Topic of thesis: Europeanization of Political Parties in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine: Implications for EU’s Normative Power.
Abstract: Europeanization has become a household name in political science research. Yet, the niche of political party Europeanization, particularly in non-EU and non-candidate countries, is often overlooked. Empirically, the purpose of this research is to identify the extent of political party Europeanization in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, while providing a theoretical explanation for how this process affects the European integration ambitions of these countries, to finally explore the implications for EU’s normative power. Political party Europeanization is conceptualized by means of addressing programmatic change, relations beyond the national political system, and patterns of party competition, including coalition behavior. The degree of Europeanization is then compared against a country’s democracy, human rights, anti-corruption and other governance rankings, taken as proxies for the Copenhagen criteria, in order to determine if political Europeanization is matched by significant changes at the policy level. The study will attempt to explain if and how these changes advance a country’s prospects of European integration.  It will raise important questions about the process of socialization and lesson learning in the absence of EU membership driven conditionality in EU’s Eastern Neighborhood, particularly in the three most pro-European countries in the Eastern Partnership Program. The study will question the effectiveness of good governance assistance and EU’s normative power in a highly contested geopolitical environment.
Research interests: Political Europeanization, Political Socialization, European Neighborhood, Eastern Partnership, EU-Russia Geopolitical Competition, EU’s Normative Power.
Graduated from: University of York, Central European University, Moldova State University.
Degrees obtained:  University of York and Central European University: MA in (European) Public Policy;   Moldova State University: MA in American Studies; Moldova State University: BA in International Relations.
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