|
|
No (geo)politics, just altruism: an analysis of the discourses by Serbia's political elite on the successful procurement of COVID-19 vaccines
Harmens, Hans Zdravko ; Žíla, Ondřej (vedoucí práce) ; Styczyńska, Natasza (oponent)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Serbian government procured COVID-19 vaccines before some of the more prosperous EU Member States could. From the Serbian government's perspective, this success was attributed to its "pragmatic" and "rational" policies. In essence, it leveraged competing geopolitical interests that the Serbian government has benefitted from. Nonetheless, it is through these geopolitical games that Serbia and its political elite have created a narrative that portrays Serbia as a bridge between the West and East. In light of this, this research seeks to understand to what extent these geopolitical discourses were incorporated into the discourses of Serbia's political elite and their transmission in the publications of Danas and Politika.
|
|
|
Democratic Backsliding and Parliament: An Analysis of the Polish Sejm
Scott, Greta Charlotte Francesca ; Muradova, Lala (vedoucí práce) ; Styczyńska, Natasza (oponent)
As we enter the Third Wave of Autocratisation, democratic backsliding is on the rise. Current research has emphasised the causes of backsliding to the detriment of its components, with the role of the legislature curiously absent from most work in this field. Filling the gap, this thesis attempts to establish the place of the legislature in the anatomy of democratic backsliding. Using the Polish Sejm as a case study, this paper analyses the two dimensions of parliament: formal rules and informal practices. Formal rules are measured using the Weighted Legislative Powers Score, whilst informal practices are analysed with the Discourse Quality Index (substantiated by observations). The results suggest that although the formal power of the Sejm has not decreased during democratic backsliding, the quality of informal practices has. The implications of these findings are that they support the theory that changes in parliamentary practice are an important component of democratic backsliding, yet undermine the importance of formal parliamentary strength for democracy.
|
|
|
The EU as a mediating actor in conflict and peacebuilding in neighbouring regions and beyond: the case of Kosovo
Dautzenberg, Tom ; Weiss, Tomáš (vedoucí práce) ; Styczyńska, Natasza (oponent)
This research investigates the targeting of EU state building policies in Kosovo. By employing the conceptual framework of the 'minimalist state' and applying this to the case, it studies to what extent the EU policies are suitable to improve Kosovo's status and performance as a state. Minimalist states are countries that have been established as a result of intervention and state building by international actors and were developed to accommodate competing claims, but in doing so, fall short of sets of functions states are widely expected to carry out. By applying this concept to Kosovo, this study analyses to what extent the EU's policies are targeted correctly to improve the features of Kosovo's minimalist state. The study was conducted by analysing the three main policy frameworks through which it engages with Kosovo: the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP), EULEX, and the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue. Document analysis was conducted with Kosovo as a single case study to answer the research question. The research has shown that the EU addresses only a limited number of features of Kosovo's minimalist state. Whereas the policies focus on increasing the strength of Kosovo's state, the EU's state building policies do not directly target the scope and legitimacy of Kosovo. Keywords: European...
|
|
|
The dragon flies to Balkans: case study of Serbia
Satmurzin, Anuar ; Segura, Caterina García (vedoucí práce) ; Styczyńska, Natasza (oponent)
Over the last two decades, China has been gradually transforming into one of the most prominent geo-economic actors in the international arena. Following the launch of the "17+1" framework in 2012 and the "One Belt, One Road" initiative in 2013, China has been increasing its level of investments in the Western Balkan region, hence alarming the European Community about facilitating regional over-dependence on Chinese resources. Although the EU dwarfs China in terms of investments and trade in the region, China is favouring infrastructural and industrial sectors by providing large credit lines and acquisition loans, thereby facilitating Western Balkan states' dependence on Chinese economic assistance. Coupled with the relative recency of the phenomena and the bilateral government-to-government nature of economic and political relations between China and Western Balkan states, the amount of literature and research on China's economic and political impact on the Western Balkan region dynamics was fairly limited. Hence, this research seeks to fill this gap by adding to the current debate on Chinese economic and political impact by analysing China-sponsored infrastructural and industrial projects in Serbia. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
|
|
|
The rise of populism in post-democratic times: evidence from Democracy Indices
Fernandez Jaraiz, Gonzalo ; Styczyńska, Natasza (vedoucí práce) ; Shaev, Brian (oponent)
This thesis aims at the expansion of empirical knowledge related to the understanding of crises of political representation and post-democracy as the main factors behind the current rise of populism in Europe. In the literature, scholars have mainly focused their attention on theoretical developments and country case studies. On the other hand, this research, by benefiting from the recent production of large datasets that measure populism at the party-level, implements a series of correlation and linear regression analyses using this data and information from two Democracy Indices: Varieties of Democracy Institute (V-Dem) and Democracy Perception Index. All in all, although important regional differences were found, the results show evidence related to the understanding of populism as a consequence of crises of political representation linked to democratic deficit. In relation to post-democracy, less relevant results could be produced due to the unavailability of data in V-Dem. In this regard, this research also examines its dataset and effectuates a critical assessment of its conceptualization of democracy. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the causes behind the rise of populism and the measurement of democracy. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
|
|
|
Geopolitical conditions and assumptions for establishing the Western Balkans Regional Economic Area as a premise for accelerated EU membership
Malidžan, Jelena ; Vukov, Visnja (vedoucí práce) ; Styczyńska, Natasza (oponent)
This paper primarily deals with the politics of regional integration, as a tool for war prevention, economic development and political cooperation. Acknowledging its imperfections and limitations, the European Union is the pioneer of such integration and de facto the most advanced and successful model of regionalism seen so far. It is also an actor that seeks to promote regional integration elsewhere, particularly in its neighbourhood. The paper thus analyzes the origins of the Western Balkans Regional Economic Area and the EU's role in mentoring the initiative. The Western Balkans region is presumably the final piece of the puzzle for completing the so- called EU project. This neighbouring region is the most recent one to emulate the EU's model of integration. The establishment of the Western Balkans Regional Economic Area at the Trieste summit in 2017 by the Western Balkans Six's prime ministers (Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, The North Macedonia, Kosovo* and Albania) under the EU auspices, is primarily the result of a common goal of the parties to join the European Union. Contrary to what many authors would say, the WBREA is not a consequence of an imposition coming from the EU. It is a domestically driven project created in order to increase the low intra-regional trade among the WB6...
|
|
|
Shaping Public Attitudes towards European Integration in the Western Balkans: Euroscepticism, Europhilia and Eurorealism in North Macedonia
Dimopoulou, Maria Paschalina ; Klípa, Ondřej (vedoucí práce) ; Styczyńska, Natasza (oponent)
European Politics and Society Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Programme MA Thesis Attitudes towards European Integration in the Western Balkans: Euroscepticism and Europhilia in North Macedonia Maria Paschalina Dimopoulou Abstract The progress in the integration of EU candidate member states is determined by the level of democratization they have achieved, the level of success in the transition to market economy, the rule of law development and the ability to fulfill the conditions obligatory for member states. The attitudes towards the prospect of membership range from fervent enthusiasm to severe skepticism, depending on the length of the process, the success or lack thereof in the institutional transformation, the compatibility of the European values with traditional norms and region-specific reasons. There have been many studies focusing on the Central and East European former candidate states, while contemporary research on the Western Balkan region is rather focused on the EU's enlargement fatigue and conditionality failure. This thesis attempts to examine the role of domestic media of a candidate state in shaping the public opinion and the possible role of the political parties using the media to project their agendas on integration. The case study of North Macedonia proves the positive connection...
|
|
|
Understanding Party Positions on European Integration amidst Crises: The impact of national and regional crises on political party behavior in Spain and Ireland
Mikava, Giorgi ; Arregui Moreno, Francisco Javier (vedoucí práce) ; Styczyńska, Natasza (oponent)
Does Brexit cause other national parties in EU member states to change their positions on European integration? Can the effect of Brexit be explained by its exceptional nature or do all crises affect political party positioning on European integration one way or another? By treating Brexit crisis as an independent variable of this study and controlling the results by comparing it to Spanish constitutional crisis and its influence on party positions, one of two things are bound to happen: political parties in other member states affected by the crises will rally behind their government stance and EU institutions, or will respond by shifting policy positions depending on success vs failure story of Brexit outcome. In an attempt to determine, how do crises affect national parties' policy positioning on European integration, it is expected that mainstream parties will remain pro-integrationists as they traditionally have, while Eurosceptic parties will choose to shift their positions on integration depending on EU's handling of the crises.
|
|
|
Geopolitical conditions and assumptions for establishing the Western Balkans Regional Economic Area as a premise for accelerated EU membership
Malidžan, Jelena ; Vukov, Visnja (vedoucí práce) ; Styczyńska, Natasza (oponent)
This paper primarily deals with the politics of regional integration, as a tool for war prevention, economic development and political cooperation. Acknowledging its imperfections and limitations, the European Union is the pioneer of such integration and de facto the most advanced and successful model of regionalism seen so far. It is also an actor that seeks to promote regional integration elsewhere, particularly in its neighbourhood. The paper thus analyzes the origins of the Western Balkans Regional Economic Area and the EU's role in mentoring the initiative. The Western Balkans region is presumably the final piece of the puzzle for completing the so- called EU project. This neighbouring region is the most recent one to emulate the EU's model of integration. The establishment of the Western Balkans Regional Economic Area at the Trieste summit in 2017 by the Western Balkans Six's prime ministers (Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, The North Macedonia, Kosovo* and Albania) under the EU auspices, is primarily the result of a common goal of the parties to join the European Union. Contrary to what many authors would say, the WBREA is not a consequence of an imposition coming from the EU. It is a domestically driven project created in order to increase the low intra-regional trade among the WB6...
|
host ::
RSS.