European Languages and Societies Commons^™

Poland And The Ukraine War: A Geopolitical Analysis, Thomas Pitney

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Poland’s geopolitical role has enhanced since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. As such, Poland’s ambitions have increasingly important implications for regional, European, and global security. The paper attempts to address this phenomenon by posing the following research question: how does Poland pursue its interests in the Ukraine War? Employing qualitative methods on data collected from three formal interviews, one virtual interview, one informal interview, four statements from Poland’s leaders, and a variety of secondary sources, the study aims to answer this question modeling Gyula Csurgai’s (2019) geopolitical analysis framework. The research question is addressed in two ways. …

Comparing The Scottish National Party (Snp) And The Basque Nationalist Party (Eaj-Pnv)’S Social Policies Towards Refugees And Asylum Seekers, Emily Woodruff

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In 2022, countries and territories across Europe experienced a sharp increase in the number of people seeking asylum, mainly due to the war in Ukraine. Over 3,5000 Ukrainians have sought refuge in the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC) and as of July 2022, over 7,000 Ukrainians have sought refuge in Scotland (“3.587 refugiados de Ucrania”, 2022 and The Scottish Government, 2022). This increase is on top of the over 250,000 foreigners living in the BAC and the thousands of refugees already resettled throughout Scotland (Ikuspegi, Observatorio Vasco de Inmigración, 2022 and “Refugee resettlement”, 2022). Given the large number of refugees and …

Representation And Recommendations: Participation Of People Who Use Drugs In Un-Level Policy-Making, Lily Knudsen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Although participation in health policy-making is a popular topic in the literature and a stated priority of the United Nations, very little research has been published examining the full spectrum of participation by people who use drugs (PWUD) at the UN level. This study aims to describe and evaluate this participation through a combination of a literature review that looks at academic sources, UN publications, and publications by organizations of PWUD, and a series of interviews with representatives of organizations of PWUD who have participated in UN level policy-making.

Data collected demonstrates that there is no comprehensive system for the …

Catalonia: Independence In History, Rhetoric, And Symbolism, Natalie J. Cestone

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper discusses why Catalonia should be an independent state through its history with independence and its historical and modern-day use of rhetoric and symbolism. By delving into the history of the region and digging into the unique qualities of the region, we examine how Catalonia has drawn a line between itself and Spain. Historical attempts at independence, the Catalan language, use of mythology and legends – otherwise described as Catalan rhetoric – as well as the use of symbology are all outlined in this paper and reviewed in the context of how contemporary Catalonia is making another grab at …

Linguistic Differences In Swiss Cantons And Its Role On The National Identity, Karen Lin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Switzerland is home to four national languages followed with a positive image on the international stage as a linguistically diverse country. In Swiss history, there has never been a record of a civil war or tensions between linguistic groups raising the question of what accounts for the national identity. The Swiss do not follow the typical definition in nationalism leading to an investigation on establishing the factors that comprise of the Swiss national identity and its effect on the political system. The results indicated linguistic diversity and the political institutions are the factors that compose the national identity creating a …

Football And National Identity: A Triangle Of Spain’S Regional Attitudes, Jaelin Kinney

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The last century of Spanish history has been characterized by entrenched division between Spain and its regional communities. The Basque Country, Catalonia, and Spanish central government all remain divided on Spain’s status as a plurinational State. Today, Spanish football has become a direct representation of this dilemma, an ethno-regional arena for intense competition between Spain’s prominent nationalities: Basque, Catalan, and Spanish. With differing stances on independence and the state of Spain, these regions have used their football clubs as a representation of their regional identities. In this paper, I will analyze the identities of Spain’s top three football clubs: FC …

Environmental Consciousness For The Politically Autonomous: The Basque Country, Miranda L. White

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

When discussing the issue of political autonomy, the usual topics that are taken into consideration are based around human rights, language, culture, society or economics. Those are the most commonly discussed for good reason, as they are important for the rights and freedoms of a community itself. However, this research paper aims to investigate further into the discussion of the environmental effects of political autonomy in Spain, specifically in the matter of autonomous competencies for waterway and air management. Therefore, in order to test such a hypothesis, this study will use the Basque Country of Spain as the subject, and …

Russia's Northern Rook: Nord Stream 2 On The European Energy Chessboard, David E. Wilson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline proposes to connect Germany to the world’s largest natural gas reserves in Russia, allowing the state-owned Russian energy behemoth Gazprom to double its export capacity through the ‘Northern Corridor’ transit route to Europe. This project has been the subject of sharp disapproval from Central and Eastern European countries, as well as the United States, which fear the prospect of increasing dependence on gas imports from a Russia perceived as politically aggressive and unreliable. This paper will identify the geopolitical and geoeconomic implications involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2 by adopting a geostrategic worldview …