This work examines the impact of European integration on modern European states, focusing in particular on the expression of civic, political, and social rights in these states. Without an accurate understanding of how integration has transformed states, those involved in the creation of state institutions--now and in the future--cannot hope to know how their societies will be affected by European integration, what role social voice will play in the governance process, and ultimately, how the European project might play-out. Understanding the effect of European integration on the lives of everyday citizens is the main impetus behind this research. This work aims to provide an objective assessment of the effects of European integration on state transformation and, subsequently, the expression of rights in modern Europe. This is accomplished through the examination of three case studies, each of which focuses on a different policy area. Overall, these case studies cover the time period 1990-2014. Operationalized, the research herein addresses the following question: How has being a member of the European Union or striving to join it changed states and specifically those areas linked to the expression of civic, political, and social rights? Additionally, this study tests a new theoretical construction of statehood--the Member State--so that, in the future, this construct might be used to better inform integration theories. This is all carried-out through statistical analyses that establish causal links for observed changes in the expression of civic, political, and social rights in Europe. The findings of the thesis suggest that the expression of civic and social rights have not been decreasing due to state transformation brought on by European integration, while the expression of political rights have been. Furthermore, this research finds support for the new theoretical construct of Member Statehood.

Britain's attitude towards the European integration has been an uneasy one since its' inception and it thus represents one of the spheres of British politics that has attracted the most attention and that has been one of the most divisive issues of the domestic politics. The British attitude has however responded to the dynamical development of the political integration in Europe. The aim of the thesis is to assess Britain's attitude towards the political integration in Europe and to prove that, despite its dynamical development, the elements of Euroscepticism prevail over the elements of Europeanization. With respect to the aim, the thesis is divided into three chapters. The first one explains the political integration and charts its development and defines the modern concept of Euroscepticism and Europeanization. The second chapter deals with Britain's attitude towards the European integration, its historical background and its development immediately after the Second World War. Substantial part of the chapter is devoted to the analysis of the British attitude towards the milestones of the political integration. The final chapter looks at the stance of the governments of Tony Blair and the current Conservative-led coalition on the political integration and compares them so as to study its development.

Les cas polonais, roumain et turc constituent d’excellents exemples de l’évolution de l’agriculture paysanne dans un contexte d’intégration au marché européen et mondial. Tout l’enjeu de l’intégration de la Pologne et de la Roumanie, aujourd’hui effective, et d’une hypothétique adhésion de la Turquie, est de pouvoir intégrer une paysannerie numériquement forte et peu performante [caractérisée par des rendements agricoles relativement faibles], à une agriculture européenne très productive. Ces pays,par les volumes de leur production, par l’étendue de leurs terres cultivées, et par l’importance de leur main-d’œuvre, sont les puissances agricoles les plus importantes des trois vagues successives de l’élargissement de l’Union européenne. Les trois pays compte le plus de paysans parmi les pays membres et candidats à l’UE. Ces élargissements de l’UE à ces pays concernent un problème social de transition. Les campagnes polonaises, roumaines et turques se trouvent donc devant le défi d’une modernisation de leur agriculture et de leurs structures sociales. Pour les trois pays, les possibilités de suivre le modèle européen de modernisation ! agricole, et plus particulièrement le modèle français, restent limitées et son application est porteuse de problèmes multiples. Des voies alternatives permettant la survie des petites et moyennes exploitations familiales dans ces pays sont indispensables face aux dangers de l’agriculture productiviste en termes d’exclusion sociale et de « paupérisation »rurale et urbaine. Il faudra inventer des voies de sorties pour les agriculteurs des trois pays, en particulier pour ceux qui sont les plus vulnérables face à ce processus de modernisation / The cases of Poland, Romania and Turkey constitute excellent examples for the evolution of peasantfarmer-driven agricultures in the context of integration into the European and the world markets.Today, the challenge of Poland and Romania’s integration, and a possible membership of Turkey arein fact to be able to integrate an agricultural system numerically strong but inefficient [characterized by relatively low yields] into a highly productive European agriculture. These countries, by their production volumes, by the extent of their croplands and by the size of their labours are the most important agricultural powers among the three successive waves of the enlargement of the European Union. The three countries contain the most farmer numbers among the member countries and the candidates. The enlargement of the EU to these countries is associated with a social problem relative to the transition process. The integration of these countries is therefore faced with the challenge of modernizing their agricultures and the related social structures. For these countries, the possibilities to follow and apply the European model of agricultural modernization, particularly the French model, remains limited and associated with the multiple problems. Alternative solutions wh! ich allow the survival of small and medium family farming in these countries are indispensable face to the dangers of productivist agriculture as social exclusion and rural and urban pauperization. New solutions and suitable models must be invented to protect the farmers of these countries, especially those who are most vulnerable to this process of agricultural modernisation

L’Écosse est une vieille nation européenne. Autrefois indépendante, elle s’est unie à l’Angleterre et au Pays de Galles en 1707 au moyen d’un traité d’Union. Aux termes de ce traité, elle a conservé une Église propre (l’Église d’Écosse), ainsi que des systèmes éducatif et juridique distincts de ceux de l’Angleterre. En 1998, de larges transferts de pouvoirs lui ont permis de ré-ouvrir son Parlement, dissous au moment de l’Union, et de voter ses propres lois dans les domaines qui lui sont dévolus, comme la santé, l’éducation, l’environnement, les questions rurales. Cette dévolution de pouvoirs lui a également permis de maintenir et de renforcer sa présence au sein de l’Union européenne. En effet, l’Écosse, forte d’un ancien rayonnement européen au moyen-âge, et bénéficiant de fonds structurels de la Commission européenne afin de rattraper ses retards de développements, a, dès le milieu des années 1980, compris le bénéfice qu’elle pouvait tirer de la Communauté économique européenne puis de l’Union européenne. Parallèlement au processus de dévolution des pouvoirs du Parlement britannique vers le Parlement écossais, le parti national écossais, le Scottish National Party, a ancré son projet d’indépendance de l’Écosse dans le cadre rassurant d’un maintien au sein de l’Union européenne. Lors du référendum sur l’indépendance de 2014, la question de la place de l’Écosse en Europe s’est invitée dans la campagne de manière insistante. Dans le cadre des négociations sur le Brexit, la possibilité d’un accord distinct pour l’Écosse (qui a refusé la sortie de l’Union européenne) se pose, alors qu’un second référendum sur l’indépendance se profile. Pour l’Union européenne, la question des nationalismes minoritaires provoque des difficultés, puisqu'il lui faut satisfaire les aspirations à la représentation démocratique soulevées par ces mouvements, tout en évitant à la fois la fragmentation des États membres et l’afflux de petits États membres, qui risqueraient de bloquer la mécanique institutionnelle communautaire. / Scotland is an old European nation which remained independent until the 1707 Treaty of Union under which it was united to England and Wales. Under the terms of this treaty, it has preserved a Church of its own (the Church of Scotland), as well as distinct educational and legal systems. In 1998, large transfers of powers enabled it to re-open its Parliament, which had been dissolved at the time of the Union, and to vote its own laws in certain devolved areas, such as health, education, the environment and rural matters. This devolution of powers has also enabled Scotland to maintain and strengthen its presence in the European Union. As early as the mid-1980s, Scotland, whose influence in Europe dated back to the Middle Ages and which benefited from structural funds from the European Commission that were intended to make up for some of its under developed regions, realised the benefit it could reap from the European Economic Community and later on from the European Union. As powers were being devolved from the British Parliament to the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish National Party anchored its Scottish independence project within the comforting framework of a maintained membership of the European Union. During the run-up to the referendum on the independence of 2014, the question of the place of Scotland in Europe was often raised. In the context of the negotiations on Brexit, the possibility of a separate agreement for Scotland (which refused to leave the European Union) is being considered, while a second referendum on independence is looming. For the European Union, the issue of minority nationalisms is a source of difficulties, since it must satisfy the aspirations to democratic representation that are fostered by these movements while avoiding the breaking-up of the Member States and the influx of small Member States which may block the Community's institutional machinery.

The purpose of this study is to examine if the existing theories within the field of Euroscepticism is sufficient to help us reach a deeper understanding of the changes in party positions and the publics opinion towards the EU and European integration in France between 2016 and 2018. To reach a deeper understanding of the case and the existing theories two research questions have been designed. One that seeks to examine on how we can understand the changes in voter opinion towards the EU. The other one seeks to examine how we can understand how the parties En Marche! and Front National has acted from 2016 to 2018. The method used in this study is a theory-consuming case study. Five theories where generated from the existing body of literature where crucial elements from seven different articles where derived to build a theoretical framework that examines different aspects of the voter vs. party dynamic. Most of the theories where applicable to the case at some point within the examined timeframe and helped us reach a deeper understanding of the case. Although one of the theories stood out and helped us reach a deeper understanding of the case during the entire period. That was the theory regarding that the French publics opinion about the EU seems to have been affected by a wider information-environment more than anything else. Although further research focused on that theory would be necessary to substantiate the findings in this thesis.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether some positions in democratic theory should be adjusted or abandoned in view of internationalisation; and if adjusted, how. More specifically it pursues three different aims: to evaluate various attempts to explain levels of democracy as consequences of internationalisation; to investigate whether the taking into account of internationalisation reveals any reason to reconsider what democracy is or means; and to suggest normative interpretations that cohere with the adjustments of conceptual and explanatory democratic theory made in the course of meeting the other two aims. When empirical methods are used, the scope of the study is restricted to West European parliamentary democracies and their international affairs. More particularly, the focus is on the making of budget policy in Britain, France, and Sweden after the Second World War, and recent budget policy in the European Union. The aspects of democracy empirically analysed are political autonomy, participation, and deliberation. The material considered includes parliamentary debates, official statistics, economic forecasts, elections manifestos, shadow budgets, general election turnouts, regulations of budget decision-making, and staff numbers in government and parliament budgetary divisions. The study reaches the following conclusions among others. (i) The fact that internationalisation increases the divergence between those who make and those who are affected by decisions is not by itself a democratic problem that calls for political reform. (ii) That international organisations may have authorities delegated to them from democratic states is not sufficient to justify them democratically. Democratisation still needs to be undertaken. (iii) The fear that internationalisation dissolves a social trust necessary for political deliberation within nations seems to be unwarranted. If anything, views argued by others in domestic budgetary debate are taken increasingly serious during internationalisation. (iv) The major difficulty with deliberation seems to be its inability to transcend national boundaries. International deliberation at state level has not evolved in response to internationalisation and it is undeveloped in international institutions. (v) Democratic political autonomy diminishes during internationalisation with regard to income redistribution and policy areas taken over by international organisations, but it seems to increase in public spending. (vi) In the area of budget policy-making there are no signs that governments gain power at the expense of parliaments during internationalisation. (vii) To identify crucial democratic issues in a time of internationalisation and to make room for theoretical virtues like general applicability and normative fruitfulness, democracy may be defined as a kind of politics where as many as possible decide as much as possible.

This dissertation explores political representation and its manifestation within the European Union (EU). The main purpose is to examine the representative roles of Members of the European Parliament (MEP) in the context of cross–pressure between the national level and the EU level. This involves an analysis of how the MEPs under-stand their roles, how they organize their work, and how they have voted in the European Parliament (EP) in 1999-2002. It also includes a study of how national party organizations adapt to the EU environment and how this influences the MEPs link to the national arena. The study is based on various sources, such as interviews, formal documents and voting data. The most under-researched part of the cross-pressure has been the national link and the empirical focus of the thesis is on that link. It is a comparative study of parties in Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden. In each country, three parties were selected (social democratic, right-wing and green parties). By using a focused comparative method, and by controlling for certain independent variables, the ambition is to go beyond description and identify explanations for why MEPs adopt certain roles. The overall picture that emerges is of a relatively weak link between MEPs and the national level. To a certain extent, MEPs express frustration over their limited role in the national arena and over the lack of input from the national arena in their work at the European level. Most of the parties struggle to include MEPs in their organizational set-up, and the MEPs experience a growing hostility within the parties toward them. In general, the lack of interest and knowledge in the national arena, concerning the EU in general and specifically the work of the MEPs, obscures the role of the MEPs. They become EU ambassadors at the national level, rather than elected representatives at the EU level. The dissertation also tests variables that are thought to influence MEPs’ roles: the type of electoral system, popular opinion on EU issues, whether their party is in government, the party’s ideological heritage, and if the party organizes more advanced coordination mechanisms. The main result is that the working assumption that MEPs are influenced by characteristics in the national arena is shown to be largely correct. That is, some of the identified aspects of the national political context do influence how the MEPs understand their roles. For example, the character of the electoral system influences attitudes among the MEPs. However, that relationship is not as simple and straightforward as much of the literature suggests. Rather, the results in this study suggest that the most important aspect of the relationship between the national level and the MEPs is whether parties or others (such as national parliamentarians) actively engage in the work of the MEPs. It matters how parties design the relationship between the levels, especially for how and where MEPs direct their main attention, but also in terms of how MEPs vote in the EP. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of further research into how parties facilitate the link between the national and the EU level.

European security and defence policy has developed at a significant rate since the late 1990s. As a growing field of analysis, there have been few studies to date that have explored the foreign and domestic implications of the European Union's emerging security and defence policies. This thesis seeks to assess the quality and effectiveness of the present day defence policies of the European Union through an examination of its commitment to civilian and military missions abroad. In so doing, this thesis suggests that these missions stem from a misguided belief that the promotion of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law beyond its border is the most effective means by which to achieve security within Europe. This thesis concludes that the economic and political tools available to the European Union provide a better means by which to ensure security in Europe and around the world.

European security and defence policy has developed at a significant rate since the late 1990s. As a growing field of analysis, there have been few studies to date that have explored the foreign and domestic implications of the European Union's emerging security and defence policies. This thesis seeks to assess the quality and effectiveness of the present day defence policies of the European Union through an examination of its commitment to civilian and military missions abroad. In so doing, this thesis suggests that these missions stem from a misguided belief that the promotion of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law beyond its border is the most effective means by which to achieve security within Europe. This thesis concludes that the economic and political tools available to the European Union provide a better means by which to ensure security in Europe and around the world.

2008年全球金融風暴為歐洲債券危機埋下隱患，歐元區國家紛紛進行紓困以提振經濟，導致財政赤字更加嚴重。歐元區各國因採行單一貨幣而喪失獨立的貨幣政策，使得融資工具受限。信用評等機構又先後對周邊國家調降評等，無形中擴大危機。歐洲債券危機不僅讓歐洲經濟暨貨幣同盟的結構缺陷再度浮上檯面，亦引發歐元區解決方案的認知分歧，形成以德國為首的撙節派和法國代表的反撙節派間的對立，政治界興起一片波瀾。 為分析未來歐洲統合的方向和進程，本論文從政治和經濟面了解經濟暨貨幣同盟的建立與歐洲債券危機的發生，並透過自由政府間主義的分析層次，探究未來歐洲統合的發展。經由上述方法，研究發現就德法目前國內情勢和相互交往來看，未來歐洲統合的發展可能維持現狀，而不會開倒車或形成完全的超國家建制。至於理論是否和事實重合，又有待日後持續觀察。 / After the outbreak of the European Debt Crisis since 2009, the necessity and possibility of the further integration is once again highly valued. To analyze the future development of the European integration, the thesis looks into the establishment of the Economic and Monetary Union and the outbreak of the European Debt Crisis. In addition, it looks into the relation between Germany and France through the approach of the Liberal Intergovermentalism to explore the future development of the European integration. The result of the research demonstrates that it is likely European integration will remain at status quo, instead of advancing integration to the establishment of supranational institutions, nor leading to the breakup of the European Union. While Liberal Intergovernmentalism provides the integration analysis with a feasible approach, whether the result of the research coincides with the future development of the European integration still remains to be seen.