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IS MIGRANT INTEGRATION POLICY CONVERGING IN EUROPE? A COMPARISON OF EU-12 AND EU-15 STATES
Title
IS MIGRANT INTEGRATION POLICY CONVERGING IN EUROPE? A COMPARISON OF EU-12 AND EU-15 STATES.
Creator
Zuardo, Steven, Mirilovic, Nikola, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Immigration issues have dominated the political discourse of liberal democracies around the world in the 21st century. Recent elections in the United States and the Netherlands focused extensively on migrant flows, illegal immigration and migrant integration. Upcoming elections in France seem to be operating within similar parameters. These occurrences underpin a larger critique about the perceived failure of liberal democratic institutions to contend with immigration trends and successfully...
Show moreImmigration issues have dominated the political discourse of liberal democracies around the world in the 21st century. Recent elections in the United States and the Netherlands focused extensively on migrant flows, illegal immigration and migrant integration. Upcoming elections in France seem to be operating within similar parameters. These occurrences underpin a larger critique about the perceived failure of liberal democratic institutions to contend with immigration trends and successfully integrate migrants within their societies. Nowhere has this critique been more prevalent than within the public and political discourse of the European Union, the institution of focus for this paper. As the EU member states struggle to cope with their migrant issues, scholars are increasingly looking to the larger EU governmental structure to anticipate how the region will handle these challenges. Accordingly, much of the scholarly work done on subjects such as integration policy within the EU are mainly focused upon the perceived convergence of policy amongst member states. The intent of this thesis therefore, is to evaluate the validity of claims that migrant integration policy is converging amongst EU member states, and to explain why this may be the case. This was accomplished via a cross-comparison of policy outcome scores, (provided by the Migration Integration Policy Index), over time between EU-15 and EU-12 states. The convergence of policy in the EU is a topic that has been routinely addressed by scholars, but by examining the potential trends amongst the traditionally ignored EU-12 states, this thesis hopes to contribute to the academic discourse by providing a different perspective.
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Date Issued
2017
Identifier
CFH2000215, ucf:45938
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000215
GROWTH AND IMMIGRATION: AN ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF CURRENT EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES FROM 1990 TO 2009
Title
GROWTH AND IMMIGRATION: AN ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF CURRENT EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES FROM 1990 TO 2009.
Creator
Davis, Jacob, Underwood, Nora, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Economic growth and immigration are important issues to individuals and governments alike. This paper looks at previous research on the topic of how migration affects growth and finds that most research finds that immigrants increase growth in at least the long run. First global or widely applicable research is discussed, then the paper focuses on the European Union as its data availability and uniform open migration policy lend it to a panel regression analysis. Three models are estimated...
Show moreEconomic growth and immigration are important issues to individuals and governments alike. This paper looks at previous research on the topic of how migration affects growth and finds that most research finds that immigrants increase growth in at least the long run. First global or widely applicable research is discussed, then the paper focuses on the European Union as its data availability and uniform open migration policy lend it to a panel regression analysis. Three models are estimated using World Bank World Development Indicators data from 1990 to 2009 for all 28 current EU member states. The models are largely inconclusive, with the only significant result for the relationship between the stock of international immigrants and real GDP per capita growth being negative and coming from Model 1. However, in Model 1 domestic investment was also significant with a negative impact on real GDP per capita. With no clear answer to the question of how immigration affects growth, the clash between the EU governing body which uses open migration policy to promote growth and anti-immigration political parties in EU member states that see immigration as harming native citizens' job prospects seems likely to continue.
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Date Issued
2014
Identifier
CFH0004634, ucf:45284
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004634
MODELS OF INFRINGEMENT:THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITHEUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES
Title
MODELS OF INFRINGEMENT:THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITHEUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES.
Creator
Cram, Richard, Reichert, Shawn, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This thesis is designed to explore the complex question of compliance within the European Union. The European Union relies on the voluntary submission of it members to rules that the organization sets up. Other international organizations operate through this dynamic as well. As such, it is highly important to shed light, through research, on why states comply with the rules set forth by the organizations they belong to. Why do states comply in the European Union? There are many channels of...
Show moreThis thesis is designed to explore the complex question of compliance within the European Union. The European Union relies on the voluntary submission of it members to rules that the organization sets up. Other international organizations operate through this dynamic as well. As such, it is highly important to shed light, through research, on why states comply with the rules set forth by the organizations they belong to. Why do states comply in the European Union? There are many channels of research currently looking at this question. This thesis seeks to examine the European Commission's role in ensuring compliance in the European Union. The Commission is the chief enforcer and monitor within the European Union; as such, it is a critical component in the examination of state's compliance behavior. In order to examine the question of compliance within the European Union a researcher is forced to look at an alternative variable. Compliance is not measurable in a direct fashion and thus some proxy measure must be constructed in order to research it. The conduct of the Commission with regards to suspected and actual Member State violations of treaty obligations offers such a variable. Using data drawn from a variety of sources including the European Commission itself and a framework of research drawn from Mbaye's Why National States Comply with Supranational Law (2001) this thesis finds that no single explanatory variable is responsible for Member State compliance with the rules and laws of the European Union. Rather several factors are at work and must be looked at. This thesis finds moderate support for several hypotheses sourced from the extant literature on the subject of compliance through the models proposed herein. Other hypotheses do not hold up as well under scrutiny.
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Date Issued
2005
Identifier
CFE0000539, ucf:46431
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000539
THE COLONIAL LEGACIES OF TRADE AGREEMENTS WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION
Title
THE COLONIAL LEGACIES OF TRADE AGREEMENTS WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION.
Creator
Warshofsky, Mia R, Dolan, Thomas, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
As European colonialism was the dominant system of long-distance governance and resource appropriation for centuries, its economic legacies are diverse albeit understated. The existing research looks mainly at the effects of colonialism on a former colony's internal development. This study broadens that scope, looking at which factors are correlated with the presence or absence of a trade agreement with the European Union as well as the number of restrictions to free trade within them. This...
Show moreAs European colonialism was the dominant system of long-distance governance and resource appropriation for centuries, its economic legacies are diverse albeit understated. The existing research looks mainly at the effects of colonialism on a former colony's internal development. This study broadens that scope, looking at which factors are correlated with the presence or absence of a trade agreement with the European Union as well as the number of restrictions to free trade within them. This was carried out through four large-n regressions. The first compared current former- and non-colony trading partners. The second narrowed the scope by comparing only former colonies. The third measured the number of restrictions among all current European Union trade agreements. The fourth measured trade restrictions among former colonies. The results are that various identity, developmental and intuitional variables are correlated with the existence of trade deals and the number of restrictions they contain.
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Date Issued
2017
Identifier
CFH2000185, ucf:46014
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000185
EXAMINING THE EFFICACY OF FRENCH ASYLUM POLICIES AND REFUGEE INTEGRATION EFFECTS
Title
EXAMINING THE EFFICACY OF FRENCH ASYLUM POLICIES AND REFUGEE INTEGRATION EFFECTS.
Creator
Cordero, Roberto, Trinquet du Lys, Charlotte, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This Thesis investigates the French asylum seeker legal framework and refugee integration effects based on evidence in government data, non-governmental organizations, and external sources. Specifically, the policies of the protected rights of asylum seekers from history to modern day in relation to its efficiency and respect to human rights. Despite the development of past models through reforms, some shortcomings and discrepancies still exist that adversely affect asylum rights and...
Show moreThis Thesis investigates the French asylum seeker legal framework and refugee integration effects based on evidence in government data, non-governmental organizations, and external sources. Specifically, the policies of the protected rights of asylum seekers from history to modern day in relation to its efficiency and respect to human rights. Despite the development of past models through reforms, some shortcomings and discrepancies still exist that adversely affect asylum rights and responsibility sharing among EU nations. A potential system that benefits the applicant in addition to the host country is possible by implementing a model that takes into consideration asylum preferences, socioeconomics, and ethics. My project aims to encourage everyone to advocate for human rights, be familiar with the asylum policies of the European Union and to educate others on a topic that is affecting many on a global scale.
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Date Issued
2017
Identifier
CFH0000225, ucf:44681
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0000225
Supranational Organizations and Legitimacy: How the 2008 Global Economic Crisis has affected Public Opinion on Membership in the EU
Title
Supranational Organizations and Legitimacy: How the 2008 Global Economic Crisis has affected Public Opinion on Membership in the EU.
Creator
Vargas-Gonzalez, Briana, Kim, Myunghee, Kinsey, Barbara, Knuckey, Jonathan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This thesis examines public opinion towards membership in the EU, before and after the 2008 global economic crisis, in the newest member states to join the institution in 2004 (the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia) and 2007 (Bulgaria and Romania). Prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1989, socialist economies and communism maintained a citizenry that never experienced unemployment and that did not have a political...
Show moreThis thesis examines public opinion towards membership in the EU, before and after the 2008 global economic crisis, in the newest member states to join the institution in 2004 (the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia) and 2007 (Bulgaria and Romania). Prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1989, socialist economies and communism maintained a citizenry that never experienced unemployment and that did not have a political voice. Because free-market economic policies and democratic values are new to these countries, public opinion regarding membership in a supranational organization that promotes and fosters these ideals is important to study. Data from the Eurobarometer Public Opinion Survey spring waves 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the World Bank, and Eurostat are used to measure multiple indicators of support for membership in the EU. Ordered logistic regression and means comparison analyses are employed to measure the effect of national-level economic prospects, economic winner/loser status, political party power, age, national identity, gender, and individual-level political ideology on public opinion toward membership. The results demonstrate that multiple indicators affect attitudes toward membership and that a negative shift in public opinion is apparent following the 2008 global economic crisis. At the individual-level of analysis, economic winner/loser status and national identity are significant in the predicted direction in all five models. Age is a significant indicator of support only in 2008, 2009, and 2010. At the aggregate-level, means comparison analyses and t-test statistics indicate that GDP annual growth rates have a positive effect on attitudes toward membership in the EU. As GDP annual growth increases, approval of membership in the EU increases. Eurozone membership and unemployment rates indicate varied support for membership in the EU, and the results of means comparison analyses of political party power at the national-level are inconclusive and exploratory in nature. With all findings considered, future studies can further examine the implications and long-term effects of global financial crises on public opinion towards membership in various international economic organizations.
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Date Issued
2014
Identifier
CFE0005435, ucf:50414
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005435
LEADERS AND LAGGARDS: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION POLICY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE UNITED STATES
Title
LEADERS AND LAGGARDS: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION POLICY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE UNITED STATES.
Creator
Breuer, Astrid, Bledsoe, Robert, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
In 1997, both the United States (U.S.) and the European Union (EU) signed the Kyoto Protocol, the first legally binding international treaty with targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions. However, in 2001, the United States withdrew from the Protocol. This thesis seeks to understand some of the reasons why the European Union embraced the Kyoto Protocol while the United States did not. Using an overall framework of comparative politics, research is undertaken through three lenses. First...
Show moreIn 1997, both the United States (U.S.) and the European Union (EU) signed the Kyoto Protocol, the first legally binding international treaty with targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions. However, in 2001, the United States withdrew from the Protocol. This thesis seeks to understand some of the reasons why the European Union embraced the Kyoto Protocol while the United States did not. Using an overall framework of comparative politics, research is undertaken through three lenses. First, an overview of public opinion toward global warming and climate change in the U.S. and the EU analyzes potential differences or similarities from surveys carried out in each area. Second, I examine the prevailing political ideology in each polity, with emphasis on the period when climate change arose as a major global challenge. Finally, two case studies examine the theory of environmental federalism and how it might affect climate change policy action. I obtained the following results. Public opinion research has revealed that, on average, the American public is nearly as concerned with climate change as the European public. However, the overarching political ideology in the U.S. was one of conservatism, while that in Europe was one of social democracy, with left and center-left governments, contributing to a greater or lesser degree, and through indirect mechanisms, to the political stances adopted. Finally, the case of Germany shows that member state actions, such as the implementation of ambitious reductions targets, can still play a crucial role in leadership even in the presence of action at the central government level (EU). The California case study shows that state-level efforts can rise to fill a vacuum created by the absence of central government action. In the end, behavior of each polity regarding international climate agreements, particularly the Kyoto Protocol, cannot be explained in simple terms. The complexity of the issues revolving climate change require further interdisciplinary research and collaboration among multiple actors including scientists, policymakers, nongovernmental organizations, and other stakeholders.
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Date Issued
2011
Identifier
CFH0003840, ucf:44757
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0003840
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE IMMIGRATION POLICY IN ITALY, FRANCE, NORWAY, AND THE ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Title
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE IMMIGRATION POLICY IN ITALY, FRANCE, NORWAY, AND THE ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION.
Creator
Belmonte, Christina, Sadri, Houman, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This thesis analyzes the differing immigration policies and issues within Italy, France and Norway by looking at the factors of historical background, politics, and economics. Each of these factors plays a different role in shaping immigration. Italy with a shift to the center right politically although currently with a technocratic government in power; a large unstable economy; and also a society not quite standardized culturally yet becoming increasingly multi-ethnic with immigration, is...
Show moreThis thesis analyzes the differing immigration policies and issues within Italy, France and Norway by looking at the factors of historical background, politics, and economics. Each of these factors plays a different role in shaping immigration. Italy with a shift to the center right politically although currently with a technocratic government in power; a large unstable economy; and also a society not quite standardized culturally yet becoming increasingly multi-ethnic with immigration, is beginning to become stricter with immigration policy as it has been increasing in recent years. France with a newly left-wing socialist political party in power after a many years of a center right political dominance, a strong economy, and a very nationalist society also has a very strict immigration policy that many view inadequate for the integration of France. Lastly, Norway with a social-democratic labor led party in support of a strong welfare state; a strong economy; and a historical society of relative homogeneity that values equality and individuality, seeks immigration policy to maintain those values and encourage integration. Also, important to note is the role of the European Union which has an effect on all of these countries with many new initiatives to further the integration of immigration within the European Union as well as causing new migration flows with its expansion.
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Date Issued
2012
Identifier
CFH0004321, ucf:45029
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004321
PERSPECTIVES ON THE EUROZONE CRISIS: ASSESSING THE EFFECTS ON THE POLITICAL SYSTEMS OF GERMANY, FRANCE, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM
Title
PERSPECTIVES ON THE EUROZONE CRISIS: ASSESSING THE EFFECTS ON THE POLITICAL SYSTEMS OF GERMANY, FRANCE, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM.
Creator
Myerson, Caitlyn, Sadri, Houman, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
In 2010, the reverberations of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis had created a whole new crisis in Europe. Five Eurozone countries, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and Cyprus all had requested financial aid packages, unable to repay their national debt. The crisis is ongoing in Europe ever since, becoming the greatest challenge presented to the Eurozone since the monetary union was formed. The intent of this thesis is to explore the effects of the Eurozone crisis on the political systems of...
Show moreIn 2010, the reverberations of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis had created a whole new crisis in Europe. Five Eurozone countries, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and Cyprus all had requested financial aid packages, unable to repay their national debt. The crisis is ongoing in Europe ever since, becoming the greatest challenge presented to the Eurozone since the monetary union was formed. The intent of this thesis is to explore the effects of the Eurozone crisis on the political systems of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. This thesis will study the effects utilizing the most prominent perspectives in political economy: neoliberalism, neomercantilism, and structuralism. This thesis also attempts to explain the recent rise in Euroscepticism in each country, whilst seeking an explanation in the rise in three Eurosceptic parties: Alternative fur Deutschland from Germany, National Front from France, and the United Kingdom Independence Party. Lastly, this thesis conducts a comparative analysis to find the common elements in each case study, as well as the areas in which the studies diverge.
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Date Issued
2015
Identifier
CFH0004867, ucf:45477
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004867
BRAVE NEW WORLD RELOADED: ADVOCATING FOR BASIC CONSTITUTIONAL SEARCH PROTECTIONS TO APPLY TO CELL PHONES FROM EAVESDROPPING AND TRACKING BY THE GOVERNMENT AND CORPORATE ENTITIES
Title
BRAVE NEW WORLD RELOADED: ADVOCATING FOR BASIC CONSTITUTIONAL SEARCH PROTECTIONS TO APPLY TO CELL PHONES FROM EAVESDROPPING AND TRACKING BY THE GOVERNMENT AND CORPORATE ENTITIES.
Creator
Berrios-Ayala, Mark, Milon, Abby, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Imagine a world where someone's personal information is constantly compromised, where federal government entities AKA Big Brother always knows what anyone is Googling, who an individual is texting, and their emoticons on Twitter. Government entities have been doing this for years; they never cared if they were breaking the law or their moral compass of human dignity. Every day the Federal government blatantly siphons data with programs from the original ECHELON to the new series like PRISM...
Show moreImagine a world where someone's personal information is constantly compromised, where federal government entities AKA Big Brother always knows what anyone is Googling, who an individual is texting, and their emoticons on Twitter. Government entities have been doing this for years; they never cared if they were breaking the law or their moral compass of human dignity. Every day the Federal government blatantly siphons data with programs from the original ECHELON to the new series like PRISM and Xkeyscore so they can keep their tabs on issues that are none of their business; namely, the personal lives of millions. Our allies are taking note; some are learning our bad habits, from Government Communications Headquarters' (GCHQ) mass shadowing sharing plan to America's Russian inspiration, SORM. Some countries are following the United States' poster child pose of a Brave New World like order of global events. Others like Germany are showing their resolve in their disdain for the rise of tyranny. Soon, these new found surveillance troubles will test the resolve of the American Constitution and its nation's strong love and tradition of liberty. Courts are currently at work to resolve how current concepts of liberty and privacy apply to the current conditions facing the privacy of society. It remains to be determined how liberty will be affected as well; liberty for the United States of America, for the European Union, the Russian Federation and for the people of the World in regards to the extent of privacy in today's blurred privacy expectations.
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Date Issued
2014
Identifier
CFH0004537, ucf:45187
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004537