EU Politics (INTS 2320)
Here follows the on-line version of the syllabus. You can download a PDF version here.
I. Course Overview
This course examines institutions, political issues and policies of the European Union. The first part of the course will focus on the historical development of the EU, including its expansion, and its institutions. The second part of the course will focus on selected political issues and the policies of the EU that deal with them. Amongst those topics will be welfare, labor markets, immigration, relationships with the USA and enlargement of the Union.
II. Requirements
This is an international affairs course that places a heavy emphasis on students’ participation and writing. Class attendance is strongly recommended. NOTE: repeated absence (more than 10%) may result in a low class participation grade. Students are therefore expected to attend all class sessions and complete the assigned readings prior to class.
The final grade is based on participation, on a mid-term exam, a final project and a final exam; the grade is determined as follows:
- Class participation: 20%. This grade will be determined by the students’ attendance and participation in the discussion sections. During discussion sessions, students will be called randomly to answer questions of relevance to the class topics. Students should come prepared to discussion sessions with a few questions on the week readings and/or lectures. I strongly encourage every student to participate actively in class; however, should you feel uncomfortable about speaking in front of your fellow classmates, you can email me questions and comments before each class. That will count toward your participation grade in the same way as in-class interaction.
- Midterm Exam: 20%. The midterm exam will test students on their knowledge of the material covered in first part of the semester. It will have both a multiple-choice section and an essay/short answer section.
- Policy Brief: 30%. This assignment will test students on their ability to use the theoretical knowledge they acquired in a practical way. Students will produce a brief on a topic of their choice amongst the ones proposed in class or will propose a topic to the instructor. Proposals are due in electronic format by February 3th. The purpose of the brief is to inform a local political leader on the issue(s) at stake and to propose policy recommendations based on the students’ knowledge. The brief’s length should be between 10 and 12 double-spaced pages (6-8 single-spaced). Further details on the brief’s format will be provided in class. The brief is due in class on Thursday, February 26th. Students are required to deliver BOTH an electronic AND a hard copy of their briefs. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in a 10% grade reduction. The late delivery policy is as follows: no brief will be accepted after 6:00pm of the day of the deadline. Missing the deadline will result in a zero in the assignment grade.
- Final Exam: 20%. The final exam will test students on their knowledge of the material covered in the last parts of the semester. It will have both a multiple-choice section and an essay/short answer section.
III. Readings
Assigned readings are listed in the course schedule.
Articles will be available on line on DU Blackboard: blackboard.du.edu. Please log into DU Blackboard using your DU Passkey and password. Where the articles are freely available over the Internet, a link will be provided, otherwise students will be able to access files directly on Blackboard.
IV. Schedule
Dates to Remember:
- Tuesday, January 20: In-Class Midterm Exam
- Tuesday, February 3: Policy Brief proposal deadline
- Thursday, February 26: Policy Brief Due in Class
- Tuesday, March 10: Last day of class
- Thursday, March 12: Final Exam
Part I: EU Institutions
Week #1: Introduction
& History
Tue. Jan. 6
Class
description & Introduction to topics
No readings
Thu. Jan. 8
History: the
development of the European Union
Class Notes
/ Presentation
Week #2: Treaties &
Institutions
Tue. Jan. 13 and Thu. Jan. 15
EU
Institutions: Commission, Council, Parliament, Court
Book
chapter and notes: available on Blackboard
Week #3: EU: Why?
Tue. Jan. 20 and Thu. Jan. 22
Sources of
European Integration
Eilstrup-Sangiovanni, Mette, and Daniel
Verdier. “European Integration as a Solution to War.”
European Journal of International Relations 11, no. 1
(March 1, 2005): 99-135.
Rücker, Martin. “European Integration Unplugged..” Foreign
Policy, no. 144 (September 2004): 60-65.
Sweet, A. S., and W. Sandholtz. “European integration and
supranational governance.” Journal of European Public
Policy 4, no. 3 (1997): 297-317.
Risse, Thomas. “Neofunctionalism,
European identity, and the puzzles of European
integration..” Journal of European Public Policy 12, no. 2
(April 2005): 291-309.
Week #4: Legitimacy
Issues
Tue. Jan. 27
States’
Interest and Power
Vachudova,
M. A., and A. Moravcsik. “National Interests state Power
and EU Enlargement.” East European Politics and Societies
17, no. 1 (2003): 42-57.
Legitimacy
of supra-national institutions
Heisenberg,
D., and A. Richmond. “Supranational institution-building in
the European Union: a comparison of the European Court of
Justice and the European Central Bank.” Journal of European
Public Policy 9, no. 2 (2002): 201-218.
Thu. Jan. 29
In-class
Midterm
Part II: Policy Issues
Week #5: The European Monetary Union
Tue. Feb. 3 – Policy Brief
proposals deadline
Introduction
Frieden,
Jeffry. “The euro: Who wins? Who loses?.” Foreign Policy,
no. 112 (Fall 1998): 24.
Thu. Feb. 5
Assessment:
the Euro ten years after
Aghion, P.,
M. Belka, L. Heikensten, J. Pisani-Ferry, A. Sapir, and J.
von Hagen. “Coming of age: Report on the euro area.”
BRUEGEL Blueprint 4 (2008).
Week #6: The European Social Model
Tue. Feb. 10
What Social
Model?
Mullally,
L., "The social failure of the European Social Model", in
"Beyond the European Social Model", OpenEurope, 2006.
(Link)
Thu. Feb. 12
The Future
of Social Europe
Sapir, A.,
"Globalisation and the reform of the European Social
Model", Bruegel Policy Brief, November 2005 (Link).
De Vlieghere, M., "The Myth of the Scandinavian Model", in
"Beyond the European Social Model", OpenEurope, 2006 (Link)
Week #7: Migration
Tue. Feb. 17
Immigration
Trends
von
Weizsäcker, Jacob. “Divisions of labour: rethinking
Europe’s migration policy.” BRUEGEL Blueprint 6 (2008).
von Weizsäcker, Jacob. “Welcome to Europe.” Bruegel Policy
Brief 2006 3 (2006).
Thu. Feb. 19
Integration
& Social Tension
"A Muslim
in Europe?", The Atlantic Monthly, January/February 2005.
Leiken, R., "Europe's Angry Muslims", Foreign Affairs,
July/August 2005.
Ross, L., "Europe's Divided Muslims", Foreign Affairs,
January/February 2006
Savage, Timothy M. “Europe and Islam: Crescent Waxing,
Cultures Clashing.” Washington Quarterly 27, no. 3 (July 1,
2004): 25-50.
Week #8: Enlargement: Turkey and the EU
Tue. Feb. 24
Overview
Phillips,
David L., “Turkey's Dreams of Accession”, Foreign Affairs,
September/October 2004
EU-Turkey Relations on EUrActiv.com, http://www.euractiv.com/en/enlargement/eu-turkey-relations/article-129678
EU Commission Overview: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/turkey/index_en.htm
Thu. Feb. 26 - Policy Brief due in
class
Current Situation
BBC:
“Analysis: EU views on Turkish bid”, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4298408.stm
EU Commission, “Turkey 2006 Progress Report”,
8.11.2006, http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2006/Nov/tr_sec_1390_en.pdf
(Selected Parts)
The Economist, “The blackballers' club; Turkey and Europe.
(European Union not keen on joining Turkey as a
member”, Dec 16, 2006
Week #9: Transatlantic Relations
Tue. Mar. 3
Divided?
Kagan, R.,
"Power and Weakness", Policy Review N. 113 (June 2002)
(Link).
Mead, W. R., "The Case against Europe" The Atlantic
Monthly, April 2002
Thu. Mar. 5
United?
Hendrickson, D., "Of Power and
Providence", Policy Review N. 135 (February 2006) (Link)
Valasek, Tomas. “What Europe wants from President Obama.”
CER Policy Brief (November 2008).
Week #10: Wrap-up
Tue. Mar. 10
Final
discussion and wrap-up
Thu. Mar.
12
Final Exam