Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'European Union countries – Social aspects'
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RUIZ, SOLER Javier. "Is Twitter the new coffee house? : the contribution of the European political Twittersphere to the European public sphere and European demos." Doctoral thesis, European University Institute, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/63305.
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Defence date: 12 June 2019Examining Board: Prof. Alexander Trechsel, University of Lucerne (Supervisor); Prof. Giovanni Sartor, European University Institute; Prof. Luigi Curini, University of Milan; Prof. Anamaria Dutceac Segesten, Lund University
A Public Sphere and a demos are intrinsic key elements of any democratic society. The literature has pointed out that social media platforms can play an important role in developing direct interactions between users and creating a sense of community. Can Twitter contribute to the emergence of a transnational networked European Public Sphere and European demos? This thesis examines the contribution of the European Political Twittersphere to this question. I divide the question into three articles. In each I use a different theoretical framework and methodological approach to two datasets of two issue publics (the Schengen agreement and the transatlantic trade partnership, TTIP) collected through the public Twitter Streaming API from August 2016 to April 2017. In the first article I explore the actor level of the networks created from the Twitter data. I investigate whether these Twitter networks constitute networked publics where non-elite actors receive attention and play an important role by the number of mentions and retweets. In the second article I explore the question of the constitution of European transnational networks. To do so, I geolocate the accounts involved in the two networks to identify the type of interactions the users establish, whether national or transnational. In the third article I analyse the content of these networks by extracting what sentiments the users express for the topics, and whether they see themselves and the topics as national or European. The three articles capture three features of the European Political Twittersphere. First, the results indicate the presence of transnational European networks. Second, built from the bottom-up where non-elite actors receive most of the attention. And third, composed of a multilingual demoi where the users see themselves and the topics as European. However, although these mapped Twitter networks contribute to some extent to transnational interaction and a sense of community, the deliberative quality of these networks is low.
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Noordijk, Peter Andrew. "Building Bridges with Social Capital in the European Union." PDXScholar, 2013. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1091.
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A culture of accommodation and tolerance is a necessary part of establishing and preserving a functional multi-national and multi-ethnic European Union. Civil society organizations and their associated social capital have been shown to foster civic capacity and achievement of public policy goals. However, social capital that is based on group identity can also contribute to a sense of intolerance towards out-groups, undermining the stated tolerance objectives of the social pillar of the European Union. States with a strong presence alongside civil society are expected to be curb the development of the exclusionary bonding form of social capital in favor of bridging social capital which will improve progress toward policy goals.
This study tests the link between government capacity, social capital and tolerance using data from the 1990-2009 waves of the World Values Survey and European Values Study. Using path analysis and multi-level models of the relationships between political capacity, social capital and intolerance, the model establishes that government capacity enhances bridging social capital and which increases social tolerance. The study fills a gap in understanding how government capacity and policy can result in improved social capital even with greater diversity. A proposed relationship between political capacity and bonding forms of social capital was not supported.
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Faber, Pierre Anthony. "Industrial relations, flexibility, and the EU social dimension : a comparative study of British and German employer response to the EU social dimension." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1999. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:959fa1ee-cd08-450b-8e94-68b9858dd9e3.
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This study sets out to explore employer response to the EU social dimension, in answer to the question, "How are employers in the UK and Germany responding to the EU social dimension, and why?" Using case study evidence from nine large British and German engineering companies, as well as material from employers' associations at all levels, it is argued that there is little employer support for extending the social dimension. Focusing on micro-economic aspects of the debate, it is also argued that a common feature in both British and German employer opposition is a concern for the impact of EU industrial relations regulation on firm-level flexibility. This stands in direct contradiction of the EU Commission's own contentions about the flexibility-enhancing effects of its social policy measures, and appears paradoxical in light of earlier research findings of a German flexibility advantage over UK rivals on account of the country's well-structured regulatory framework for industrial relations. Evidence from participant companies, however, suggests that, in the global environment of the late 1990s, much of Germany's former flexibility advantage has been eroded, and the regulation-induced limitations on both the pace and scale of change are increasingly onerous to German companies. German managers perceive a need for targeted deregulatory reform of their industrial relations system; by strengthening (and often extending) existing industrial relations regulation, EU social policy measures meet with firm disapproval. In the UK, by contrast, the changed context has contributed to a significant increase in firm-level flexibility. British companies now operate to levels of flexibility often in advance of their German counterparts, at far lower 'cost' in terms of the time taken, and the extent to which change measures are compromised, to reach agreement. For British managers, EU social policy measures are perceived as a threat to these beneficial arrangements, and vigorously opposed. The thesis concludes by suggesting that such fixed opposition, in the face of Commission determination to extend the EU social dimension, points to an escalation of the controversy surrounding the social dimension.
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Papandropoulos, Sylvie-Pénélope. "Issues in european competition policy: lobbying, reputation and R&D co-operation." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/211988.
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Ou, Po-Hsiang. "Climate change v Eurozone crisis : social and economic views of risk in inter-expert risk communication." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f3619fc5-fd2a-483b-92b5-94aa90ce13d1.
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This DPhil thesis discusses how two divergent risk conceptions, a 'social view' and an 'economic view' of risk, are constructed through inter-expert risk communication. Different and sometimes contradictory concepts of risk are mobilised in regulatory practice, but the origins of these divergent risk conceptions are not extensively studied. This thesis seeks to unpack this divergence. Empirically, I analyse risk communication among experts in the European Union (EU) during the creation of two risk regulation standards. The two case studies, one related to the development of the two-degree target of EU climate policies (the climate case) and the other about the negotiation of the excessive deficit criteria of the Maastricht Treaty (the euro case), can shed light on the relations between risk conceptions and inter-expert risk communication. I argue that through risk communication, an initial 'view' of risk can be entrenched and developed into a paradigmatic 'risk conception'. My analysis uses historical and sociological institutionalism, by focusing on path dependence of risk communication and social construction risk conceptions among EU experts. Through the two case studies, I identify four analytical dimensions of inter-expert risk communication: networks (the institutional setting and relationships between different experts), cultures (the mentalities of experts in relation to discussing risks), dynamics (the actual processes of transmitting and receiving risk messages) and strategies (the rationales supporting the decisions of risk regulation standards). My thematic analysis reveals four key distinct 'features' of social/economic views of risk: expertise (the types of knowledge mobilised), normality (characterising risk as either 'special' or 'routine'), probability (considering risk as either uncertain or calculable) and impact (seeing risk as either negative or positive). I argue that these four features can help explain the construction of risk conceptions, and more broadly, provide an analytical framework for studying how views of risk evolve and interact over time.
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Weerts, Laurence. "Mutations et utilisations du concept de "frontière" dans l'intégration européenne: une analyse des recompositions des modes de gouvernement et de légitimation dans l'ordre politique européen." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/211212.
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Harris, Linda H. "On Human Migration and the Moral Obligations of Business." UNF Digital Commons, 2008. http://digitalcommons.unf.edu/etd/296.
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This work addresses to what extent businesses in the United States and the European Union have a moral obligation to participate in social integration processes in areas where they operate with the use of migrant laborers. It begins with the presupposition that a common framework as to what constitutes ethical behavior in business is needed and beneficial. It argues that the very industry that creates a need for migrant labor ought to also be involved in merging this labor successfully into the existing community and specifies that a discourse on business ethics and migration is gravely needed. This must be one that considers how businesses can become more engaged in resolving the social issues that arise both for the migrants and for the local community in which the businesses operate. The purpose would be to fill a social and humanitarian need that government alone cannot. More importantly, it will be to exercise beneficence and display responsible and sincere corporate citizenship. It is claimed that businesses that fail to encourage and participate in integration processes display a moral flaw. Cosmopolitan business ethics are proposed as a way to look at ethical business conduct and it is claimed that businesses that act as cosmopolitan citizens are morally praiseworthy.
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Bauer, Sibylle. "The europeanisation of arms export policies and its impact on democratic accountability." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/211210.
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Mavrikiou, Petros Andreas. "Aspects of European economic integration : the single market and the single currency." Thesis, McGill University, 1995. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=23724.
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This paper considers two major issues in the evolution of the European Union, the Single Market and the Single Currency. The first chapter deals with the projected effects of the 1992 Programme, and the second chapter deals with the collapse of the Exchange Rate Mechanism of the European Monetary System and examines the prospects for European Monetary Union given this collapse. The third chapter revolves around the concept of Central Banking under Monetary Union and focuses on the European Monetary Institute and the European System of Central Banks. Chapter four presents data regarding the progress of the European Union towards the target of the Single Currency, as well as other macroeconomic indicators.
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Menuet, Laetitia. "Le discours sur l'espace judiciaire européen : analyse du discours et sémantique argumentative." Phd thesis, Université de Nantes, 2006. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00133442.
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La recherche menée dans cette thèse traite du discours de l'Union européenne sur l'espace judiciaire européen entre 1996 et 1999. En convoquant l'analyse du discours et la lexicométrie dans un cadre théorique de la sémantique argumentative, elle analyse le sens des mots autour de l'expression « espace de liberté, de sécurité et de justice ». L'objectif est de définir comment s'élabore la réappropriation de valeurs universelles au profit du discours et de l'identité européenne véhiculée par les procédés argumentatifs utilisés pour représenter l'espace judiciaire européen. Le contexte politique et les théories linguistiques de la méthode d'analyse exposés, cette thèse porte sur les conditions de communication du discours et de sa particularité sémantique, en montrant qu'il construit une identité en triade renvoyant aux trois valeurs de son emblème triptyque (« liberté, sécurité et justice ») : les institutions, la criminalité organisée et les citoyens. Elle révèle les indices linguistiques de cette construction identitaire avec ses enjeux politiques et de légitimation en introduisant la notion de « normalisation discursive ». Celle-ci adopte un schéma linguistique très marqué conduisant à la mise en œuvre d'un processus de « manipulation argumentative » défini et démontré dans ce travail. Les résultats illustrent que la normalisation et la manipulation engendrent une circularité du discours reposant sur le conflit de deux orientations discursives : celle d'un discours sécuritaire et celle d'un discours sur l'État de droit et la démocratie.
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FERNANDES, Daniel. "Governments, public opinion, and social policy : change in Western Europe." Doctoral thesis, European University Institute, 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/75046.
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Defence date: 21 November 2022Examining Board: Prof. Ellen Immergut (EUI, Supervisor); Prof. Anton Hemerijck (EUI); Prof. Christoffer Green-Pedersen (Aarhus University); Prof. Evelyne Hübscher (Central European University)
This dissertation investigates how public opinion and government partisanship affect social policy. It brings an innovative perspective that links the idea of democratic representation to debates about the welfare state. The general claim made here is that social policy is a function of public and government preferences. This claim hinges on two critical premises. The first relates to the general mechanisms that underlie government representation. Politicians have electoral incentives to align their actions with what citizens want. They may respond to public opinion indirectly by updating their party agendas, which can serve as the basis for social policy decisions in case they get elected. They may also respond directly by introducing welfare reforms that react to shifts in public opinion during their mandates. The second premise concerns how citizens and politicians structure their preferences over welfare. These preferences fall alongside two dimensions. First, general attitudes about how much should the state intervene in the economy to reduce inequality and promote economic well-being (how much policy). Second, the specific preferences about which social programmes should get better funding (what kind of policy). The empirical analysis is split into three empirical chapters. Each explores different aspects of government representation in Western European welfare states. The first empirical chapter (Chapter 4) asks how governments shape social policy when facing severe pressures to decrease spending. It argues that governments strategically reduce spending on programmes that offer less visible and indirect benefits, as they are less likely to trigger an electoral backlash. The experience of the Great Recession is consistent with this claim. Countries that faced the most challenging financial constraints cut down social investment and services. Except for Greece, they all preserved consumption schemes. The second empirical chapter (Chapter 5) explores how public opinion affects government spending priorities in different welfare programmes. It expects government responsiveness to depend on public mood for more or less government activity and the most salient social issues at the time. Empirical evidence from old-age, healthcare and education issue-policy areas supports these claims. Higher policy mood and issue saliency is positively associated with increasing spending efforts. Public opinion does not appear to affect unemployment policies. vii The third empirical chapter (Chapter 6) examines how party preferences affect spending priorities in unemployment programmes. It claims that preferences on economic intervention in the economy and welfare recalibration affect different components of unemployment policy. Evidence from the past 20 years bodes well with these expectations. The generosity of compensatory schemes depends on economic preferences. The left invests more than the right. The funding of active labour-market policies depends on both preference dimensions. Among conventional parties, their funding follows the same patterns as compensatory schemes. Among recalibration parties, parties across the economic spectrum present comparable spending patterns.
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Zhang, Lu. "Is the EU a social union? :the function of common social policy for European integration." Thesis, University of Macau, 2012. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2554777.
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Li, Xin. "European identity, a case study." Thesis, University of Macau, 2009. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2555548.
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Steinfeld, Martin Henry. "Free movement of persons and social constructivism? : a social constructivist perspective on the emergence of the concept of EU citizenship prior to its formal establishment in the Treaty on European Union." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2015. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.709133.
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Huang, Zhi Feng. "Study of European Union Common Agricultural Policy : France agricultural policy anaysis." Thesis, University of Macau, 2008. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2555543.
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Finck, Michèle. "Above and below the surface : two models of subnational autonomies in EU law." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:60c9f0ae-3f2a-4701-a096-e8f9ce38b5f0.
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This thesis examines the relation between subnational autonomies, that is to say regional and local authorities and the norms they create, and European Union law. The existence of local and regional autonomies within the various Member States of the EU is a factual truth. We know that they exist and co-exist with other levels of public authority, themselves generating norms. Yet, on its surface European Union law does not devise any substantive understanding of such autonomies. This stands in stark contrast to the relation between the Member States and the EU, which is governed by a complex catalogue of Treaty rules. As a consequence of European integration, however, subnational autonomies and EU law do interact, so that the latter cannot simply ignore the existence of the former. This thesis sets out to determine the contours of their mutual relation through an analysis of EU procedural and substantive law. It uncovers that the relation between subnational autonomies and EU law is multifarious and diverges depending on whether we look at the surface of EU law, that is to say the Treaties, or whether we look below its surface, at the Court of Justice's rich case law or soft law instruments of the Commission. I map this conclusion through a modelling approach, relying on what I term the 'Insider Model' and the 'Outsider Model' respectively. These models underline that, in some areas of EU law, SNAs are seen to be outsiders to the project of European integration whereas other areas recognise SNAs and especially their norms to be the insiders of that project. The coexistence of both models forces us intellectually to rearrange things. It challenges our 'constitutional imagination'. The key to understanding the coexistence of both models can be found in the evolution of EU law itself. While the Outsider Model remains attached to the public international law origins of the EU Treaties, the Insider Model captures the reality that not only States and citizens, but also SNAs, are integrated into the EU legal order.
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Wei, De Cai. "Trade related environmental measures of European Union : a new kind of trade barriers?" Thesis, University of Macau, 2005. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b1637069.
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Edquist, Kristin Alisa. "Authorizing affluence : European Union social policy and promotion of the commerce society : a critical theoretical analysis /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/10717.
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Kuok, Lai Ieng. "Do the employment policies of the Lisbon Strategy promote EU economic growth?" Thesis, University of Macau, 2010. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2555547.
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MORGENBRODT, Kai Martin. "European social market economy conceptualizing the legal dimension of Art. 3(3) TEU." Doctoral thesis, European University Institute, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/65947.
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Award date: 1 October 2019Examining Board: Professor Claire Kilpatrick, European University Institute (Supervisor)
The Lisbon Treaty introduced in its Art. 3 new language into primary law that expresses the ambition to give the EU a stronger social dimension.1 In comparison to its predecessor provision of Art. 4 (1) of the Treaty Establishing the European Community, which solely relied on the ‘principle of an open market economy with free competition’, the basic objectives of the EU were broadened. Art. 3 TEU now includes objectives that come across as a promise to rebalance market and non-market values through the foundational provisions of the European Union. In line with other wide-ranging objectives, like fighting social exclusion, this article includes the eye-catching sentence that the EU aims for ‘a highly competitive social market economy’ that seeks to achieve ‘full employment and social progress’
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Corbillon-Gulin, Ramon. "A study of how European Union IPRA practitioners viewed ethical issues : values, standards, social responsibility, and control." Virtual Press, 1996. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1014808.
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The lack of studies relating to the ethical needs and values of public relations professionals in the European Union indicated the need for a research study to ascertain: 1. the experience of European Union public relations professionals in confronting and resolving ethical issues, 2. what the needs are in charting an ethical course for individual professional conduct, 3.what the needs are to guide organizations in the ethical performance of public relations, and 4. the social responsibility of public relations.Nearly all of the quantitative studies have been devoted to an examination of the views of members of American public relations associations. Numerous authors have pointed out the value of ethical standards and of a means of enforcement of the standards for professions. In spite of an ongoing professional dialogue as to the need, little progress has been made in defining sanctions against those who violate ethical principles while defining themselves as public relations counselors.This study was based on a mail survey created and distributed by Sharpe in the Fall of 1993. Three questions from the 1972 Newsom's research study were added. Threehundred and fifty-five public relations practitioner members of the International Public Relations Association within the European Union in 1995 were identified as the population for this study. A 35.2% response rate was attained after two mailings.The typical respondent was male, had been in the profession from 10 to 30 years, held an accreditation, was a specialist and identified himself as a counselor. He related that he confronted ethical issues with frequency particularly in relation to relationships with clients, the news media, and customers. The majority of the ethical issues, which would have or had transgressed the organizational policies and personal/religious principles, consisted of: misleading information, promising more than could and was delivered, supporting a program with which he disagreed in principle, withholding information, and failure to accept responsibilities. He said that he resolved the last ethical issue encountered, which involved their organization's management performance, by pointing out the ethical issue and influencing an ethical action. He placed some value on both IPRA Codes. He saw all ethical issues as ethically wrong, especially those relating to sexual harassment, the sale of unsafe products and services, discrimination, establishing different pay scales for men and women doing the same work, withholding information for gain at expense of others, and promotion and sale of products in other countries that are unacceptable in the EU that place people at risk. He viewed the public relations profession as having a leading role in improving relationships between peoples of different races within a country and between countries. He saw public opinion as an effective control over public relations performance. Finally, he would recommend the establishment and communication of the organization's ethics code and performance policies so organizational management would be recognized for public relations performance. The employment of public relations officials with professional memberships obligating them to uphold a code of ethical conduct was viewed as a criteria that organizations should establish as evidence of the organization's commitment to ethical public relations.Department of Journalism
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Li, Wen Jing. "Water governance in a changing climate : adaptation strategy of EU water law." Thesis, University of Macau, 2011. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2586411.
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Romya, Kivilcim. "A Comparative Analysis Of The European Union Financial Assistance To Central And Eastern European Countries And Turkey." Master's thesis, METU, 2008. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/2/12609344/index.pdf.
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This thesis makes a comparative analysis of financial assistances provided to Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) and Turkey by the European Union (EU) prior and pursuant to candidacy. Furthermore, the thesis argues results obtained through comparison of financial assistances provided to CEECs and Turkey by the EU within the framework of integration theories and examines the place of Turkey within the enlargement perspective of the EU by addressing arguments that are dominant in the literature in relation to European integration theories.
The major argument of the thesis is that Turkey has not been treated equally with CEECs as regards financial assistance provided by the EU. As a justification for this, it is assumed that ideational factors have an impact on the enlargement perspective of the EU and they are determinant in the stance of EU towards Turkey.
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Klien, Michael, Markus Leibrecht, and Özlem Onaran. "Globalization, welfare regimes and social protection expenditures in Western and Eastern European countries." SFB International Tax Coordination, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, 2010. http://epub.wu.ac.at/1608/1/document.pdf.
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This paper analyzes the effects of globalization on social protection expenditures in European countries. The analysis adds to the literature due to its special focus on (a) the Eastern European countries and (b) on differences in globalization effects between welfare regimes. We find evidence in favor of the compensation hypothesis in Western Europe which is driven by the conservative welfare regime, outweighing the efficiency effect of globalization in the social-democratic welfare regime. In Eastern European countries the efficiency effect is predominant. No globalization effect is found for the liberal and the southern welfare regimes. Our results indicate some convergence within Western Europe and a divergence between the East and the West of Europe. We stress the importance of disaggregating by welfare regimes when exploring the effects of globalization on public social protection expenditures. (author's abstract)Series: Discussion Papers SFB International Tax Coordination
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Sun, Cai Xuan. "The effectiveness of EU in coordinating pension reforms of member states through the OMC." Thesis, University of Macau, 2012. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2595808.
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Lipska, Katarzyna. "The effects of 2004 European Union enlargement on mortality development for joining countries." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Sociologiska institutionen, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-92578.
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The life expectancy development during the past 150 years has been remarkable in many parts of the world. These developments, however, have been very different across countries. In Europe, the diverse historical and political changes lead to clusters of regions that followed different mortality developments. The aim of this study was to examine how countries that entered the European Union in 2004 and 2007 differ in terms of mortality from continuous members of the EU and from Eastern European countries that have never joined the EU. Moreover, I studied a possible convergence in mortality indicators between these groups of countries. The data used to explore mortality conditions in those groups of countries was derived from two sources: The Human Mortality Database and European Health for All Database. Descriptive statistics and calculations of average yearly pace of change for groups of countries have been applied for each mortality indicator. Furthermore, regression models have been conducted to estimate the impact of belonging to a country group on mortality indicators, adjusted for some macro-level indicators of economic progress and health expenditure. The results verified previous research implying the importance of period factors which can affect mortality in the short term. For all mortality indicators, accelerated improvements between 1995 and 1999 have been found in countries who became EU members in 2004. Moreover, life expectancy convergence was observed for life expectancy at birth but not for the older ages which could imply that the positive progress affected older ages to smaller degree. My findings confirm the importance of social environment and imply that the process of joining the EU possibly could reduce social stress and affect mortality conditions positively.
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Schilcher, Daniela, and n/a. "Supranational governance of tourism : aid, trade and power relations between the European Union and the South Pacific island states." University of Otago. Department of Tourism, 2007. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20080508.150955.
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This thesis examined the role of supranational organisations (SOs) in the governance of tourism in a North-South context. Focusing on the issue area of development cooperation, this thesis investigated the question of how and why SOs got involved in tourism in developing countries, and more specifically, in small island developing states. Such involvement may occur either directly through aid funded projects or indirectly through international trade regimes that impact on tourism in the aid recipient countries. The thesis adopted a case study approach focussing on the European Union�s (EU�s) involvement in the governance of tourism in South Pacific island states. Grounded in a history of colonialism, the EU has been involved in the �development� of the South Pacific for more than three decades, which allowed to track changes in development philosophy over time. Focusing on the concept of power, the case was assessed in a multi-scalar manner, analysing the EU�s involvement from the global down to the local level. Never before has an entire multilevel polity been assessed in one coherent case study, incorporating actors situated at all levels and ranging from supranational organisations to national governments, businesses, communities, and individuals.
The methods employed in this thesis included interviews, participant observation, document analysis (policy documents and newspapers), and subsequently critical discourse analysis. The latter served to highlight the so-called �third face of power� (Lukes 1974), which is closely related to the concept of ideological hegemony. Interviews were conducted in Fiji and Samoa with officials of the South Pacific Delegations of the EU, officials of tourism authorities, NGOs, tourism operators and community members. Elite interviews in Brussels were conducted with officials of the European Commission and the European Parliament.
Under all scales and �faces� of power the EU was found to be the dominant actor, while the issue of self-interest appeared to play a key role. At a macro-level, the EU clearly dominated in most overt decision-making situations during negotiations on aid and trade agreements. As concerned the inclusion of tourism in the agreements, the relative importance of the sector was clearly dependent on the European Commission�s prevailing attitude on �tourism and development� at any point in time. At a meso- and micro-level, the EU�s influence was less obvious yet nonetheless existent, for example through funding rules and the use of European consultants. Indirect influence also occurred at the national level. In particular the substitution of a preferential trade regime with a free trade agreement (the Economic Partnership Agreements), which is currently being negotiated between the EU and the Pacific Islands, is likely to have a significant impact on the economic importance of tourism, as well as public policy in the South Pacific. In a mini case study of Samoa, it was found that the resulting changes in tourism policy would have a significant impact �on the ground�, in particular with regard to rates of local ownership and control.
Overall, power relations were found to be highly unequal and self-determination and empowerment have largely not been achieved. However, more research is needed to examine the ability to generalise the findings to other geographic regions or other types of SOs. The key contribution of this thesis in the theoretical realm constitutes its bridging of agency and structure within multi-level governance, which may be conceived as a �third way� to either dependency theory-influenced studies (global/structure) or community approaches (local/agency).
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Fan, Yin. "Experiences of European Union Countries in Water Pollution Control System and Their Inspirations to China." Thesis, KTH, Industriell ekologi, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-32806.
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Along with the rapid development of industry and agriculture, growth of population, improvement of urbanization level, China has been confronted with increasingly serious deficiency and pollution of water resource. In order to deal with the challenge as well as reduce waste discharge, it is necessary to strengthen all the possible efforts in controlling water pollution. Therefore, the control and management of water pollution is of vital significance to the development of national economy and social society, which is worth doing research on academically and practically. Water pollution management, in a sense, results from the urbanization and cosmopolitanization process. In this aspect, the European countries have acquired a lot of successful experience in water pollution control, which provides plenty of useful knowledge and reference for China’s ongoing efforts in water pollution control. This thesis, by taking a comparative analysis approach, looks into the European countries’ experience of water pollution control, makes evaluations on their managerial strategies, system and methods. Then it reviews China’s efforts on water pollution control, and analyzes the current situation of China’s water management, especially the water pollution control system of Huaihe River Basin, and as a result puts forward suggestions to improve China’s water pollution control system such as verification of property rights of water resources, enhancement of legal framework, investment and taxation policy preference, technological improvements, public participation and prevention measures.www.ima.kth.se
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Orhin, Gyau Isabella. "Content Analysis on Coverage of European Union and European Union Member Countries’ Issues in the Daily Graphic of Ghana in the Years 1998 and 2008." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-22321.
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The issue of the image of African countries in European media is an age-long one which has resurfaced in recent times. Eyebrows have been raised over the image of African countries in Europe and other Western Media which is always touted to be negative.The question about how the EU is reported in the African media has however been relegated to the background. This study therefore used content analysis to unearth how the EU and its member countries are reported in the African Media particularly in the Daily Graphic, a leading Daily Newspaper in Ghana in two separate years of 1998 and 2008 and whether what is reported reflects colonial ties between EU member countries and their former colonies in Africa. The study which used both quantitative and qualitative methods of research also sought to investigate the power relations between African media and their European counterpart, the sources of the stories were examined to find out whether they are stories written by European media or in-depth analysis of issues written by Ghanaian or African reporters. Special emphasis was placed on issues around trade and aid between Africa and the European Union which comes across as the key issues. The years 1998 and 2008 were selected because it has a ten year interval in which one can assess whether coverage of EU related issues in the paper has improved over the last ten years especially as the EU has grown in membership and scope, deepening its process of integration and acquiring new responsibilities in the world.Findings of the study indicated a strong tie between some EU member countries and their former colonies, (i.e United Kingdom and Ghana).The study also found out that The Daily Graphic simply borrows stories from EU sources and reproduce them with very little or no analysis, comments, or criticisms, of the issues raised that may have implications for the country or Africa’s growth in terms of aid and trade issues. This is a pointer to the fact that European media has been setting the agenda and the Daily Graphic simply follows.The study further revealed the unequal power relations between the EU and for that matter Africa which also reflects in media relations whereby as a result of poor salaries, logistical support and appropriate technology, newspapers in Africa, such as the Daily Graphic are unable to send reporters to the EU headquarters in Brussels to report issues from the African point of view and as such reproduce what has already been reported in the European media by European reporters and sent down through wire services.Again from the study, it is evident that the Daily Graphic does not report regularly on issues on EU- Africa trade and aid. In 1998, aid related issues involving the EU and Africa were only six percent while that of 2008 was 11 percent. Trade related issues involving the EU and Africa recorded nine percent in both years. Also reporters lack of interest in analysis of the issues in feature articles was reflected in 97 percent of news stories in 1998 as against three percent of feature articles in the same year while 2008 recorded a woefully two percent of feature articles as against a whopping 98 percent of news stories.One of the issues that emerged as a surprise was the fact that contrary to expectations, EU related stories not connected to Africa received more coverage than what connects Africa to Europe. This may be an indication that African media gate-keepers are not selecting stories based on the interest of the country or continent but rather still serving their colonial masters under a new colonial empire facilitated by the EU. Theories underpinning colonialism such as Edward Said’s Orientalism, modernization, media and society theories have helped to discuss some of the issues under focus.
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Marengo, Umberto. "The European Union in the international energy regime and relations with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, 1981-2013." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2015. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.709420.
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Wang, Yan Chao. "EU's agricultural support policy and its revelation on China's agricultural policy." Thesis, University of Macau, 2011. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2555588.
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Anger-Kraavi, Annela. "Emissions trading for regulating climate change impacts of aviation : a case study of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2012. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.610211.
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Zhou, Jia Lei. "EU water law : the right balance between environmental and economic considerations?" Thesis, University of Macau, 2005. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b1637070.
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GATTO, Alexandra. "The responsibility of multinational enterprises for human rights violations in European Union law." Doctoral thesis, European University Institute, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/7018.
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Defence date: 18 June 2007Examining Board: Prof. Francesco Francioni, (EUI) ; Prof. Marise Cremona, (EUI) ; Prof. Enzo Cannizzaro, (University of Macerata) ; Prof. Olivier De Schutter, (Catholic University of Louvain)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
This thesis addresses the question as to how the European Union can ensure that EU based MNEs respect human rights when operating in third countries. Firstly, it identifies primary obligations on MNEs as developed by international law in order to tackle the above question. Secondly, on the basis of this theoretical framework it investigates how the European Union has acted to promote respect of human rights obligations by MNEs which are based on the territory of one of its Member States. Thirdly, the gap between the EU’s commitment to the respect and promotion of human rights, the potential to regulate the conduct of MNEs and the EU’s reluctance to impose human rights obligations on MNEs is explored. It is suggested that current human rights law should develop in the sense of considering companies as duty holders, together with States and other non-state actors, for the realisation of human rights. Moreover, a principle of graduation of responsibility is applied to MNEs, according to the specific human right involved, the proximity to the victim and the element of State authority exercised by the company in a particular situation. The above depicted graduation of responsibility (from the obligation to respect, to the obligation to promote human rights) should be matched by a graduation of corresponding implementing mechanisms. Applying this theoretical framework to the EU, three main recommendations have been formulated. Firstly, the EU should more firmly link the promotion of MNEs’ human rights obligations to international human rights law and support the constitution of an international law framework within the UN. Secondly, the EU should promote MNEs’ human rights obligations within the limits of its competence, both at the international and at an external level. It has been argued that a proactive attitude in this respect would not require the acquisition of new powers, but simply the recognition of a functional competence on the basis of Article 6 TEU in taking positive (and not merely negative) steps for the promotion of human rights in the areas of its competence occurring in international law and the international framework for MNEs’ responsibility. Finally, the EU should not abandon the option of exploring non-binding and incentive measures, both at the international and external levels, to be encouraged as a viable complement to binding measures.
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Baranava, Tatiana. "EUROPEAN UNION - BELARUS: A FRIENDLIER, WARMER RELATIONSHIP ? THE CASE OF THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-23956.
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After 12 years of isolation, the relations between Brussels and Minsk have been thawing starting in the last year. One of the components of the policy of re-engagement is the new initiative adopted by the EU called Eastern Partnership (EaP). This thesis sought to answer following question: what were the main reasons for the change in the EU policy towards Belarus after 2008? In order to answer the research question I formulated two hypotheses. The first hypothesis argues that while the EU has acted according to the normative power expectations up until 2008, after that date a more pragmatic approach in the foreign policy has been at work. The second hypothesis explains this change by the increasing influence of Eastern European countries in realm of decision-making processes within the EU, which resulted in a reformed EU foreign policy towards Belarus.These hypotheses are tested in a qualitative case study of the launching of the Eastern Partnership initiative, seen as the most important instrument that defines the new policy of EU. I will focus on the process of decision–making in regards to the adoption of the new initiative towards the Eastern European countries, using the rational actor model and the theory of formal leadership. The results of the paper point out that the main reason for changing the EU foreign policy towards Belarus were connected to pragmatic interests in the economic and energy areas, which weakened the EU normative claims. However, EU values are still counted as political conditionality has recently re-entered the agenda. Thus, the current foreign policy is two-fold: based on rational model of acting and normative power. Moreover, the EaP is the result of the strengthened position of Eastern European countries in terms of the power hierarchy among EU members, with Poland, and the Baltic States playing an increasingly larger role.
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Gong, Xi. "Explaining EU-US strategic difference after the Cold War : the case of Iran's nuclear issue." Thesis, University of Macau, 2011. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2555593.
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Savevska, Maja. "The evolving governance structure of the European Union : asymmetric, but not disembedded : immanent possibilities in the social and environmental policy domains." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2014. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/67645/.
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The subject of inquiry of my research is the socio-economic restructuring of the European Union (EU). The project provides an innovative interdisciplinary intervention that uses the canonical texts of Karl Polanyi and the insights from the burgeoning Polanyian scholarship in an attempt to explain the morphology of the contradictions that underpin the EU integration project. The starting point of analysis lies in the recent debates instigated by the critical turn in the EU studies scholarship that tries to shift the focus from the causes of the EU integration to its consequences. My original contribution to the scholarship consists of providing a Polanyian critique of the EU political economy. The ever-growing Polanyian scholarship proves a formidable alternative to the already established Gramscian and Marxist routes of critical inquiry. Based on a close reading of Polanyi and the wider Polanyian scholarship the thesis proposes a new take on the established practice of using Polanyi’s concept of dis/embeddedness as an all-or-nothing phenomenon and instead suggests conceptualising the social reality in terms of tendencies. The lenses through which I evaluate the EU predicament consist of the following conceptual vocabulary: a) dis/embedding tendencies b) habitation and improvement, and c) the rate of change. The main puzzle that the project endeavours to explain is the interplay between the disembedding and the embedding tendencies in the EU. The examination of the disembedding tendency consists of excavating the self-regulating market logic inscribed into the EU edifice by analysing the development across three policy fields: competition, finance and education. The findings suggest that the disembedding tendency is manifested not only in the monetary orthodoxy inscribed in the Economic and Monetary Union since the Maastricht Treaty and further reified during the Great Recession, but also in the privatisation, depoliticisation and commodification dynamics evident in the three policy domains discussed in the thesis. Given Polanyi’s observation that the embedding tendency is immanent to the disembedding one, the second empirical endeavour consists of investigating the surge of socio-environmental measures. Notwithstanding the institutional divergences between the social and environmental policy domains, the appraisal of the policy output demonstrates that the embedding tendency is characterised by the same marketisation dynamic that we see in the disembedding one. This thesis recuperates a critical Polanyian reading that highlights the disruptive dialectics between the disembedding tendency and the seemingly protective measures predicated on fictitious commodification. In addition to unearthing the structural bias towards the market form that constitutes the two tendencies, this project develops a normative critique of the market society, based on Polanyi’s ferocious appraisal of neoclassical economics’ formal understanding of the economy, by problematising the extension of the economising rationality within previously unaffected spheres.
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ZAICEVA, Anzelika. "Three essays on migration from transition economies." Doctoral thesis, European University Institute, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/7014.
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Defence date : 6 February 2007Examining Board: Andrea Ichino, (Università di Bologna and the EUI) ; Riccardo Faini, (Università degli Studi di Roma "Tor Vergata") ; Hartmut Lehmann, (Università di Bologna) ; Richard Spady, (European University Institute)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
Are migrants from a transition economy positively self-selected not only with respect to observable characteristics, but also with respect to the unobservales? Moreover, since the decision to migrate is endogenous, what are the causal returns to geographic mobility, net of unobservable confounders? Finally, does gender matter? Do female migrants from a transition economy experience a gain or a (double) disadvantage in the western labour market of being both female and migrants compared to female stayers and to male migrants?
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Skiadas, Dimitrios. "Financial control of the management of the resources given to Greece by the European Social Fund concerning employment : legal and institutional aspects." Thesis, Durham University, 2000. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1583/.
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Dufresne, Anne. "Les stratégies de l'euro-syndicalisme sectoriel: étude de la coordination salariale et du dialogue social." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/210769.
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The main contribution of my thesis is the analysis of substantial empirical material that I have collected from Community trade union actors. My analysis focuses on the institutional strategies of the sectoral European trade union federations and their implications for the Europeanisation of wages policy. I have demonstrated that the development of European coordination processes of national collective bargaining, particularly at sectoral level, has contributed to reviving the concept of collective bargaining and professional relations in the European Area, which until then had been covered in the literature by the social dialogue. I have identified three obstacles to collective negociations at a European level: the “depoliticised” wage in the economic partnership, employers identified as the “lobby partner” in the sectoral social dialogue, and the difficulties encountered in the Europeanisation of trade unions.L’apport majeur de notre thèse est l’analyse d’un matériel empirique conséquent que nous avons collecté auprès des acteurs syndicaux communautaires. Notre analyse se concentre sur les stratégies institutionnelles des fédérations syndicales sectorielles européennes et sur leurs implications en matière d’européanisation de la politique salariale. Nous avons démontré que le développement des processus de coordination européenne des négociations collectives nationales, en particulier au niveau sectoriel, peut contribuer à renouveler la conception de la négociation collective et des relations professionnelles dans l’espace européen jusqu’alors appréhendée dans la littérature par le dialogue social. Nous avons identifié trois obstacles à la négociation collective européenne :le salaire « dépolitisé » dans le partenariat économique, le patronat devenu « partenaire-lobby » dans le dialogue social sectoriel, et la difficile européanisation syndicale.
Doctorat en sciences sociales, Orientation sociologie
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Sente, Christophe. "L'étude des idées politiques au sein des partis de la social-démocratie européenne: de l'utilité du concept du révisionnisme." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/210006.
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La thèse s'attache à étudier la validité conceptuelle de la notion de révisionnisme pour la compréhension de la dynamique idéationnelle et programmatique de la social-démocratie européenne.Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished
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DARKO, PHIDELIA. "EU DEVELOPMENT POLICY FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES VS. THE NEW SECURITY AGENDA : A CASE STUDY ON GHANA." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-23826.
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Development issues have been the centre of most international governmental organisations for quite a long time. Most developing countries tend to depend on Western foreign donors to assist them in their developmental ambitions. Ghana as a developing nation also depends on it foreign donors to finance most of it developmental projects. Even though the European Union is an international governmental organisation that is much known for assisting developing countries with their developmental projects it is anticipated that recent occurrence such as the global economic meltdown, climate change coupled with terrorist attacks on most developed nations will limit or perhaps even halt the flow of development aid to developing countries as they might be more concerned with securing their territory rather than thinking of other people somewhere else.This is because such occurrences have resulted in raising a new concern, thus the New Security Agenda or Human Security. The Human Security in respect to its economic sector is what this paper deals with. This paper takes a critical look on Ghana’s Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (GPRS), as pertaining to the aspect of these papers that received developmental aid from the European Development Fund (EDF). It is proved here that almost all aspect of Ghana’s developmental projects in one way or other received funding from the EDF. The New Security Agenda in terms of its economic sector was rather found out to be a positive influence for developing nations like Ghana as a result of the country’s stability. This is because it was found out that rather than limiting the flow of development aid to Ghana, it is during this time that the 10th EDF budget for Ghana received the highest funding. It was later found out that all these developmental projects conforms to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which is also an area of concern in the New Security Agenda. All this occurrences are much more explained along a theoretical framework (thus the notions of liberalism, critical theory and constructivism). However other academic works on the subject matter was also comprehensively acknowledged.
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Penwarden, Mia. "Suur druiwe? Wyn, die TDCA en Suid-Afrika." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/53076.
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Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In October 1999 South Africa and the European Union (EU) signed a free trade agreement, the Trade Development and Co-operation Agreement (TDCA), which came into effect on 1 January 2000. The TDCA was developed to enhance bilateral trade, economic-, political- and social cooperation and consists of three components - the creation of a Free Trade Area between South-Africa and the EU, EU financial aid to South Africa through the European Programme for Reconstruction and Development (EPRD), and project aid. However, the EU, in an effort to secure the best possible deal for itself, often behave in its own interests (through the manipulation of the Wine and Spirits Agreement) during the negotiations for the TDCA. The goal of this study was to establish what exactly trademarks are, and what implications the EU's protection of intellectual property rights on wine and spirits trademarks will have on i) the South African wine industry, ii) whether South Africa could have exercised another option, iii) whether this action has created a precedent with which the EU can, in future, again force South Africa or any of its other developing trade partners to make concessions, and iv) who gains the most from the TDCA. The concludes that the EU, through the manipulation of the Wine and Spirits Agreement, left South Africa with no choice by to concede the use of the contested trademarks - something that has already taken its toll on the South African wine industry - in order to save the TDCA. This action created a precedent that the EU will, in future, again be in a position to threaten developing countries with the termination of an agreement should they fail to comply with its demands. Finally, the conclusion is made that even though the TDCA was created to assist South Africa with its reintegration into the world market, it will ultimately be the EU that benefits most from the agreement.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrika en die Europese Unie (EU) het in Oktober 1999 In vryehandelsooreenkoms, die Trade Development and Co-operation Agreement (TDCA) onderteken, wat op 1 Januarie 2000 in werking getree het. Die TDCA is ontwerp om bilaterale handel-, ekonomiese-, politieke- en sosiale samewerking te bevorder en bestaan uit drie komponente, naamlik die skep van 'n vryehandelgebied tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika; finansiele steun deur die EU aan Suid-Afrika onder die European Programme for Reconstruction and Development (EPRD) en projekhulp. Die EU het egter dikwels in eiebelang opgetree (deur middel van die manipulasie van die Wyn- en Spiritus Ooreenkoms) tydens die onderhandelingsproses in 'n poging om die beste moontlike ooreenkoms vir homself te beding. Die doel van hierdie studie was om te bepaal wat presies handelsmerke is, en watter implikasies die EU se beskerming van intellektuele eiendomsregte aangaande wyn- en spiritushandelsmerke op i) die Suid-Afrikaanse wynbedryf sal he, ii) of Suid-Afrika 'n ander opsie kon uitoefen, iii) of hierdie aksie In presedent geskep het waarmee die EU Suid-Afrika of enige van sy ander ontwikkelende handelsvennote in die toekoms weer sal kan dwing om toegewings te maak, en iv) wie die meeste baat vind by die TDCA. Die studie het tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat die EU deur die manipulasie van die Wyn- en Spiritus Ooreenkoms aan Suid-Afrika geen keuse gegee het nie as om die gebruik van die betwiste handelsmerke op te se - iets wat reeds die Suid-Afrikaanse wynbedryf geknou het - in 'n poging om die TDCA te behou. Hierdie optrede skep 'n presedent dat die EU voortaan in onderhandelings met ander ontwikkelende state weer kan dreig om die hele ooreenkoms te verongeluk indien daar nie aan sy eise voldoen word nie. In die laaste instansie is daar tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat, alhoewel die TDCA daarop gemik was om Suid-Afrika te help met sy herintegrasie tot die wereldmark, dit uiteindelik die EU is wat die meeste daarby gaan baat.
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GRÄTZ, Michael. "Compensating disadvantageous life events : social origin differences in the effects of family and sibling characteristics on educational outcomes." Doctoral thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/38784.
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Defence date: 19 November 2015Examining Board: Professor Fabrizio Bernardi, European University Institute (EUI Supervisor); Professor Hans-Peter Blossfeld, European University Institute; Professor Dalton Conley, New York University; Professor Jan O. Jonsson, Nuffield College, University of Oxford/ Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI), Stockholm University.
This thesis is a collection of four empirical studies which analyze the effects of family and sibling characteristics on educational outcomes. The analysis in all empirical studies is guided by the compensatory effect of social origin hypothesis according to which higher social origin families can reduce the negative impact of disadvantageous characteristics and life events on their children's educational outcomes. In detail, I study the effects of month of birth, parental separation, birth order, birth spacing, and maternal age. I use data on England, Germany, and Sweden. On a methodological level, I employ natural experiments, fixed effects methods, and instrumental variable (IV) estimation in order to control for the influence of unobserved confounding variables. Overall, I find support for the initial hypothesis with respect to the effects of month of birth, parental separation, and close birth spacing. Contrary to that, I find no systematic social origin differences in the effects of birth order and maternal age on educational outcomes. In the conclusion, I discuss the implications of these findings for theories of the intergenerational transmission of education, the differences in life chances of children from socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged families, and the allocation of resources within families. I discuss how further research could possibly test in how far differences in parental involvement between social origin groups are underlying these relationships.
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KUHN, Theresa. "Individual transnationalism and EU supportv: an empirical test of Deutsch's transactionalist theory." Doctoral thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/18405.
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Defence date: 8 July 2011Examining Board: Prof. Martin Kohli, European University Institute (Supervisor); Prof. Mark Franklin, European University Institute; Prof. Jack Citrin, University of California at Berkeley; Prof. Juan Díez Medrano, Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals
In 2012 the author was awarded the Linz-Rokkan Prize in Political Sociology, and the Theseus Award for Promising Research on European Integration (Brussels, December 2012).
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
Recent trends of euroscepticism seriously challenge Deutsch’s transactionalist theory that increased transnational interactions trigger support for further political integration. While transnational interactions have indeed proliferated, EU support has diminished. This dissertation aims at solving this puzzle by arguing that transnational interaction is highly stratified across society. Its impact on EU support therefore only applies to a small portion of the public. The rest of the population not only fails to be prompted to support the integration process, but may see it as a threat to their realm. This is even more the case as parallel to European integration, global processes of transnationalisation create tensions in national societies. Consequently, the hypotheses guiding this dissertation are as follows: (1) The more transnational an individual, the more (s)he is prone to support European integration. (2) This effect is more pronounced in countries and regions that are more transnationalised. These hypotheses are tested using multilevel analyses of survey data from the Eurobarometer waves 75.1 (2007) and 77.1 (2007). The analyses show that transnational interactions and networks are concentrated among a small group of highly educated, young Europeans. Individuals highly engaged in transnational interactions and well endowed with transnational human capital are significantly more likely to support EU membership and to consider themselves as European, even more so in highly globalised countries. This relationship is weaker, however, in intra- European border regions, where transnational interaction is less stratified across society.
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DÖRR, Nicole. "Listen carefully : democracy brokers at the European social forums." Doctoral thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/12018.
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Defence date: 04/05/2009Examining Board: Donatella Della Porta (EUI) (Supervisor); Klaus Eder (Humboldt University of Berlin) (External Co-Supervisor); Francesca Polletta (UC IRvine) (by videolink); Peter Wagner (University of Trento)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
Interested in activists’ practices of translation as a potentially innovatory method of participatory democracy in a multilingual polity like the EU, my Dissertation explores the European Social Forum (ESF) process, a transnational platform created by global justice activists, civil society groups and social movement organisations. I studied the small-scale European preparatory meetings in which hundreds of activists have met six times a year since 2002 to organise the European Social Forums, and form campaigns on global justice, peace, social policies, anti-privatisation, climate change, migration, health, education and other issues. Comparing activists’ deliberative practices in these European meetings with social forum meetings at the national level in Germany, Italy and the UK, I arrived at a surprising result: European meetings reflect a higher degree of inclusivity and transparency within deliberation and decision-making compared to the national level. The puzzle to understand is this: European meetings bring together the same groups and individuals as national meetings, but they work by a novel practice of translation in multilingual deliberations implemented by activists who do a work of cultural and political translation: principled brokers. Principled brokers intervene on the listening side of deliberative processes and may change those culturally specific 'hearing habits' and informal norms of discussion that work against traditionally marginalised groups. My findings show that the inclusion of currently absent groups in debates on the EU depends less on a lack of voice than on efficient translation. Members of marginalised groups felt to be included in settings where elites actively listened. Careful listening, as a condition for public dialogue, occurred in European meetings that worked with practices of translation and allowed for alliances to form between geographically and socially distant groups. In the national meetings though, a lack of care for listening and translation reproduced exclusionary decision-making among informal elites. This comparison of participatory democracy arenas at the national and European level shows that linguistic and cultural homogeneity may impede rather than facilitate an effectively inclusive public dialogue.
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PARKS, Louisa. "In the corridors and in the streets : a comparative study of the impacts of social movement campaigns in the EU." Doctoral thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/25335.
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Defence date: 9 January 2009Examining Board: Prof. Donatella della Porta (EUI/External Supervisor); Prof. Laszlo Bruszt, EUI; Prof. Sidney Tarrow, Cornell University; Prof. Carlo Ruzza, University of Leicester
First available online on 12 March 2019
This doctoral thesis aims to trace the impacts of campaigns carried out by coalitions of social movement organisations in the transnational arena of the EU. In order to accomplish this task, an original approach to process tracing is adopted using methods used in social movement studies. The internal aspects of campaigns are investigated using a dynamic, cross-time and multi-level, frame analysis, while the contexts of the campaigns are analysed through political and discursive opportunity approaches adapted to the peculiarities of the EU arena. Four case studies, including two campaigns concerned with environmental / public health policy (GMOs and coexistence, and the REACH legislation) and two concerned with broadly defined social policy (the mid-term review of the Lisbon agenda and the Services directive), make up the empirical part of the study. Drawing on documentary evidence as well as semi-structured interviews with staff members from the core SMOs involved in each campaign at the Brussels level, the processes leading to access, agenda, or policy outcomes (or indeed non-outcomes) are traced using the analytical methods mentioned above. These processes provide the basis for preliminary conclusions on the nature of campaigning in the EU. Elite allies are found to be important in securing desired outcomes in campaigns, as are solid, previously agreed shared frames between coalition organisations. The cases also show that the EU is not an arena where conventional tactics (i.e. lobbying) are always enough – indeed the ability to campaign effectively at multiple levels using appropriate tactics is identified as a major factor in campaigns that saw positive outcomes. This finding challenges the idea that the EU arena is unsuitable to protest actions (e.g. Marks and McAdam 1996). Finally, the study uncovers the beginnings of a divide between ‘technical’ and ‘political’ campaigns in the EU. Stemming from the finding that national contexts still provided the opportunities or threats that appeared most important in campaign outcomes, the cases showed that where campaigns were more ‘political’ - in that they were more ideologically charged - groups were more likely to be able to mobilise grassroots members and secure their desired outcomes. In more ‘technical’ cases, where the European Commission played a greater role, mobilisation efforts were subdued as groups sunk their resources in long cycles of consultation and knowledge production geared to the needs of the Commission.
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FREITAS, CORREIA Any. "Redefining nations : nationhood and immigration in Italy and Spain." Doctoral thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/14498.
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Defence date: 8 July 2010Examining Board: Maurizio Ambrosini (Univ. Milan); Margarita Gomez-Reino Cachafeiro, UNED, Madrid); Virginie Guiraudon (CERAPS-CNRS, Lille Centre for Politics) (External Co-Sipervisor); Peter Mair (EUI) (Supervisor)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
In the early 1990s, Italy and Spain, traditional labor exporters, started to acknowledge their new position as ‘immigration countries’. This dissertation examines how both states have coped with the consequences of this rapid and unexpected shift. Combining discourse and policy analysis, we look mainly at political elites’ (parties and their members) discourses and practices, during the first decade of the immigration turn (from early 1990s until the early 2000s). The literature has often treated Italy and Spain as examples of the same ‘Mediterranean’ group, also usually assuming that they have followed a very similar route towards immigrants’ criminalization and a populist mobilization of the immigration theme. Adopting an innovative analytical perspective, this thesis arrives at an original understanding of both immigrants’ representation and immigration politics in Italy and Spain. The predominant categories mobilized by Spanish and Italian political elites in the construction of the immigration ‘problem', as well as the strategies used to seize the (political) opportunities offered by the immigration theme are more diverse than they seem. While in Italy a ‘grammar’ of insecurity has been reiterated and institutionalized by nearly all political groups throughout the 1990s, in Spain, parties have mostly treated immigration as a matter (problem) of social integration, politicizing (‘criminalizing’) the issue quite late in the decade. This dissertation concludes moreover that the rising influx of immigrants during the 1990s has triggered a revival of particular ways of framing the Italian and Spanish ‘nations’ and nationhood, which have strongly marked political actors’ approach to immigrants and immigration politics. In this way, while in Italy the post-Fascist idea of a bounded Italianità, grounded on family ties and blood connections, have underlie immigration policy-making; the post-Franquist conception of a ‘new’, open and plural Spain has overruled in Spain. We show how these different national ‘mythologies’ were instrumental for legitimating quite similar (restrictive) policies.
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KIES, Raphaël. "Promises and limits of web-deliberation." Doctoral thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/10477.
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Defence date: 09 June 2008Examining Board: Prof. Peter Wagner, University of Trento and EUI Supervisor Prof. Alexander Trechsel, EUI Prof. Jürg Steiner, University of Carolina Prof. Hanspeter Kriesi, University of Zürich
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In this work we will attempt to evaluate which of these scenarios is most likely to become prominent in the future by focusing essentially on three issues: 1) the usage of the online forum by observing how diffuse the phenomenon is and who the users of the online debates are; 2) The offer of the online political forum, by analyzing which are the political actors (civil society, media, institutional actors) who are more susceptible to host the online political debates; and 3) the quality of the online debates by assessing their deliberativeness. By elaborating a sophisticated method for measuring the deliberativeness of the online debates and by analyzing a great variety of online debates our objective is to provide an appreciation of the deliberative potential of the web-debates that avoids shortcuts and inappropriate generalizations, but that recognizes that this may be determined by a multiplicity of factors. From a theoretical perspective the results obtained through our investigations contribute to evaluate whether the deliberative model of democracy could be fostered by the virtualization of the political debates and, more generally, it should also contribute to the elaboration of a deliberative model of democracy that is grounded not only on theoretical principles and suppositions, as this tends to be the case, but also on empirical studies that test its adaptability to the 'real life politics'.
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UPTON, Michael. "Practical aspects of the private enforcement of EC competition law." Doctoral thesis, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/5646.
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