European Languages and Societies Commons^™

Une Politique Laïque: L’Utilisation De La Laïcité Dans Les Discours Politiques Français, Zachary Holmes

Honors Theses

La politique française est fortement liée avec la laïcité, comme on peut voir avec son utilisation dans les discours des politiciens. Elle a la capacité d’unifier les gens sous un idéal commun, mais elle peut aussi faire des divisions dans la société. Donc, il faut considérer comment on veut traiter l’idée en France. Il est impossible de dire comment elle va faire partie du futur, mais il est clair que, pour le moment, elle est un outil important pour les politiciens qui veulent avancer leurs programmes différents. Il est probable qu’elle continuerait à être une idée puissante dans les prochaines …

Exhuming Franco: Polarization In The Debate Over Historical Memory In Contemporary Spanish Politics, Stephanie Gardiner

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I examine political media to show the different ways that the Spanish right and the left have framed historical memory about Franco. In Chapter 2, I give an overview of the development of the HML and political reactions to the law. I then look at the progression of the law’s goals under the leadership of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in Chapter 3, and in how the law was utilized in exhuming Franco, referenced in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 showcases, through quantitative and qualitative data, the overall relationship of how changing historical memory through exhumation elicited reactions from …

Is France Having A Populist Moment?, Emma Gilmore

Honors Theses

The word populism is often thrown around in news media and academic scholarship, but there is a lack of understanding of what it actually means as a political theory. In France, the two presidential candidates that made it to the second round in 2017, Emmanuel Macron and Marine le Pen, were both called populist, despite having vastly different campaign strategies and messages. This study used a computer-based method to analyze Campaign books from 24 candidates beginning in 1981 that determined that Populist language is on the rise, but not as aggressively as news media suggests.

Economic Sanctions And Opportunism, Keith A. Preble

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Sanctions busting refers to instances where third-party states increase their material support for states targeted by economic sanctions by increasing trade as well as foreign aid and investment, which, in turn, minimize the economic costs that sanctions imposed on target states. This concept privileges the sender and contributes to the “sender bias” inherent in the literature on economic sanctions. My dissertation instead argues that the terms sanctions opportunism may better reflect the nature of the processes at work when third-party states engage in sanctions busting either for commercial profit or as a “black knight” (or a combination of them both). …

The People Who “Burn”: “Communication,” Unity, And Change In Belarusian Discourse On Public Creativity, Anton Dinerstein

Doctoral Dissertations

The main intellectual problem I address in this study is how everyday communication activates the relationship between creativity, conflict, and change. More specifically, I look at how the communication of creativity becomes a process of transformation, innovation, and change and how people are propelled to create through everyday communication practices in the face of conflict and opposition. To approach this problem, I use the case of communication in modern-day Belarus to show how creativity becomes a vehicle for and a source of new social and cultural routines among the independent grassroots communities and initiatives in Minsk. On one level, I …

Tinderbox: Danish-Russian Relations, 1989-2019, Maddy Ghose

Master's Theses

This thesis documents and analyzes the major trends of the military, political, economic, and cultural relationships between Denmark and Russia from 1989 to 2019. I document the relationship from the Danish perspective, using primary sources, with the aim to conduct analysis of Danish politicians’ speeches and activities during this period. The outcome is a comprehensive image of the Danish-Russian bilateral relationship at the present time. This relationship has fluctuated widely during the time period under study. Shared economic development interests in the 1990s contributed to a positive relationship; controversy surrounding the war in Chechnya and an assertive Danish prime minister …

Nationalism Beyond A Nation: Non-Iberian Spanish Nationalism Examined, George Ruggiero Iv

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I explore differences between certain non-Spanish nationalist movements within Spain. To do this, I examine similarities and differences in economic, political, and cultural factors that may explain why some Spanish autonomous communities exhibit major nationalist movements and some do not. These factors include the presence of proclaimed nationalist political parties, strongly identified cultural identities, and historical elements that point to the existence of a non-Spanish identity or nationalist movement.

The Presbyterian Enlightenment: The Confluence Of Evangelical And Enlightenment Thought In British America, Brandon S. Durbin

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Eighteenth-Century British American Presbyterian ministers incorporated covenantal theology, ideas from the Scottish Enlightenment, and resistance theory in their sermons. The sermons of Presbyterian ministers strongly indicate the intermixing of enlightenment and evangelical ideas. Congregants heard and read these sermons, spreading these ideas to the average colonist. This combination helps explain why American Presbyterians were so apt to resist British rule during the American Revolution. Protestant covenantal theology, derived from Protestant reformers like John Calvin and John Knox, emphasized virtue and duty. This covenant affected both the people and their rulers. When rulers failed to uphold their covenant with God, the …

The Interplay Of Intelligence, Education, And The Media In Western Counterterrorism Strategies, Lincoln Gimnich

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

Terrorist activity has increased and evolved in Western societies in the twenty-first century as terrorist organizations have sought new methods to further their ideologies and goals. Counterterrorism thus requires a similar evolution that undoubtedly reverses the historic trend wherein counterterrorism has been merely reactive. Through interviews with experts, qualitative analysis of governmental publications and documents, and review of existing literature, this project explores the institutions of intelligence, education, and the media and their work within the larger counterterrorism and anti-radicalization framework of Western states. The project focuses specifically on domestic intelligence operations, intelligence sharing agreements, the United Kingdom’s Prevent strategy, …

Stasi Brainwashing In The Gdr 1957 - 1990, Jacob H. Solbrig, Jacob Hagen Solbrig

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the methods used by the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), more commonly known as the Stasi, or East German secret police, for extraction of information from citizens of the German Democratic Republic for the purpose of espionage and covert operations inside East Germany, as it pertains to the deliberate brainwashing of East German citizens. As one of the most efficient intelligence agencies to ever exist, the Stasi’s main purpose was to monitor the population, gather intelligence, and collect or turn informants. They used brainwashing techniques to control the people of the GDR, keeping the populace paralyzed with fear …

Local Political Contexts And Immigrant Integration, Dalston Gawain Ward

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the causes of immigrant integration is critical, as its failure can pose substantial economic and social costs for natives and immigrants alike. In this dissertation, I explore the role of local politics and immigrant demographics in explaining variation in immigrant integration across localities. In the first chapter, I develop a theory linking local politics to immigrant integration. Specifically, I argue that when local governing parties have anti-immigrant ideologies, integration becomes more difficult. I test this argument using data from refugees entering Denmark between 1986 and 1998. These refugees were spatially dispersed across Denmark's 275 municipalities, allowing me to identify …

An Investigation Into The Socio-Political Dissonance Between The French Government And The Islamic French Minority, Alexandria Exley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Islamic minority in France today is experiencing adversity as the government of France passed legislation stating that all facial coverings will be henceforth illegal, restricting or prohibiting religious symbols in various public spaces. Some Islamic women feel as though this is a pointed attack on women of the Muslim faith for their choice to wear traditional clothing which covers the face and body. There have been outcries that this is a human rights violation and restriction of religious rights. This project is an examination of the effects of France’s “burqa ban” and restrictions on religious symbols on both Islamic …

Paese Di Accoglienza: Il Successo Di Un Modello Innovativo Di Accoglienza Dei Richiedenti Asilo In Italia, Isabela Arena Secanechia

Senior Capstone Theses

This work discusses Italy's migrant reception system including its flaws and their effects. Furthermore, this work explores an alternative, sustainable model of migrant reception created in Riace, Calabria, that has been successful in varying towns across Italy. Ultimately, this work argues that this system, which is beneficial to both Italians and incoming migrants — specifically asylum seekers — can and should be implemented nationally to counter the current flawed system.

Europe’S Refugee Crisis: Assessing The Factors Preventing A Coordinated Eu Response, Ali Albassam

Master's Theses

In order to escape increasing political violence in the Middle East and Africa, many refugees are fleeing by sea to seek asylum in Europe. As a result, Europe has witnessed the highest influx of refugees since World War Two. European Union member states have scrambled for a solution, seemingly unable to form a collective response. The reemergence of nationalism amid the arrival of thousands of refugees not only clouds Europe’s moral compass, but also weakens the EU and its founding principles. In an effort to contribute to the protection of refugees and the EU and its values, this thesis aims …

Effective Number Of Parties And Mass Political Behavior In Europe, Jakub Pawel Zajakala

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Participation is perhaps the most essential component of democracy, as its humane facet, people, is indispensable for it to occur. However, some aspects of this phenomenon have been disregarded in the existing literature. A discernible decrease in the quality and quantity of democratic participation is deemed to endanger the representative capacity of democracy, and consequently, stability of parliamentary and presidential regimes. Using Prais-Winsten regression, the condition of democratic institutions, with an emphasis on the number of parties, is examined by looking at all the European democracies between 1946 and 2014. This Thesis posits that the number of effective actors on …

Padania Or Federalism? An Examination Of The Spatial Demands Of Italy's Northern League, Anthony Vincent Pierucci

Theses and Dissertations

This study will analyze what factors affect the oscillation of the spatial demands of ethno-regionalist parties between more moderate and more radical objectives. The factors under examination are electoral, economic, internal organization, and the "other" that the party defines itself against. The study analyzes the relationship between these factors and spatial demands utilizing a case study of the Lega Nord. Ultimately, the study concludes that there is some relation between these factors and the Lega Nord's spatial demands, even if they are not directly causal of the change in spatial demands themselves. The findings also suggest that the generalized findings …

Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent

Doctoral Dissertations

What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and discount …

Fascism, Flamenco, And Ballet Español: Nacionalflamenquismo, Theresa Goldbach

Theatre & Dance ETDs

The nationalist regime of General Francisco Franco (1936-1975) dramatically and forcefully reshaped every element of Spanish culture including dance and flamenco. Many flamencologists derisively refer to the resulting product of this system as nacionalflamenquismo or national-flamencoism. The bureaucratic mechanics that created nacionalflamenquismo evolved throughout the first three decades of the regime to fit with changing economic and political realities. As Spain re-entered the global community following its Civil War (1936-1939), flamenco and Spanish dance proved useful tools for international public relations as well as domestic propaganda. By discerning the various factors that linked the art of flamenco to the political …

European Union Institutions, Democratic Discourse, And The Color Revolutions, Lizette G. Howard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the Treaty of the European Union in 1993, the EU has embraced institutional reforms with the stated purpose of achieving greater unity in foreign affairs. Despite the EU's leading role in the political and economic reforms of former Soviet satellites in Central and Eastern Europe, the EU has been less consistent and cohesive in former Soviet space further east--in regions fraught with undemocratic qualities and places where the EU enjoys fewer credible incentives and less leverage. While scholars point to divergent national interests as obstacles for unity abroad, few have unraveled how the institutions of the EU itself pose …

Women's Political Representation In Europe: An Analysis Of Structural And Attitudinal Factors, Jenna Elaine Mcculloch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this mixed methods study, I explore the reasons for the low level of women in elected office in Europe. I analyze the impact of three structural factors (number of years since women's suffrage was enacted, type of electoral system, and presence of legal gender quotas) and three attitudinal factors (level of gender equality, percentage of female professionals, and level of religiosity) on the percentage of women in national legislatures in each of the European countries. Specifically, I pose the following research question: Which structural and/or attitudinal factors are more influential for women's political representation in European countries?

In order …

"Crise D'Identite": The Push To Preserve National Identity In France, Katherine Hammitt

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

In 2010, France's President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed a "Maison de l 'histoire de fa France," a heritage museum, as reporters began calling it, to be opened in Paris in 2015. President Sarkozy's speechwriter on issues of national identity has cast the museum as an answer to France's "identity crisis".' The project's aim, as President Sarkozy has articulated it, is to "reinforce national identity," warning as well, "It is always dangerous to forget your history.t" It is exactly this fear, the fear of forgetting France's rich history, which has spurred controversy and upheaval within the French republic.

The extent to which …