et donc la CSEBO est très embryonnaire ici. Nous montrons ensuite qu’une CSEBO se construit progressivement à partir du début des années 2000
The Western Balkans (WB) were torn apart after 1989 due to wars, which were particularly cruel and problematic in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Kosovo and in Albania. Western powers, and especially NATO and EU, could not anymore turn a blind eye. These conflicts indeed confronted European countries to war in a neighbouring state which could lead to destabilization of the region and to more migrants coming from the WB. This is the reason why NATO and UE have since been deeply involved in peace building and state building missions throughout the region. They started with implementing security and defense policies, then turned to enlargement policy. These organisations’ actions, as well as the efforts done by the WB, led to the end of the war and, to a certain extent, to a stabilization of these countries which is however not fully achieved. WB State security is indeed still a major objective. The threat lies nowadays in the non consolidaton of state institutions and democracy.Our thesis is aiming at analyzing the stabilization of the WB since the fall of the Berlin wall. It will focus on studying and confronting a complex set of actors, goals, means and processes in order to have a better understanding of the evolution of the stabilization of the region. In order to analyze this complex process, we are using a model based on the concept of « security communities » (SC) developed by Deutsch and al., at the end of the 1950’s. However, for the need of our study, we will « reconceptualize » this concept using several variables selected in europeanisation and democratisation studies which the authors could not have predicted at the time they elaborated their concept of « security communities ».Therefore, the concept of SC, « reconceptualised », helps answering our research problem : why and how has a SC including countries from the instable region of the Western Balkans been built on the European continent, around NATO and the EU, since the fall of the Berlin wall ?Our research hypothesis consists in the combination of two elements to explain the building of a SC: on one side, an exogenous pressure from regional organizations imposing concrete changes in terms of democracy and securitization and, on the other side, the acceptance of these demands from both the elites and the population of the concerned countries. In other terms, the more legitimized and implemented the pressure from these regional organizations is, the more probable is the creation of a SC.The dependent variable that we analyze is the building of a pluralistic European SC which includes the Western Balkans. The means for building this security community correlate with our independent variables which are endogenous and exogenous and have been selected in security, democratisation and europeanisation studies. On one side, exogenous variables stand on the role of external actors and factors (NATO and the EU) leading to the stabilization of the WB, and therefore to their contribution to the building of an European security community including the Western Balkans (ESCWB). On the other side, there is a range of endogenous variables being the role of internal actors and factors (elites and populations of the WB) in the shaping of ESCWB. We will show that both internal and external levels are in constant interaction.Our study results based on primary and secondary sources as well as semi-directed interviews and using the « process-tracing » method highlight two distinct periods regarding the building of the ESCWB: before and after the year 2000. Thereby between the fall of the Berlin wall and the year 2000, there is almost a complete lack of the necessary conditions to build a SC and therefore the ESCWB merely exists in an embryonic form. ESCWB then progressively emerges from the beginning of the 2000’s

This dissertation traces military integration in Europe from the 1940s to the early 2000s in order to reveal the growth of a common European defence identity. Four factors characterize its approach. First, European defence identity is analyzed in relation to the broader path of European integration and its historical context, showing connections with key turning points in European integration, with the evolution of Franco-German relations and European-American relations, with the Cold War and subsequent Collapse of Communism, etc. Second, the dissertation applies theories of identity formation to guide the historical analysis. This approach draws attention, for example, to the important roles that borders and symbols played in European defence identity formation. Third, the thesis adopts a hybrid “top-down” and “bottom-up” approach; one side considers formal programs, policies, and institutions that promoted a European defence identity, while the other takes stock of public perceptions, actions by “rank and file” soldiers, etc. This dual approach helps to reveal more fully the complex, negotiated character of European defence identity formation. Finally, this thesis traces the growth of a European defence identity as a path of ideological and emotional change, growing commitment, and trust-building that spanned decades.

Defence date: 26 March 2013
Examining Board: Professor Martin Kohli (EUI), Supervisor Professor László Bruszt (EUI) Professor Graham Allan (Keele University) Professor Jörg Rössel (University of Zurich).
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
In this thesis, I analyze the emergence of class boundaries in postsocialism in the realm of sociability and friendship making. The goal of this study is to provide a dynamic account of the ways actors draw symbolic boundaries toward people of different social status, as well as to explore the mechanisms of shifting those patterns across different "orders of worth”. At the same time, by using qualitative network analysis, it is addressed how these processes affected the actual choice of friends. I explored these issues by conducting indepth 105 interviews with upper middle class and working class respondents in Croatia and - in an asymmetric comparison - the upper middle class in Austria. The topic of class formation in postsocialism has been researched with qualitative, experience-near approach to friendship and identity building, as well as specific mechanisms through which these processes took place: the rise of private schooling, transnationalization, and the new entrepreneurial networks, sometimes crossing the bonds of legality, and entering the gray field of corruption and nepotism. At the same time, it is observed how the new influences were contradicted by the existing path dependencies - both in the form of the social hierarchies which managed to survive the project of destratification, and on the other hand, by legacies of the old regime in the form of egalitarian values. Finally, the area perspective does not represent a purpose to itself: even though postsocialism has stood in the center of this research, this study also contributes to the broader discussions about the nature of class divides in different contexts. Given the comprehensiveness of the theoretical and conceptual framework, this concerned several disciplinary fields: friendship studies, social network analysis, the scholarship on boundary maintenance, and even more abstract discussions on the role of actors in the times of social change. Despite the primarily empirical nature of my approach, this study also attempts to offer theoretical and methodological contributions in the broad field of study bound by cultural sociology, social anthropology, economic sociology, sociology of worth, and qualitative approaches to social stratification.

Defence date: 30 November 2009
Examining Board: Attila Agh (Corvinus University, Budapest); Michael Keating (EUI) (Supervisor); Paul G. Lweis (Open University, Milton Keynes); Peter Mair (EUI)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
This thesis examines the impact of the changing dynamics of the international cooperation among communist (or post-communist) parties and Western social democratic parties on democratic transitions and on party change. This is done through an in-depth comparative study of the inter-party contacts between the communist and later post-communist parties of Poland and Hungary, on one hand, and the German SPD and the British Labour Party on the other. The thesis analyzes the scope of these contacts, the activity of bilateral groups, and the support offered to the Polish and Hungarian post-communist parties before and after 1989. The literature on democratization in post-communist Europe and that on post-communist parties in particular has neglected this issue, and the importance of inter-party contacts therefore tends to be overlooked. This study shows that the period prior to the system collapse in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) was not a tabula rasa in terms of contacts between the parties from East and West. Relying on extensive interviews and unprecedented primary research in archival documents, it broadens the discussion, unearthing new material concerning the pre-1989 inter-party contacts and the reasons behind these contacts, as well as offering an original analysis of party goals and strategies of cooperation in the Cold War environment. It brings in international factors to offer a fuller explanation of the post-communist parties’ successful accommodation to the new reality, emphasising the importance of their antecedent socialization in the social democratic environment long before the collapse of the communist system. It points to the different trajectories of inter-party cooperation and the diverse policies pursued by parties in CEE and in Western Europe and explains these in terms of geographic proximity and their respective foreign and domestic policies. It further traces how personal links between individuals were maintained despite the communist regime collapse and party competition in post-1989 Hungary and Poland. More generally, this thesis emphasises the importance of taking these particular aspects of party activity and development into account within the context of the democratization research.

ii Abstract This research project explores the impact of Western broadcasting on the public opinion of the Soviet audience in the Perestroika and Glasnost periods. Specifically, it focuses on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) contribution to changing attitudes of the Soviet public to the communist regime and ruling party, and constructing a positive image of Western democratic values during the relevant period of study. The theoretical approach to the investigation of RFE/RL broadcasting is based on media effects theories, particularly agenda-setting and framing theories. According to them, the media are not simply a conduit of information, but able to shape public opinion. By emphasising the salience of topics and particular aspects and characteristics of the issues, the media set public agenda and influence on people's perceptions about these issues. The study to assess RFE/RL's impact draws on audience research, quantitative and qualitative data analysis. It examines geographical reach and transmission frequencies of the Radio's broadcasts and analyses the content of the most featured programmes to explore how they framed the reality. The findings from the quantitative and qualitative analysis, as well as the audience research data, demonstrate that RFE/RL's programming set anticommunist agenda...

Defence date: 19 March 2004
Examining board: Prof. Alan Milward, IUE (supervisor) ; Prof. Marc Lazar, Inst. d'Etudes Politiques, Paris ; Prof. Silvio Pons, Università Tor Vergata ; Prof. Arfon Rees, IUE
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digitised archive of EUI PhD theses completed between 2013 and 2017

The present dissertation has as main goal analyze the differences of economic growth dynamics between Baltic countries and Western European countries. With this purpose data from OECD database was studied for the countries of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Germany, France and United Kingdom. The analyzed period was the years from 1995 to 2017. The research consists of two main parts: analysis of the business cycle stages and the factors that affect GDP growth in Baltic and Western European countries. To identify business cycles stages we used the Hodrick-Prescott Filter and for the identifications and analysis of the variables affecting GDP growth we use GARCH and VAR models. The evidence shows different synchronization between Baltic and Western Europe countries business cycles. Baltic countries business cycles are more affected by local events, while Western European business cycles are affected by global economy growth. Moreover, it was find out those Baltic countries macroeconomic variables have higher instability compared with France, United Kingdom and Germany. Investment growth, share price growth and EU GDP growth have higher effect on GDP fluctuations in Baltic countries than in Western European countries. Using graphical analysis it was found that share price index decline, asset price decline and interest rate growth were signals for Baltic countries downturns period during 2008-2009 and 1998-1999.
A presente dissertação tem como objetivo principal analisar as diferenças da dinâmica de crescimento económico existente entre os Países Bálticos e um conjunto de países da Europa Ocidental. Com este objetivo, foram estudadosos países da Lituânia, Letónia, Estónia, Alemanha, França e Reino Unido com base em dados retirados da base de dados da OCDE. O período analisado foi de 1995 a 2017. A investigação realizada divide-se em duas partes principais: análise das fases do ciclo de económico e dos fatores que afetam o crescimento do PIB nos Países Bálticos e nos Países da Europa Ocidental considerados. Para identificar as fases dos ciclos económicos foi utilizadoo filtro de Hodrick-Prescott e para a identificação e análise das variáveis que afetam o crescimento do PIB foram aplicados os modelos GARCH e VAR. As evidências mostram diferentes sincronizações entre os ciclos económicos dos países Bálticos e da Europa Ocidental. Os ciclos económicos dos Países Bálticos são mais afetados por eventos locais, enquanto os ciclos económicos da Europa Ocidental são afetados pelo crescimento da economia global. Além disso, pode-se concluir que as variáveis macroeconómicas dos Países Bálticos apresentam uma maior instabilidade em comparação com a França, o Reino Unido e a Alemanha. O crescimento do investimento, o aumento dos preços das ações e o crescimento do PIB da UE têm um maior efeito sobre as flutuações do PIB nos países Bálticos do que nos países da Europa Ocidental. Usando a análise gráfica, foi descoberto que o declínio do índice de preços e o declínio do preço dos ativos das taxas de juro foram sinais de desaceleração nos países Bálticos nos períodos de 2008-2009 e 1998-1999.
Mestrado em Economia

Doctoral thesis Regional Transition - From Conflict to Cooperation examines the transformation of world regions from non-cooperative to. It brings reconceptualization of the peaceful change, which it understands as a continuum - negative peace, positive peace, and security community. This understanding builds on the existing literature on peaceful change, yet the conceptualization of the stages is innovated. The main goal of this dissertation is to capture the dynamic process of transition from negative to positive peace, and from positive peace to the security community. It uses findings from the literature on peaceful changes and trust-building to build two comprehensive mechanisms of transition that are subsequently traced with the method of process-tracing in two cases of the region for each type of transition. The focus is on the entities and activities producing the qualitative change in the regional relations. For the transition from negative to positive peace, Western Balkans in the period from 1999 to 2011, and Southeast Asia from 1966 to 2003 are chosen. For the transition from positive peace to the security community, Western Europe (1957-2004) and North America (1940s- 2011) are chosen.