Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The Exit Impact on the Remaining Members: A comparative case study on how the Brexit referendum did affect the sense of a European identity in four of the EU member states

Wallin, Mari LU (2022) STVM23 20221
Department of Political Science
Abstract
This thesis seeks to investigate how the EU member states react to the occurrence of an internal crisis within the EU. More specifically, how a European identity gets either strengthened or weakened by experiencing challenges. When addressing a European identity, this thesis works with the term of “belonging”, an attachment to something greater when defining the concept of European identity. Through the lens of ontological security, this study aims to answer the research question: Did the Brexit referendum affect the sense of a European identity in the EU member states, and if so, how did this play out in the different member states? By conducting a comparative analysis together with a discourse analysis over the member states of France,... (More)
This thesis seeks to investigate how the EU member states react to the occurrence of an internal crisis within the EU. More specifically, how a European identity gets either strengthened or weakened by experiencing challenges. When addressing a European identity, this thesis works with the term of “belonging”, an attachment to something greater when defining the concept of European identity. Through the lens of ontological security, this study aims to answer the research question: Did the Brexit referendum affect the sense of a European identity in the EU member states, and if so, how did this play out in the different member states? By conducting a comparative analysis together with a discourse analysis over the member states of France, Poland, Portugal and Sweden, the rhetorical changes towards the EU are investigated. The findings show that a sense of a European identity has in fact increased in all four cases, even if this presents itself in various ways in the member states. However, it is difficult to argue that the Brexit referendum was the solely variable behind this outcome, but one could claim it to be a catalyst for the member states to move closer to a belonging within the EU. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Wallin, Mari LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVM23 20221
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Brexit referendum, crisis, European identity, France, member states, Poland, Portugal, ontological security, Sweden
language
English
id
9080168
date added to LUP
2022-07-04 09:20:24
date last changed
2022-07-04 09:20:24
@misc{9080168,
  abstract     = {{This thesis seeks to investigate how the EU member states react to the occurrence of an internal crisis within the EU. More specifically, how a European identity gets either strengthened or weakened by experiencing challenges. When addressing a European identity, this thesis works with the term of “belonging”, an attachment to something greater when defining the concept of European identity. Through the lens of ontological security, this study aims to answer the research question: Did the Brexit referendum affect the sense of a European identity in the EU member states, and if so, how did this play out in the different member states? By conducting a comparative analysis together with a discourse analysis over the member states of France, Poland, Portugal and Sweden, the rhetorical changes towards the EU are investigated. The findings show that a sense of a European identity has in fact increased in all four cases, even if this presents itself in various ways in the member states. However, it is difficult to argue that the Brexit referendum was the solely variable behind this outcome, but one could claim it to be a catalyst for the member states to move closer to a belonging within the EU.}},
  author       = {{Wallin, Mari}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Exit Impact on the Remaining Members: A comparative case study on how the Brexit referendum did affect the sense of a European identity in four of the EU member states}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}