This paper examines the discourse surrounding Italian gastronationalism throughout the previous four European Parliament elections to gain a deeper comprehension of the escalating significance of gastronationalism over the past two decades. In this examination, the notion of gastronationalism, situated within the wider context of banal nationalism, is elucidated, and delineated to achieve the intended objective. Utilizing a case study approach, this research investigates the right-wing political party "Alleanza Nazionale / Fratelli d'Italia" through an analysis of prominent party members' discourse in newspapers and social media platforms. The findings reveal a notable escalation in the employment of gastronationalism in AN/FdI's political rhetoric from 2014 to 2019, which bears a discernible correlation with the linguistic style and communicative techniques employed by the Italian Fascist Party, originally established by Benito Mussolini.

In the past decade, there has been a surge of interest in extreme right Western European parties. Well-established parties such as the National Front (FN) in France, Vlaams Belang (formerly Vlaams Blok) in Belgium, and Lega Nord in Italy have been scrutinized. However, extreme right parties that have just recently begun to experience electoral successes such as the British National Party (BNP) have received less evaluation and discussion in the literature. Therefore, this study examines the BNP‟s electoral fortunes in the European elections of 1999, 2004, and 2009. I explore the support for the BNP using the traditional variables of unemployment, education, income, and immigration. In addition to these variables, I examine how support for other parties present in Great Britain, such as the right-wing United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and the center-right Conservative Party affects electoral support for the BNP. I find that support for other right-wing parties in Great Britain do exert an influence on BNP electoral fortunes (the UKIP a positive one, and the Conservative Party a negative one). I also find a strong negative link between BNP support and education and a weak positive one between BNP support and unemployment. However, income and immigration rates appear to have no effect on voter support for the BNP.

The European Parliament elections have since the 1980's been described as 'second-order national elections', which, among other things, means that they are less important to both political parties and to voters. Scholars have often described political parties as a weak link between the European Union and its citizens. Previous studies of the fulfillment of election promises have mainly focused on national governments, and not national political parties in the European Parliament. The purpose of this descriptive study is to investigate the level of fulfillment of election promises that Swedish parliamentary parties present in their election manifestos for the European Parliament election 2014. Based on previous research, this study tests five hypotheses on the material. By mapping and analyzing 183 election promises from 8 election manifestos, the results show a lower fulfillment level than Swedish governments usually achieve on the national arena. The result showed one possible covariation between which party groups the political parties belonged to and fulfillment, but no clear patterns between the characteristics of the election promise and fulfillment. The results of this study has shown that there is reason to further investigate and try to better understand election promises that are given ahead of European Parliament elections.

Populism is a phenomenon that impacts not only nation-states and their institutions but also the institutions of international-supranational organizations. This is the case of the European Union, where populist radical right parties (PRRPs) – the most predominant type of populism in Europe – reached the Parliament in 1984, consolidated in 2014, and have since then participated in the debates about the European legislation. Such participation has been mainly framed by the current functioning of the European Parliament (EP), which grants greater importance to alliances instead of individual Members of the Parliament, thereby, PRRPs cooperated among themselves in three groups: the European Conservatives and Reformists, the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy, and the Europe of Nations and Freedom.  Particularly in migration, a key area of interest of these parties because of their nativist and authoritarian characteristics, these alliances have specific positions and therefore, have promoted different strategies aimed at increasing the powers of member states by diminishing European integration, strengthening the EU external borders, and preventing the arrival of new immigrants, especially the illegal ones. This was particularly reinforced in the 8th parliamentary period that lasted from 2014 to 2019, which also coincided with the 2015 refugee crisis. In this context, the EP adopted and implanted various legislation to cope with the crisis, including the European Border and Coast Guard, the European travel document for the return of illegally staying third-country nationals, the Entry/Exit System, the European Travel Information and Authorization System, and the reinforcement of the mandate of the EU-LISA agency.  In 30.905 words, this research aims at understanding whether PRRPs’ characteristics and positions have influenced the EU immigration legislation, measured by how successful have been the two common strategies they undertake to do so: influencing the voters’ attitudes and opinions and obstructing parliamentary proceedings. Data shows that these groups still have a minority in the Parliament, do not vote together as a bloc, some of them do not actively participate in parliamentary work, and therefore, have limited power to impact the legislation as they can only do it indirectly by shaping the behavior of their electoral force.

This thesis is about EU energy security in relation to Russia and its proposed Nord Stream 2 project. In this thesis the Copenhagen School theory on securitisation is applied with the help of a combination of content analysis and discourse analysis as methods, which will together with the theory become the framework of this study. While the focal point will fall on EU’s Parliament and how the project Nord Stream 2 is securitised within this EU structure, where the project itself will serve as an exhibitory example of the energy security relationship between EU and Russia. The main findings that are made in this thesis are that the securitising actors in the debate are the countries not the political parties and that Russia, not Nord Stream 2 is the true object of securitisation. In addition to that it was established that there is little unity amongst the EU member states, which is supported by the finding in previous academic studies that have been conducted within the field.

Europe stands at the face of transformative changes, where the study of EU integration becomes crucial in comprehending the complex dynamics between member states and EU institutions, as well envisioning its future. Since its origin, the parliament has played a fundamental role in advancing political integration across national borders by representing EU citizens.  However, recent years have witnessed shifts that seem to alter the European Parliaments role and its leaning towards integration, indicating a move towards increased intergovernmentalism within the EU.  By examining its historical progress and stances towards integration, we can gain deeper insights into how its role has shifted and how it affects the EU's future, done by comparing two different periods, 2004-2009 and current election period 2019-2024. By using competing theories of European integration, this paper purposes to map out implications for the European union future. This study seeks to seal a significant research gap by investigating the European Parliament's role in integration. By analyzing parliamentary materials with debates longitudinally, this research aims to identify shifts in attitudes towards European integration. Results were shown that indicated the European parliament’s attitude towards integration had its changes in recent decades. From previously being a strong advocate for deeper integration, the European parliament has now a more nuances view of supranationality and intergovernmental collaboration. Future directions for European integration suggest a more cautious and gradual approach, continuing to cooperate without transferring excessive power to central EU bodies. This could have reaching implications for the future of the union and for the role of the European parliament in the continued integration process.  This study on the role of the European Parliament and its integration is of great importance to political science, since of its ability to surround various aspects of the EU’s political landscape. Understanding these dynamics is essential for predicting future developments and shaping policies that foster a solid and strong European union.

Temporary agency work - it's legislation as well as its practise is the main topic of this thesis. It aims not only legal, but also economical and some other aspects. The issue is becoming more and more important in relation with unexpected changes at employment market. Number of temporary agency workers is expected to rise in near future. This is resulting from expectations for high-standard legislation providing efficient protection especially for temporary agency workers. The first aim is to summarize contemporary legislation in the Czech Republic, European Union and International Labour Organization. Next purpose is to point out its main problems and interpretation difficulties. Selected chapters illustrate the approach of temporary work agencies to some disputable provisions of a statute. The thesis is composed of fourteen chapters, each of them dealing with different aspects of temporary agency work. Chapter One is introductory and defines concept of temporary agency work, focuses on situation on employment market and describes the development of legislation. Chapter Two provides outline of sources of legislation in the area of temporary agency work in the Czech Republic, European Union and International Labour Organization. Chapters Three to Ten deal with basic subjects taking part in...

A integração regional denominada Mercado Comum do Sul – MERCOSUL – gera um processo de transbordamento para diversos setores sociais dos países membros, induzido pela necessidade de minoração do déficit democrático, entendido como falta de representação e acesso às decisões do MERCOSUL e combinado com a falta de controle, de transparência e de responsabilização dos atores decisórios. A União Europeia, assim como o Parlamento Europeu, possui mecanismos que visam a minorar o déficit democrático existente na integração regional e podem servir de modelo para o MERCOSUL. A comparação entre a UE e o MERCOSUL, e entre o PARLASUL e o PE se utiliza de mecanismos de aproximação de teorias e de metodologias que possibilitam a análise comparada em nível histórico, institucional, jurídico e político. Ao longo da tese, foram analisadas as atribuições, o controle e a fiscalização, a legitimidade, a participação e a representação no PARLASUL e no PE. As principais fontes dos dados utilizados nesta tese são documentos, tratados e protocolos internacionais, regimentos, legislação e entrevistas realizadas com autoridades relacionadas com o MERCOSUL, especialmente parlamentares do PARLASUL. A utilização do capital social na integração regional pode minorar o déficit democrático e colaborar na criação e na consolidação de redes que qualificam e facilitam a participação e a ação política mais transparente e democrática. A utilização dos pressupostos da democracia pode diminuir a percepção negativa das populações dos países membros do MERCOSUL, em relação às instituições e aos partidos políticos. As proposições da presente tese refletem uma necessidade de adaptação da integração regional aos valores democráticos, representados pela democracia (mais) participativa. Um modelo institucional que indica uma maior participação da sociedade civil e das populações na integração regional, no escopo de minorar o alto déficit democrático existente, é viável a partir da eleição de parte dos representantes do PARLASUL com fortes vínculos associativos, com capital social legitimado e reconhecido socialmente. / The Regional integration known as the Southern Common Market - MERCOSUL, generates the spill over effect for various social sectors of the member countries induces the need for mitigation of the democratic deficit, understood as a lack of representation and access in the decisions of MERCOSUL, combined with the lack of control, transparency and accountability decision-making actors. The European Union, and the European Parliament have mechanisms to reduce the existing democratic deficit in regional integration, and can serve as a model for MERCOSUL. The comparison between the UE and MERCOSUL, and between PARLASUL and the European Parliament uses approaching mechanisms, theories and methodologies that enable comparative analysis in historical, institutional, legal and political level. Assignments were analyzed, control and oversight, legitimacy, participation and representation in PARLASUL and the European Parliament. The main sources of the data used in the thesis are documents, international treaties and protocols, regulations, legislation and interviews with related authorities with MERCOSUL, especially PARLASUL’s parliamentarians. The use of social capital in regional integration can reduce the democratic deficit and contribute to the creation and consolidation of networks that qualify and facilitate participation and more transparent and democratic political action. The use of democracy assumptions may decrease the negative perception of people in MERCOSUL member countries, the institutions, and political parties. Propositions of this thesis reflect a need for adaptation of regional integration to democratic values represented by democracy (more) participatory. An institutional model that indicates a greater involvement of civil society and populations in the regional integration, in scope to mitigate high existing democratic deficit, it is feasible from the part of election the representatives of PARLASUL with strong associative links, with the social capital legitimated and recognized socially.

Muslims and islam are unquestionably a part of European social life. In recent times, however, different events, such as the enlargement of the EU and the fact that muslims to a higher extent demand their rights, have brought a number of questions to the fore concerning muslims and islam in Europe. Moreover, we can see an increasing level of islamophobia in contemporary Europe, but also that the EU has launched several programs to increase both the diversity and the unity throughout the Union and to combat islamophobia. However, most of these programs focus on islam as religion and muslims in general, and such a narrow viewpoint runs the risk of missing important issues. In this new context it would be interesting to widen the scope and ask what place not only the muslim community and islam, but also sharia (an important element in islam), may have in future Europe – especially when it comes to muslim identity? My main objects are to see how the concept of sharia is constructed in the debates in the European Parliament, how that discourse relates to a social practice – the increasing islamophobic ideas in Europe – and what effect this may have on muslim identity in a European context. The results shows that the Parliament constructs sharia as, for example, something archaic, threatening, inhuman and misogynistic. In that sense, the discourse fits in with the predominant order of discourse regarding islam and muslims (in Europe) – and strengthen it. Though my results are neither absolute nor uniform, they show, persuasively enough, that sharia (as it is seen by the Parliament) is not consistent with and can not be included in or accepted by “European norms and values”. However, this must be said with one reservation: sharia is not always excluded as a whole. Still, it is not difficult to maintain that it is sharia as such that activates the (negative and) excluding connotations. Thus, an “approved” European muslim identity, as it seems, can not have too close connections with sharia, if (any) at all. Moreover, there is a risk that muslims themselves take on a restricting practice concerning their identity. In all, this will to a large extent circumscribe the possible muslim identities in Europe. To form a substantial and really pluralistic diversity in Europe, the EU, and others, must liberate itself from the logic of these discourses. But this is not an easy thing to do. One way that might be profitable, is to challenge the prevailing discourse with new narratives – narratives and voices that for the most part must come from the muslims themselves. Despite the fact that these voices do exist, as has been shown, the question is how and under what circumstances they can be seen – or rather heard. Unfortunately the answer is not to be found in this thesis; the need of further research is obvious.

Univ., Diss.--Köln, 2006. / Literaturverz. S. XIX - XLII.