CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2009
| Author | McCrank, Colleen Helen Maria |
|---|---|
| Title | Measuring Socialisation: An Empirical Analysis of the 'Europeanisation' of Neutral Identities and Interests - Case Study: Austria |
| Summary | In the late 1990s, many scholars recognised that international relations theory had taken a decidedly constructivist turn. Debates between the traditional IR theories of realism and liberalism were no longer as effective or relevant in discussing and explaining world politics. In turn, constructivist scholars have sought to move beyond the individualism inherent in the more mainstream IR theories and to regard the relationship between structure and agency in international relations as mutual constitutive. Jeffrey Checkel, a key constructivist scholar, stresses that it is clear that institutions can socialize, but the challenge remains in specifying when, under what conditions and through what mechanisms socialisation occurs. This thesis will engage in a methodologically and empirically stringent analysis that goes beyond measuring whether socialisation has taken place with respect to the identities and interests of European neutral states in the context of the European Union. It is the goal of this research to determine when, under what conditions, and through what mechanisms such socialisation has occurred. In order to provide a more coherent and concise analysis, focus will be limited to a specific case study on Austrian neutrality; the hopeful implication being that such research can then be applied more widely to understand socialisation in other European neutral states, as well as the broader process of socialisation. Two levels of analysis will be examined: socialisation at both the elite and grassroots levels. This will illustrate that there has been a disconnect between socialisation at the grassroots level and that at the elite level. |
| Supervisor | Xymena Kurowska |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2009/mccrank_colleen.pdf |
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