Résumé : L’intégration européenne a changé profondément les dynamiques politiques en Europe. Parallèlement, on a vu un essor du nombre de mouvements régionaux tant politiques qu’économiques. En suivant la logique du principe de subsidiarité, ils ont réclamé plus d’autonomie face à leur État central. Au même moment, les États centraux voyaient leur souveraineté s’éroder par le haut et par le bas. À l’aide du cas de la Catalogne, nous expliquons comment l’Union Européenne offre sans cesse de nouvelles opportunités aux régions qui veulent plus d’autonomie tout en permettant d’éviter les conflits entre ces régions et leur État central en créant une dynamique triangulaire qui permet de voir d’une manière nouvelle la relation État-région. // Abstract : European integration has profoundly changed political dynamics in Europe. Simultaneously, there’s been an increase in the number of regional movement, be they political or economic. Following the subsidiarity principle logic, they asked more autonomy from their central state. At the same time, central states were seeing their sovereignty eroding from the top and the bottom. With the Catalan case study, we explain how European Union offers more and more new opportunities to the regions that want more autonomy while permitting to avoid conflict between these regions and their central states in creating a triangular dynamics that helps to see the state - region relation in a new way.

This thesis explores the history of European integration in the 1950s and 1960s from a popular cultural perspective anchored to a central figure from the era, Brigitte Bardot, in order to demonstrate that the peoples of Western Europe were engaged in processes of Europeanization that helped legitimize economic and political unions. Yet, official EU policy’s privileging of one (outdated) mode for understanding culture has handicapped alternative interpretations of a common European cultural heritage, failing to embrace a shared popular culture. Bardot is a suitable icon through which to begin an exploration into the diversity and significance of an integrating postwar European popular culture because she was a microcosm of several broad, transnational trends in postwar Europe including the rise of mass mobility, a major shift in European fashions, new gender constructions, and the explicit politicization of popular culture. Her films, career, lifestyle, and representation(s) provide key axes from which one can pivot into interrelated areas of European culture and societies in this era—pop culture; consumer culture; youth culture; mobility culture; media culture; political culture; and gender relations—demonstrating a widely integrating European popular cultural sphere. Within this context, Bardot was representative of broad postwar societal changes, served as a mass diffusion tool in relating these changes to the people of Europe, and functioned as a driving force in creating new transnational popular cultural forms. In addition, Bardot is a figure useful in understanding the relationship between Europe and the United States, while also demonstrating that economics is not separate from culture and popular culture. The Treaty of Rome, ostensibly about economic integration, further enabled the many circulations apparent in Bardot's career—people, goods, information, and ideas—that were already taking place. Furthermore, popular culture was not irrelevant to, or separate from politics and it helps to explain how the escapism and narcissism of European popular consumer culture could generate a rebellious, but sophisticated political consciousness. Western Europe does indeed have a distinct history of shared popular culture, which should be a factor in discussions of ‘Europeanization’ and the legitimacy of the European Union. It is necessary to explore the roots of this shared popular culture so that it does one day form the basis of a longstanding shared popular culture and can become a recognized element supporting the legitimacy of identities in the European Union in more fluid, dynamic ways.

In 2005, the European Union (EU) began accession negotiations with its most controversial candidate to date, Turkey. The process has been, from the outset, sui generis relative to previous and current accessions, and Turkey remains the first candidate without a fixed date for the conclusion of accession negotiations. This thesis explores the problematique of Turkey’s proposed accession, and attempts to understand why its accession has been and will remain controversial and undecided. Turkey’s proposed accession has been, for both opponents and proponents, understood in terms of Europeanness: either Turkey is not European and thus not eligible to join, or is a legitimate candidate due to its very Europeanness, or has the propensity to develop a European identity. This very question frames the very limits and possibility of these negotiations. To properly understand the complexities and implications of Turkey’s EU candidacy from the perspective of European culture and identity, this thesis adopts a post-structuralist theoretical perspective which enables an understanding of fluid and hybrid difference. Turkey’s EU candidacy demonstrates that identity is not only articulated through difference; Turkey occupies a more fluid and dynamic role in the construction of European identity and is variously inside and outside, European and non. Through an examination of Michel Foucault’s governmentality and Carl Schmitt and Georgio Agamben’s exploration of sovereignty and the state of exception, this thesis examines the nexus of exclusion and inclusion, and through an examination of a ‘politics of deferral’, I demonstrate how Turkey may meet all of the EU accession criteria, yet may be never invited to accede to the European Union.

This thesis consists of an introduction and four self-contained papers, designated I-IV, which extend previous research on national political parties and voters in Western Europe. More specifically, the issues addressed are parties’ positions and voters’ opinions on European integration and their dynamic interactions, i.e. the extent to which parties’ influence voters’ opinions, voters influence parties, and the conditions under which they influence each other. All four papers make contributions to both the content of the research field and methodology (statistical techniques) applied. Paper I re-examines and evaluates several hypotheses regarding the way national political parties position themselves with respect to European integration. Based on analysis of panel data on references to Europe in the election manifestos of political parties in 16 West European countries between 1970 and 2003, I present evidence that their stances on European integration have been largely determined by their ideology, here measured by the locations of the parties within party families and their general orientation along the left/right ideological continuum. The results indicate that the influence of ideology has diminished over time and parties have adopted more favourable positions towards the European project, but it is too early to ignore the connection between left/right and pro/anti integration, since many marginal parties are still taking oppositional stances that are strongly related to their ideological commitments. In Paper II, I discuss how configurational comparative methods (i.e. Qualitative Comparative Analysis, QCA) and statistical methods can be combined to provide tests for the sufficiency of any given set of combination of causal conditions. The potential utility of the mixed-method approach for analyzing political phenomena is demonstrated by applying it to cross-national data regarding party-based Euroscepti¬cism in Western Europe. The findings show that oppositional stances to European integration are mainly restricted to non-governmental ideological fringe parties on both the left and right. Further, radical left parties with Eurosceptical positions are largely restricted to countries with social democratic (i.e. Nordic) welfare state regimes. The empirical example presented in this paper demonstrates that configurational methods can be successfully combined with related statistical methods. Paper III examines and evaluates the link between electorates’ opinions and national political parties’ positions on European integration, i.e. the extent to which political parties lead and/or follow public opinion on this issue. Applying a method for causal modelling to panel data concerning political parties’ positions and voters’ opinions in 15 countries from 1973 to 2003, I find (contrary to previous investigations of this relationship) that there is little empirical support for an electoral connection or reciprocal causation between party positions and electorates’ opinion regarding European integration. Parties have an influence on voter opinions, but they are largely unresponsive to changes in voter opinion. In Paper IV, I examine when parties do (and do not) influence voters’ opinions about EU policy issues. According to previous research, whether parties are able to persuade their constituents to adopt their standpoints depends on several conditions: characteristics and preferences of individual voters, intra-party factors, inter-party factors and several factors that affect the salience of EU issues at the domestic level. Applying hierarchical linear models to data concerning voters’ opinions and political parties’ positions in 14 West European countries, I present findings regarding the conditions under which parties are actually able to influence voters’ opinions concerning European integration.

Recent developments such as internationalization of labor markets, emergence of multi-level polities and a global discourse on human rights have influenced citizenship practices and challenged conventional definitions of citizenship. While conventional definitions of citizenship often presuppose the relationship between citizenship, nationality and nation-state, as an institution, citizenship is constituted and reconstituted by economic, political, social and legal practices. In this context, European Union citizenship (EU citizenship), which was formally introduced in 1993, has generated a discussion on its nature. As a reflection of its dynamic and ambiguous character, there is a variety of interpretations on EU citizenship that can be evaluated between postnational and national ends. In line with these interpretations, this thesis aims to provide an insight to the possibility of postnationality in the case of the European Union Citizenship. In this sense, the analysis of EU citizenship depends on two significant theoretical bases: the contemporary debates on citizenship and the theories of European integration. It is attempted to combine these theoretical frameworks in a critical analysis in order to consider the postnational potentials and possibilities that the EU citizenship has. In the case study of EU citizenship a socio-historical analysis of the making of EU citizenship is carried out mainly with reference to the official documents of the institutions of European Union. In the light of this analysis, EU citizenship is critically examined according to designated discussion themes. Consequently, in this thesis, it is mainly argued that dynamic and evolving nature of EU citizenship create contradictory notions in its development process. This also reflects that possibilities for postnationality are inherent to the EU citizenship.

This thesis analyses the change of the Albanian national identity and ideology during its contemporary history, beginning from the national awakening period up to post-communism. The break with the dictatorial Enver Hoxha regime marked the begining of a new era for the Albanian ideology and politics. To this regard, the political elite, played a prominent role in the process of transition and the opening of Albania to the world.The prospect for the EU membership became the major motivation of the Albanian political class for the break with the past authoritarian regime and change. The European integration process has notably affected political elite&#039 / s imagination of Albanian culture and history and Albania&#039 / s place in Europe. The desire for a rapid integration urged Albanian political elite to re-establish the relations with the neighbouring countries by re-designing the foreign policy in compliance with the new imperatives of geopolitics.

The aim of the thesis is to diagnose the understanding of chosen topics regarding european integration of high school students in relation with incorporation of the topic among curriculum documents. Theoretical part of the thesis introduces the analysis of general educational programmes followed up with general summary of development of integration process into the form it has nowadays and also summary of institutions and their functions. Further we are introducing a contructive approach to teaching which is used as a base of practical part of our thesis. In the end of this part are stated the outcomes of the investigation of existing researches in this area. In the practical part of the thesis we implemented our own qualitative investigative sound using the method of half-structured in-depth conversation. The data gathered from this method were subsequently qualitatively analysed. In the end of the thesis we are introducing the outcomes of investigative sound and comparing them with outcomes of other researches where possible. The outcomes of the investigative sound were crucial for our teaching recommendations.

Cette thèse est une étude de la production des prises de position partisanes sur l'intégration européenne. Elle entend rompre avec la logique classificatoire privilégiée dans les travaux sur « l'euroscepticisme ». Pour ce faire, elle adopte une approche relationnelle de la compétition politique attentive aux contextes international, interpartisan et intrapartisan. A partir de ce cas particulier qu'est le Parti communiste français, il s'agit de restituer l'émergence progressive d'une catégorie « Europe » associée à la construction européenne, et la manière avec laquelle le problème communautaire et les enjeux afférents ont été construits, les grilles de lecture à travers lesquels ils ont été interprétés. Ainsi, elle interroge à nouveaux frais les changements occasionnés par l'intégration européenne sur les espaces nationaux en montrant des dynamiques de spécialisation et l'éclosion d'un personnel politique spécifiquement en charge de ces questions au sein d'un parti politique pourtant souvent classé parmi les partis hostiles ou critiques envers le processus d'intégration européenne. Par ce biais, elle met aussi en évidence les recompositions plus générales dont ce parti politique est l'objet. / This thesis is a study of the production of party positions about the European integration. It stands out from the classificatory approach of the research on « euroscepticism». It takes a relational approach of the political competition which takes account of the international context, external and internal party politics. By examining a specific case, the French Communist Party, it observes the progressive emergence of a category « Europe » which ties into the building of Europe, and the modalities of the construction of a EC/EU problem and political issues. It revisits the question of the changes caused by the European integration on the national spaces. It highlights process of specialization and the advent of a political staff in charge of these questions within a political party which is frequently classified as hostile towards European integration process. It brings to light the large recompositions affecting this political party.

O processo de integração regional busca implementar o atendimento de questões gerais que os Estados Nacionais, pela sua limitação de recursos, não conseguem enfrentar isoladamente. O exemplo mais tangível destes processos no sistema internacional é a integração europeia. Na América do Sul, embora exista um número significativo de instituições com o objetivo de fomentar a integração regional, ela não tem evoluído. As disputas políticas e fiscais têm embaçado a visão dos principais atores que poderiam estimular essa nova ordem regional. Contudo algumas áreas, sobretudo aquelas que possuem um baixo nível de controvérsias, podem incentivar ou até mesmo incrementar o processo de integração regional. No continente sul americano, o setor elétrico, pela a abundância de recursos de fontes primárias para geração, poderá ser o elemento catalizador desse novo sistema de cooperação. Assim, esse trabalho analisou como a Comunidade Europeia para o Carvão e o Aço (ECSC/CECA) impulsionou a integração europeia, com o objetivo de verificar o potencial sinérgico para a cooperação que uma eventual instituição supranacional de energia elétrica teria para estimular a integração da América do Sul. A experiência europeia foi utilizada, portanto, como um caso de controle e comparação, para verificar se as condições de integração ocorridas naquele continente podem se assemelhar com aquelas do processo sul-americano. Nesse sentido, utilizando o referencial teórico Neo-funcionalista de Ernst Haas e sua micro-teoria do spill-over ou desborde, o estudo pretendeu observar se esse tipo de fenômeno pode ser repetido no caso de uma possível constituição de um sistema elétrico integrado na América do Sul. Para isso, verificam-se os elementos contextuais, a forma e o conteúdo dos discursos sobre a integração realizados no interior dos principais blocos da região, bem como se interrelacionam os grupos políticos, os grupos de interesse e os governos nacionais a respeito da questão. O trabalho utiliza pesquisas do Latinobarômetro, documentos das principais intituições para integração na região e um trabalho realizado pelo NUPRI/USP sobre integração sul americana. Ainda que os aspectos sociais, econômicos e políticos sejam diferentes da experiência europeia, o trabalho colheu evidências convergentes e satisfatórias para a formação do spill-over, a partir da eventual integração do setor energético na América do Sul, apontando assim, para a possibilidade de construção de um processo de integração regional que pode ser explicado e inspirado pela teoria Neofuncionalista. / The regional integration process seeks to implement the care of general issues that the National States, for its limited resources, can not cope alone. The most tangible example of these processes in the international system is European integration. In South America, although there are a significant number of institutions in order to foster regional integration, it has not evolved. Policies and tax disputes have blurry vision of the key players that could stimulate this new regional order. However some areas, especially those with a low level of disputes, can encourage or even enhance the process of regional integration. In the South American continent, the electric sector by the abundance of resources for primary generation sources may be the catalyst element of this new system of cooperation. Thus, this study examined how the European Community for Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) boosted European integration, with the aim of verifying the synergistic potential for cooperation that any supranational institution of electricity would have to stimulate the integration of South America. The European experience was therefore used as a case-control comparison and to verify that the conditions of integration occurring in that continent may be similar to those of the South American process. Accordingly, using the theoretical framework Neo-functionalism of Ernst Haas and his micro-theory of spillover or overflowing, the study aimed to observe whether this type of phenomenon can be repeated in case of a possible establishment of an integrated electric system in America South. For this, there are contextual elements, the form and content of the discourse on integration performed inside the main blocks in the region, as well as interrelate political groups, interest groups and national governments on the issue. The work uses surveys of Latinbarometer, documents the main institutions for integration in the region and work done by NUPRI / USP on South American integration. While the social, economic and political aspects are different from the European experience, work reaped satisfactory convergent and for the formation of the spill-over from the eventual integration of the energy sector in South American evidence, thus pointing to the possibility of construction of a regional integration process that can be explained and inspired by the Neo-functionalist theory.

This thesis studies the positions of the political groups in the European Parliament by examining the debates, focusing on the question of migration and more specifically on the policy of relocation of migrants. With the increasing number of people migrating into Europe, migration is an important question to study in the context of the European Union. The European Parliament consists of 200 different national parties composed in eight different political groups trying to agree upon common policies for legislation, which makes the political battle taken place in the Parliament even more interesting.    This thesis seeks to describe the positions of the groups within the Parliament by using dimensions and categories of state security vs. human security and EU-integration vs. state sovereignty. The study finds that a majority of the party groups in the Parliament emphasises further integration, however there is a more evident difference between seeing the issue of migration as a state security or a human security matter between the political groups. These findings are interesting, demonstrating that even in a sensitive issue as migration, related to states’ sovereignty, a majority seems to emphasise cooperation between states, indicating that further cooperation may be taken in other policy areas as well.    Key words: European Union, European Parliament, European integration, Migration, Security, Securitization, Human security, Human rights, State sovereignty, Dimension analysis.