Important note: Due to file size constraints (exceeding 50 MB), we were unable to upload member_votes.csv and votes_extract.csv to the datasets/first_stage directory. To replicate the results, please:

• Download member_votes.csv from the following link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UmeMnNpG7KRlaJn3D7gTjVmsZAIIeLX8/view?usp=sharing and place it in the datasets/first_stage directory.

• Download votes_extract.csv from the following link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gMqWHkeLdueFfvTLSfSO80obuFZSe1OR/view?usp=sharing and place it in the datasets/first_stage directory.

---

Abstract

Brexit, a global pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and record inflation – few legislative bodies have faced such a cascade of shocks as the European Parliament did during its 9th term (2019–2024). Using the Bipartite Configuration Model and a set of network statistics, this dissertation explores how multi-polarization was characterized during this term by constructing and analyzing co-voting networks across all legislative subjects and within specific legislative subjects. The results contest binary polarization narratives inherited from US/UK scholarship by uncovering a multi-polar landscape. In many legislative subjects, including “Community policies”, “Internal market, single market”, and “External relations of the Union”, coalitions realign fluidly, forming several voting communities rather than a single left-right divide. Ideological affinity and group memberships, not nationality, emerge as the primary forces that bind or separate Members of the European Parliament, reaffirming the chamber’s transnational character. Two quantitative patterns stand out. First, the Greens/EFA and The Left display the highest intragroup cohesion, while governing groups – EPP, S&D, and Renew – often fracture into multiple, issue-driven alliances, suggesting declining centrist disciplines. Second, a distinct Eurosceptic versus Euroenthusiastic cleavage crystallizes in matters concerning the “State and evolution of the Union” subject, cutting across economic and social ideologies and hinting at a budding second dimension of parliamentary conflict. Beyond advancing methodological practice, this dissertation warns that legislative consensus in the European Parliament will hinge on navigating a fluid, multi-polar, issue-driven alliance landscape rather than building stable grand coalitions.