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 and paranoia. By surrounding themselves with a network of informants they prevented actions against the dictatorial communist regime. Using the video testimonies of former prisoners, and former confidential informants who worked closely with and collaborated with Stasi agents, in combination with periodicals and previous historical studies, this work argues that the East German Police State’s brainwashing techniques had long and lasting consequences both for German citizens, and for the psychiatric health of former GDR citizens. The scope and breadth of the techniques and data compiled for use by the Stasi were exhaustive, and the repercussions of their use are still being felt and discovered twenty five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. This study aims to show the lasting effects brainwashing had on former informants and the Stasi’s victims.

This thesis explores the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on the Common European Asylum System. It evaluates the extent to which the European Union was able to implement a common asylum system, identifies discrepancies between different European countries, primarily Germany and Hungary, and briefly examines the roots of these differences. To this end, the structure of the international refugee protection regime and the German and Hungarian asylum systems are analyzed. Furthermore, the thesis explores how the governments of the two countries perceive the rights of refugees and how their views have affected their handling of the crisis. The case studies of Germany and Hungary have revealed that the treatment of Syrian refugees varies enormously within the EU. Hence, the implementation of the Common European Asylum System has not been achieved, which can be attributed to the deficiencies within the system and the growing ideological rifts within the EU.

<p>The two Eastern enlargements in 2004 and 2007 marked a new chapter in the EU’s history, since it was the first time that the Union turned to enlarge eastwards. This thesis examines the borderline problem that arose with Article 49 of the <em>Maastricht</em> <em>Treaty on the European Union</em>, which gave the right to <em>any European country</em> that respects the principles of: liberty, democracy, human and fundamental rights, and the rule of law, to apply for membership in the EU.</p><p> </p><p>This thesis approaches the EU’s borderline problem by taking on three case studies consisting of Hungary, Lithuania, and Ukraine, for the purpose of analyzing the Eastern enlargement and Ukraine’s potentials of becoming a member of the EU. The reason for doing so is to compare Ukraine’s potentials of becoming a member in the EU with two Eastern states that, like Ukraine, have been involved with the Soviet Union, and that despite their degree of involvement, have been successfully integrated in the EU.</p><p> </p><p>As the EU has turned to enlarge eastwards, it gradually pushes its borderline with every enlargement, closer to Russian territory. Hence, it is necessary to investigate how potential integration of a country like Ukraine can affect the EU’s relations with Russia. The crucial aspect of the current relations between the EU and Russia is the interdependence of energy, where Ukraine is as a strategically important country, since it currently serves as a corridor between East (Russia) and West (EU). This thesis therefore shows that the problematic of potential integration of Ukraine goes much deeper than that of a geographical matter, and therefore touches other problem areas related to domestic political instability in Ukraine, and Russian political influence through its gas supplies.</p><p> </p><p>This thesis approaches the EU’s borderline problem from a foreign political perspective by investigating Ukraine’s potentials of becoming a member of the EU and suggesting, by the assistance of Westberg’s theoretical framework of integration theories, a third generation of integration theories to be needed in order to meet the problematic of the enlargement towards East. The thesis further gives recommendations to how the EU could deal with its borderline problem by answering three research questions related to the enlargement problematic.</p> / <p>De två östutvidgningarna 2004 och 2007 utgjorde ett nytt kapitel i EU:s historia då det var första gången som Unionen påbörjade utvidgningen mot Öst. Denna uppsats undersöker gränsproblematiken som uppkom i samband med Artikel 49 i <em>Maastricht</em> <em>Fördraget om Europeiska Unionen</em>, vilken gav rätten till varje Europeiskt land som respekterar principerna om: frihet, demokrati, mänskliga och fundamentala rättigheter, samt rättsstat, att ansöka om medlemskap i EU.</p><p> </p><p>Denna uppsats närmar sig EU:s gränsproblem genom att ta sig an tre fallstudier bestående av Ungern, Litauen, och Ukraina, i syfte att analysera östutvidgningen och Ukrainas potential att bli medlem i EU ur ett utrikespolitiskt perspektiv. Anledningen till detta är att jämföra Ukrainas potential att bli medlem i EU med två öststater som, i likhet med Ukraina, har varit involverade i Sovjet Unionen, men som oberoende graden av involvering med Ryssland, framgångsrikt blivit integrerade i EU.</p><p> </p><p>Eftersom EU påbörjat utvidgningen mot Öst så förskjuts EU:s gräns gradvis, med varje östutvidgning, nära ryskt territorium. Därmed är det nödvändigt att utreda hur potentiell integrering av ett land som Ukraina kan påverka EU:s relationer med Ryssland. Den avgörande aspekten när det gäller relationerna mellan EU och Ryssland, är det ömsesidiga beroendet kring energi, där Ukraina utgör ett strategiskt viktigt land, eftersom det för närvarande verkar som en korridor mellan Öst (Ryssland) och Väst (EU). Denna uppsats visar att problematiken kring potentiell integrering av Ukraina rör problemområden bortom geografisk natur, så som inhemskt politisk instabilitet i Ukraina, samt Rysslands politiska inflytande genom energiförsörjning till Europa.</p><p> </p><p>Denna uppsats närmar sig EU:s gränsproblem från ett utrikespolitiskt perspektiv genom att utreda Ukrainas potentiella medlemskap i EU. Den föreslår, med hjälp av Westbergs integrationsteoretiska ramverk, att en tredje generation av integrationsteorier är nödvändig för att analysera problematiken kring utvidgningen mot Öst. Uppsatsen ger rekommendationer till hur EU kan hantera sitt gränsproblem genom att svara på tre frågeställningar gällande utvidgningsproblematiken.</p>

The two Eastern enlargements in 2004 and 2007 marked a new chapter in the EU’s history, since it was the first time that the Union turned to enlarge eastwards. This thesis examines the borderline problem that arose with Article 49 of the Maastricht Treaty on the European Union, which gave the right to any European country that respects the principles of: liberty, democracy, human and fundamental rights, and the rule of law, to apply for membership in the EU.   This thesis approaches the EU’s borderline problem by taking on three case studies consisting of Hungary, Lithuania, and Ukraine, for the purpose of analyzing the Eastern enlargement and Ukraine’s potentials of becoming a member of the EU. The reason for doing so is to compare Ukraine’s potentials of becoming a member in the EU with two Eastern states that, like Ukraine, have been involved with the Soviet Union, and that despite their degree of involvement, have been successfully integrated in the EU.   As the EU has turned to enlarge eastwards, it gradually pushes its borderline with every enlargement, closer to Russian territory. Hence, it is necessary to investigate how potential integration of a country like Ukraine can affect the EU’s relations with Russia. The crucial aspect of the current relations between the EU and Russia is the interdependence of energy, where Ukraine is as a strategically important country, since it currently serves as a corridor between East (Russia) and West (EU). This thesis therefore shows that the problematic of potential integration of Ukraine goes much deeper than that of a geographical matter, and therefore touches other problem areas related to domestic political instability in Ukraine, and Russian political influence through its gas supplies.   This thesis approaches the EU’s borderline problem from a foreign political perspective by investigating Ukraine’s potentials of becoming a member of the EU and suggesting, by the assistance of Westberg’s theoretical framework of integration theories, a third generation of integration theories to be needed in order to meet the problematic of the enlargement towards East. The thesis further gives recommendations to how the EU could deal with its borderline problem by answering three research questions related to the enlargement problematic. / De två östutvidgningarna 2004 och 2007 utgjorde ett nytt kapitel i EU:s historia då det var första gången som Unionen påbörjade utvidgningen mot Öst. Denna uppsats undersöker gränsproblematiken som uppkom i samband med Artikel 49 i Maastricht Fördraget om Europeiska Unionen, vilken gav rätten till varje Europeiskt land som respekterar principerna om: frihet, demokrati, mänskliga och fundamentala rättigheter, samt rättsstat, att ansöka om medlemskap i EU.   Denna uppsats närmar sig EU:s gränsproblem genom att ta sig an tre fallstudier bestående av Ungern, Litauen, och Ukraina, i syfte att analysera östutvidgningen och Ukrainas potential att bli medlem i EU ur ett utrikespolitiskt perspektiv. Anledningen till detta är att jämföra Ukrainas potential att bli medlem i EU med två öststater som, i likhet med Ukraina, har varit involverade i Sovjet Unionen, men som oberoende graden av involvering med Ryssland, framgångsrikt blivit integrerade i EU.   Eftersom EU påbörjat utvidgningen mot Öst så förskjuts EU:s gräns gradvis, med varje östutvidgning, nära ryskt territorium. Därmed är det nödvändigt att utreda hur potentiell integrering av ett land som Ukraina kan påverka EU:s relationer med Ryssland. Den avgörande aspekten när det gäller relationerna mellan EU och Ryssland, är det ömsesidiga beroendet kring energi, där Ukraina utgör ett strategiskt viktigt land, eftersom det för närvarande verkar som en korridor mellan Öst (Ryssland) och Väst (EU). Denna uppsats visar att problematiken kring potentiell integrering av Ukraina rör problemområden bortom geografisk natur, så som inhemskt politisk instabilitet i Ukraina, samt Rysslands politiska inflytande genom energiförsörjning till Europa.   Denna uppsats närmar sig EU:s gränsproblem från ett utrikespolitiskt perspektiv genom att utreda Ukrainas potentiella medlemskap i EU. Den föreslår, med hjälp av Westbergs integrationsteoretiska ramverk, att en tredje generation av integrationsteorier är nödvändig för att analysera problematiken kring utvidgningen mot Öst. Uppsatsen ger rekommendationer till hur EU kan hantera sitt gränsproblem genom att svara på tre frågeställningar gällande utvidgningsproblematiken.