POL207Y1Y L0101
Politics in Europe
Themes
The course provides an introduction to politics in Europe and the process of European integration. It is organized into two sections. The first analyzes the driving forces of European integration from World War II to the first decade of the 21st century with a special focus on interests and national constellations of the ‘big three’ European states – the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. The second examines the unique political system of the European Union (the EU) and different areas of European politics. It considers the EU’s current performance in integrated and cooperative fields like currency union, foreign trade, neighborhood policy, foreign and security policy. This section also devotes attention to hotly debated issues in contemporary Europe, i.e. migration, financial crisis, renewable energy, Transatlantic burden sharing.
Texts
Examples of recommended reading (TBA)
Ian Bache/Stephen George/Simon Bulmer, Politics in the European Union (Oxford UP, 2011); Derek Beach/Colette Mazzucelli, Leadership in the Big Bangs of European Integration (Palgrave, 2007); Derek Beach, The Dynamics of European Integration: Why and When EU Institutions Matter (Palgrave, 2005); Martin Dedman, The Origins and Development of the European Union 1945-2008: A History of European Integration (Taylor & Francis, 2009); Desmond Dinan, Ever Closer Union: An Introduction to European Integration (Palgrave, 2010); Kenneth Dyson/Angelos Sepos, Which Europe? The Politics of Differentiated Integration (Palgrave, 2010); John Gillingham, European Integration, 1950-2003: Superstate or New Market Economy? (Cambridge UP, 2003); Tony Judt, Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 (Penguin, 2005)
David Marquand, End of the West: The Once and Future Europe (Princeton UP, 2011); Anand Menon, Europe: The State of the Union (Atlantic, 2008); Michael O'Neill, The Politics of European Integration: A Reader (Routledge, 1996); Brent F. Nelsen, The European Union: Readings on the Theory and Practice of European Integration (Lynne Rienner, 2003); Helen Wallace, Policy-Making in the European Union (Palgrave, 2010).
Format and Requirements
Lecture and tutorials; review paper and in-class tests (TBA)
Preparation
General history of Europe.
Prerequisites
1.0 POL credit or EUR 200Y1