Award for Best Master's Thesis in European Studies Goes to Axel Lindberg
Axel Lindberg receives this year’s award for the best master’s thesis in European Studies for his thesis on loyalty, integration and cohesion within the EU. The thesis examines how the Union’s ability to act cohesively in its external relations is affected by differences in the degree of integration among its member states.
The Centre for European Research (CERGU) is delighted to announce the winner of this year’s Rutger Lindahl Award for best master’s thesis in European Studies! We received many excellent submissions and the competition was tough, but the prize goes to Axel Lindberg for his thesis “Loyalty in a Differentiated Union: Rethinking Cohesion in the European Union’s External Action.”
The thesis addresses a highly topical European and global challenge: how the EU and its Member States act collectively in a multilateral system under growing geopolitical pressure. This is examined through the politically significant field of food security at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The thesis analyses Nordic cooperation in this context and investigates how differentiated cooperation affects the Nordic EU Member States’ loyalty to and cohesion within the European Union.
The thesis demonstrates considerable originality and analytical independence. Axel develops an analytical framework that brings together research on differentiated integration and loyalty to examine both the internal and external dimensions of European cooperation. The empirical analysis draws on a broad and well-balanced range of sources, including semi-structured interviews with practitioners and a quantitative analysis of Nordic and EU statements in the FAO Council.
The findings provide important insights into Nordic coherence and, more broadly, the political role of the EU. In particular, the thesis shows how Nordic cooperation can reinforce rather than undermine European cohesion. At the same time, it highlights an important distinction between loyalty to intergovernmental cooperation within the EU and loyalty to the Union’s supranational institutions.
CERGU Director Professor Andrea Spehar presented the award. Warm congratulations to Axel on this well-deserved recognition!