Same same but different: National Influences on Volt´s First Election Campaign

Johanna KLEIN, B.A. MA

Master's thesis

National Influences on Volt´s First Election Campaign

Abstract:

The elections of the European Parliament represent the only direct democratic legitimation of the European Union. Nevertheless, the legal construction of those elections, mainly national discourses, weak euro parties, a lack of European identity and a low voter turnout lead to isolated elections per member state. The lack of a real European or supranational component is often criticised and suggestions for introducing transnational lists or pan-European solutions are increasing. In 2019, the new pan-European party Volt entered the transnational arena of European politics and took part in the elections for the European Parliament, referring to one manifesto in all participating member states. This was a novum. The intention of this Master Thesis is to analyse the campaigns of Volt in four different member states in order to analyse whether and to what extent national factors influenced the campaigns. It thus aims at closing a research gap about pan-European and transnational parties, as Volt was not part of the scientific discourse yet. The study consists of an analysis of Volt?s pan-European manifesto and the individual country campaigns. The results of the qualitative content analysis present that Volt?s campaigns, although based on one supranational manifesto, differentiated from each other because of national economic, cultural and historical factors.

Abstract:

The elections of the European Parliament represent the only direct democratic legitimation of the European Union. Nevertheless, the legal construction of those elections, mainly national discourses, weak euro parties, a lack of European identity and a low voter turnout lead to isolated elections per member state. The lack of a real European or supranational component is often criticised and suggestions for introducing transnational lists or pan-European solutions are increasing. In 2019, the new pan-European party Volt entered the transnational arena of European politics and took part in the elections for the European Parliament, referring to one manifesto in all participating member states. This was a novum. The intention of this Master Thesis is to analyse the campaigns of Volt in four different member states in order to analyse whether and to what extent national factors influenced the campaigns. It thus aims at closing a research gap about pan-European and transnational parties, as Volt was not part of the scientific discourse yet. The study consists of an analysis of Volt?s pan-European manifesto and the individual country campaigns. The results of the qualitative content analysis present that Volt?s campaigns, although based on one supranational manifesto, differentiated from each other because of national economic, cultural and historical factors.

Keywords

European Union, Elections of the European Parliament, Transnational Party Systems, Salience Theory, Campaigning

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 14. 9. 2020

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 14. 9. 2020
• Supervisor: JUDr. Mag. iur. Michal Malacka, Ph.D., MBA

Palacký University Olomouc

Faculty of Law

Master programme / field:
Political Science / European Studies Focusing on European Law