Suchergebnisse

The proliferation of European Union (EU) institutions has served, in part, to change the nature of identity in Europe. Not only do people identify with their national state, but they also increasingly identify themselves as European. The structure of the EU currently falls between the positions of intergovernmentalism and supranationalism, and this debate helps to explain the middle ground between concurrent identifications with the national state and also with the continent. This paper specifically examines statements made by three nationalist parties in Western Europe including Vlaams Belang (VB) in Belgium, Front National (FN) in France, and the Freedom Party (FPO) of Austria. All three nationalist parties have made negative statements about the potential accession of Turkey into the EU. Since domestic politics still contributes to EU decision making processes, the role of nationalist parties is important because each of these parties often receives the support of 10-15 percent of the electorate. In order to maximize votes, other mainstream parties often adopt some of the nationalist rhetoric and, unwittingly, endorse the platforms of these nationalist parties. In all three cases, dissenting opinions of Turkey's EU accession bid also correlate to notions of identity encompassing both national and European identity. Each nationalist party argues that Turkey does not fit into Europe culturally and therefore should not be able to join the EU. This position is often co-opted by mainstream parties and serves as one factor that has contributed to Turkey's difficult road to EU accession.

The proliferation of nationalist political parties in the developed world continues to challenge the integrity of some of the world's most stable democracies. In Canada and Belgium, both countries have experienced the challenge of nationalist parties in the province of Quebec and region of Flanders respectively. However, in both cases, there are now at least two nationalist political parties that both support the idea of independence for both Quebec and Flanders. This nationalist party "diffusion" further challenges the integrity of the Canadian and Belgian states. The Parti Quebecois has served as the main sponsor of nationalism in the province of Quebec. However, another nationalist party, Quebec solidaire, has also recently begun to win support in the National Assembly. Vlaams Belang (VB) has played a similar role in trying to obtain independence for Flanders. However, Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA) also recently adopted the platform of independence and recently won the most votes (and seats) in the 2010 Belgian general election. This diffusion of nationalist parties has caused strains on the respective governments of Canada and Belgium respectively. In both cases this has not yet resulted in secession or the dissolution of the state, but challenges remain to the unity of both states.

There is little question that higher education within the United States is largely perceived as a liberal organ. Indeed, within both the professorate and the student body, the liberal demographic has maintained a steady and often dramatic majority. A modest liberalization effect has been found among students across the nation, and those within the social sciences have exhibited greater-than-average liberal-to-conservative ratios. Stemming from both stereotypes and general data, many politically conservative affiliates have trumpeted their political ideologues as the alienated, maligned, and even persecuted minority. From accusations of liberal indoctrination to the dismissal of opposing views, many conservatives have heatedly spoken against the nationwide institution of higher learning. Naturally, like-individuals associate with one another, and quite predictably, collegiate learning has revealed an at times compact conservative minority within specific colleges and universities, even to the point of reaching a prominent majority within these few institutions. It was hypothesized that Cedarville University, consistent with data from 2004, would reveal a strong conservative majority. While results upon polling were relatively consistent with this hypothesis, the demographic spread was unexpectedly consistent with results revealed in the 2004 original study. Moreover, the recent data revealed several statistically significant trends that prompted multiple hypotheses. A biannual survey is encouraged for future research in order to comprehensively examine the political affiliation trends of a unique student body.