Kristine Graneng

About

Kristine is a PhD candidate with the European Studies programme. Her main research interests are public debates and political communication on European integration. In her PhD project, she explores discursive issue-linkages of migration and European integration in the context of EU referendums.

Academic Background

Research Assistant, Reconnect and TRUST Research Group
Master in European Studies, NTNU
Erasmus exchange at LMU, Munich
Bachelor in European Studies with Foreign Languages (English), NTNU
One-year programme in German, NTNU

Research

PhD project

How is the connection between attitudes towards migration and European integration established?

Working title: Migration sentiments and attitudes towards European integration: Migration discourses in EU referenda

In European politics euroscepticism and negative attitudes towards immigration often go hand in hand. Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, Alternative für Deutschland in Germany and UKIP in the UK are all examples of this. Why has this connection become so strong? On the other hand, a corresponding connection between positive attitudes towards the EU and immigration does not seem to be as evident.

In my PhD project I set out to explore what contributes to create linkages between attitudes towards the EU and towards migration. To better understand why migration, particularly immigration, has become so important in debates on issues related to the European Union in recent years I ask: How is migration framed within the context of EU issues and who contributes in establishing these frames? My project aims to answer these questions by studying three cases: the Brexit referendum in 2016, the Danish referendum om the justice and home affairs opt-out in 2015 and the two Irish referenda on the Lisbon Treaty in 2008 and 2009.

Supervisors: Pieter de Wilde and Astrid Rasch