ASTK18239U Jean Monnet: The Politics of the European Union – Structures and processes of the EU

Volume 2020/2021
Education

!!NOTICE: This course will be on campus!!

 

Bachelor student (2017 programme curriculum): 7.5 ECTS

Master student: 7.5 ECTS

 

Notice: It is only possible to enroll for one course having a 3-day compulsory written take-home assignment exam due to coincident exam periods.

Content

The Jean Monnet Program is aimed at both Danish and international students with a particular interest in European Politics. The program consists of two parts: Jean Monnet Lectures and Jean Monnet Workshops. The weekly lectures present a wide range of perspectives on the European Union and are given by prominent practitioners, academics and journalists within the field. The lectures are open to everyone and it is possible to obtain a certificate of attendance. For students wishing to sit exams at the graduate level, weekly workshops are provided. In the workshops, the topics and themes of the lectures are elaborated upon in discussions and student presentations based on textbooks and articles.

 

The first part of the course will give a general introduction to the study of the European Union including the central theories applied in the field. Key questions include the following: What should the focus be when we study the European Union and how should we analyse significant developments? How can we theorize and analyze the EU as a political system, including its institutions and decision-making processes? The second part of the course will deal with the current challenges and changes in the EU related to the Lisbon Treaty. How will these elements influence the structures and processes of the present EU? How can the effects of these be conceptualized theoretically? The third part of the course will consider other challenges and changes within the EU: namely, specific policy areas (for example, agricultural policy); relations between the different institutions of the Union and between the institutions and the member states; processes of Europeanisation in individual member states.

Learning Outcome

Knowledge:

  • Present the main theoretical approaches for analysing the development of the EU (classical integration theories, newer integration theories)
  • Understand Hix and Høyland’s approach to the EU as a political system including the role of the institutions
  • Put forward the general approaches to analysing Europeanisation
  • Identify current challenges to and different national views on the European Union

 

Skills:

  • Be able to apply the main theoretical approaches to the development of the EU in analyses of central events in European politics
  • Be able to analyse EU decision-making in different policy-areas drawing on the understanding of the EU as a political system and relevant literature (in particular Hix og Høyland)
  • Be able to give examples of Europeanization from different policy areas and national contexts on the basis of the relevant literature

 

Competences:

  • Ability to interpret current and prospective issues in EU politics by drawing on the above theoretical tools and concepts and empirical knowledge
  • Awareness of the importance of the theoretical and conceptual point of departure for the analytical conclusions reached

Bulmer, Simon and Lequesne, Christian (eds.) (2013) The Member States of the European Union. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

 

Cini, Michelle and Pérez-Solórzana  Borragán (eds.) (2019) European Union Politics, Oxford, Oxford University Press

 

Hix, Simon and Bjørn Høyland, (2011) The Political System of the European Union. Palgrave Macmillan

The weekly lectures present a wide range of perspectives on the developments within the European Union and are given by prominent practitioners and academics within the field. The weekly lectures are open to all interested and it is possible to obtain a certificate of attendance. For students wishing to sit exams at the graduate level, weekly workshops are also offered. These take place before the lectures. In the workshops, the topics and themes of the lectures are elaborated upon in discussions and student presentations based on textbooks and articles.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Instruction
  • 28
  • Total
  • 28
Feedback by final exam (In addition to the grade)
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
3-day compulsory written take-home assignment
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Re-exam

- For the semester in which the course takes place: 3-day compulsory written take-home assignment

- For the following semesters: Free written assignment

Criteria for exam assesment
  • Grade 12 is given for an outstanding performance: the student lives up to the course's goal description in an independent and convincing manner with no or few and minor shortcomings
  • Grade 7 is given for a good performance: the student is confidently able to live up to the goal description, albeit with several shortcomings
  • Grade 02 is given for an adequate performance: the minimum acceptable performance in which the student is only able to live up to the goal description in an insecure and incomplete manner