M.A. / The aim of this dissertation is to illuminate critically the political implications of Bulgaria’s membership of the European Union (EU) from a domestic perspective. In particular, this research paper will focus on the political implications of Bulgaria’s EU membership with regard to citizenship, identity and the development of Bulgaria’s future relationship with the EU. This research paper will be explained by the theoretical tradition of the multi-level governance approach, which assumes the involvement of multiple levels of governance (supra-national, national and sub-national) in the process of European integration.

Politics today is facing a troubling trend towards the empowerment of nationalist movements. With strong historical traditions and a powerful Scottish National Party, Scotland would appear to be a prime candidate for such movements. However, this thesis argues that Scotland represents a nation with a unique civic culture. This thesis seeks to determine which elements of Scottish political and cultural history have led to its modern day civic culture, in the form of a civic nationalism, or patriotism. It asks: why is Scottish nationalism unique, and why does it matter? To answer, I have broken down the thesis into three main chapters that consider the theories of nationalism that are significant to the study of Scottish nationalism, the foundations of Scottish nationalism, and how Scottish nationalism manifests itself in civic contexts. The results reflect that Scottish civic culture deeply permeates the nation's politics. Even when given the opportunity for independence, Scotland chose to remain a part of the United Kingdom in order to maintain its interests with the European Union. And, while political cultures are subject to rapid change, the current state of Scottish culture reflects a civic manifestation. / Master of Arts

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. / Department of Government and Public Administration

Since 1973, the European Union has been expanding its borders from its six founding members - West Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium, to include all of Western Europe and parts of Scandinavia by 1995. However, with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990, the EU made a difficult but beneficial choice of paving the road for the Eastern and Central European (ECE) to become EU members. However, there was a need for the EU to determine the goals and guidelines that would format the transition of these former communist states into productive members of the EU. This paper will analyze the evolution of these guidelines - formally outlined by the Copenhagen Criteria - that set the precedent for these states to become members. The main issue of this paper will take these criteria a few steps forward, comparing states that were given membership based on the criteria and those who have been established by the EU as at least "potential EU members" but have not been deemed as satisfying these criteria enough to become candidates or full members. Both qualitatively and quantitatively, the comparisions of the 2004 and 2007 new EU members and other states of the Western Balkans and Turkey will be conducted to determine if the political and economic guidelines established by Copenhagen are the only guidelines being met, or if areas such as cultural values and "Europeanness" are also contributing to membership levels.

Orientador: Shiguenoli Miyamoto / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-17T14:16:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Oliveira_DeniseLiciaBonide_M.pdf: 2244858 bytes, checksum: 71ad8156e762baafc235ebd4a87674d7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: Este trabalho tem por objetivo apresentar uma visão da União Europeia, através dos processos de alargamento, para observar as possíveis perspectivas futuras a que o bloco pode optar. A União Européia é um processo de integração regional sem um projeto específico, sem um fim conhecido, ainda em constante construção. Observá-la a partir dos processos de alargamento traz uma dimensão mais dinâmica às alterações sofridas pelo bloco ao longo do tempo e apresenta duas opções como perspectivas de futuro: o aprofundamento da integração - com a delimitação de novas competências para a União e a conseqüente oposição que isso suscita nos Estados-membros - e o alargamento, que ao permitir a entrada de novos Estados acrescenta o debate sobre até onde devem ir as fronteiras do bloco. Esta dissertação está organizada em quatro capítulos. O primeiro apresenta a UE, suas características e um pouco de sua história, importante para entender as motivações do processo. O segundo faz uma abordagem sobre as etapas do crescimento da integração na Europa, os novos Tratados introduzidos e os alargamentos, que transformaram a CECA do pós-guerra e a CEE da Guerra Fria na UE dos dias de hoje. O terceiro capítulo trata dos principais problemas que envolvem o processo. Alguns deles existem desde os primeiros passos da integração, não tendo sido solucionados com as constantes reformulações do bloco. Outros são fruto de fatores do contexto internacional dos dias atuais, como o neoliberalismo e o final da Guerra Fria. Encerramos com um quarto capítulo que faz a discussão sobre os futuros possíveis a que a UE pode perseguir, decidindo entre aprofundar a integração ou ampliar o número de Estados participantes. E, na conclusão, temos o entendimento permitido a partir da observação do desenvolvimento da integração, de seus problemas e das possíveis soluções e caminhos a seguir / Abstract: This work has in its objectives to present a view of the European Union, through the enlargement processes, to observe the possible future perspectives that the EU can choose. The European Union is an integration process without a specific project, without a known end and in incessant construction. To observe it from the enlargement processes brings a more dynamic dimension to the modifications took by the european process as the passing of the time and presents two options as perspectives of future: the deepening of the integration - determining new competences to the Union and the sequent opposition that it brings to the member States - and the enlargement, when the permission of the access of new members increases the debate on where should end the European Union's frontiers. This dissertation is organized in four chapters. The first one presents the UE, its characteristics and a bit of its history, very important to understand the motivations of this process. The second makes an approach on the european integration growing fases, the new Treaties introduced and the enlargement processes, that turned the ECSC from the post-war period and the EEC from the Cold War period in the current EU. The third chapter discuss mabout the problems the EU is involved. Some of them came since the first steps of the integration, unsolved even with the constant reforms of the EU. Other problems are results of factors of the international context of the current days, such as the neoliberalism and the Cold War. Ending the dissertation we have a forth chapter that debate about the possiblefutures the EU can choose, the deepening or the enlargement. End in the conclusion, we have the understanding arrived from the observation of the EU's development, its problems and the possible solutions and paths to follow / Mestrado / Relações Internacionais / Mestre em Ciência Política

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Government and Public Administration

The aim of this Thesis is to analyse Türkiye’s progress and setbacks withinits association process and quest for EU membership. By examining Chapter23 in annual reports released by the European Commission for the years2013, 2018 and 2023, the role of the EU as a democracy promoter isdiscussed and questioned. In order to do this, this Thesis basis it’s theoreticalframework around Samuel Huntington’s (1991) theory of democratisation,which is applied and questioned. This Thesis uses a qualitative methoddesign to comprehensively analyse how the European Union (Commission)perceives Türkiye’s progress, and to be able to answer if over the last tenyears even any progress is made.