2013 Fall SNU/GSIS Sun-Hee PARK
Political Development of European Union
(This course syllabus is a general plan for the course. Deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.)
Course description
This course provides students with an overview of the political institutions, the decision-making processes and the major policies of the European Union. From the beginner’s level with comprehensive and textbook to the advanced level with academic articles, this course examines various issues of political development of European Union. The course begins with an overview of the evolution of European integration and its basic institutional quartet – the Commission, the Council, the European Parliament and the Court of Justice. It then looks at the major European policies including regulatory policies, expenditure policies, macroeconomic policies, citizen policies and foreign policies. China being a key problem because of its dominance in EU external trade, this course will also cover major EU-China issues at the latter part of the course.
Course structure
In each class, we read one or two corresponding chapters of the textbook and corresponding articles. Each class is consisted in three parts:
1. Instructor’s lecture
2. Presentation of student (more than one presentation per session given by a student)
3. Discussion
Course requirements
Students do not need to have a previous experience on EU studies course. But this course requires a commitment to extensive reading, thoughtful class discussion, and weekly assignment which are presented in written form.
Every student will give more than one presentation during the semester.
Student participation is a crucial component of the final grade.
Evaluation criteria
Presentations will count for 15 percent of grade.
Class attendance and engaging in the discussion will be worth 10 percent.
Assignments will consist 25%.
Mid-Term Exam will consist 25 percent of grade
Final Exam(Open book) will consist 25 percent of grade
Presentation 15%
Attendance and class participation 10%
Assignments 25%
Mid-Term Exam 25%
Final Exam (Open book) 25%
How to prepare a Weekly Presentation
Presentation is for 20-30 minutes and will contain
- Main arguments of the given article in detail
- Comments
Fellow Students will raise questions and comments assuming the discussant role.
How to prepare a Weekly Assignment
Every student will prepare a 1 page assignment for the given article and will contain
- Main arguments of the given article
- Comments and questions including personal opinions and answer to such questions:
- “What did you find interesting in this article?”
- “What are the convincing arguments and weak points that the author fails to show?”
- Raise at least one question and include at the end of the assignment
The Assignment must be submitted to the instructor by mail each Tuesday until 9am before the corresponding lecture.
Required Textbook for the Class
Michelle Cini, ed., European Union Politics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009).Available at the University book store.
All materials other than the text book will be provided by Instructor in the form of PDF file.
Additional readings
Simon Hix & Bjorn Hoyland, Political System of the European Union (Palgrave, Macmillan, 2011).
Ian Bache & Stephen George, Politics in the European Union (Oxford University Press, 2006)
Desmond Dinan, Ever Closer Union: An Introduction to European Integration, 3rd edition
(London: Lynne Rienner, 2005)
______, Origins and Evolution of the European Union, (Oxford University Press, 2006)
Helen Wallace, William Wallace, and Mark Pollack Policy-Making in the European Union Fifth Edition,(Oxford University Press, 2005)
Elizabeth Bomberg and Alexander Stubb The European Union: How Does it Work? (Oxford University Press, 2003)
Useful Websites for EU Studies
The EU's official web-site: www.europa.eu.int
Centre for European Policy Studies (Brussels-based independent think-tank):
www.ceps.be
Europe 2020 (Paris-based think-tank, focused on serving 'the generations born since the
Treaty of Rome'): www.europe2020.org
L 'Observatoire Social Européen (Brussels-based research centre with a strong social policy interest, but also of general use): www.ose.be
European Integration On-line Papers www.eiop.or.at
The BBC’s website
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/europe/2003/inside_europe/default.stm
The EU Observer http://euobserver.com/
The European Voice http://www.european-voice.com/
European University Institute: www.iue.it
ARENA, Oslo: www.arena.uio.no
Useful Journals for EU Studies
Journal of Common Market Studies (JCMS)
European Foreign Affairs Review (EFAR)
European Union Politics (EUP)
European Law Journal (ELJ)
West European Politics (WEP)
European Journal of Political Science (EJPS)
Journal of European Public Policy (JEPP)
Comparative European Politics (CEP)
Journal of European Integration (JoEl)
International Organization (IO)
European Journal of International Relations (EJIR)
Course Schedule
9/3 Course Introduction
9/10 Historical Background of European Union and explanation of the major Treaties of European Union
9/17 European Commission (Cini’s book Ch. 8)
Morten Egeberg(2008), “European Government(s): Executive Politics in Transition?” West European Politics, Vol.31, Nos.1-2, pp. 235-257.
(Submission of Assignment1)
9/24 Council of the European Union(Cini’s book Ch.9)
Jonas Tallberg(2004), “The Power of the Presidency: Brokerage, Efficiency and Distribution in EU Negotiations,” Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 42 Issue 5, 999-1024.
Uwe Puetter(2012), “Europe’s deliberative intergovernmentalism: the role of the Council and European Council in EU economic governance, Journal of European Public Policy 19:2, pp. 161-178.
Full text of Tony Blair’s EU speech of 23rd June 2005.
(Submission of Assignment 2)
10/1 European Parliament (Cini’s book Chap. 10, Chap. 13)
Sara Hagemann and Bjorn Hoyland(2010), “Bicameral Politics in the European Union” Journal of Common Market Studies, vol. 48, no. 4, pp.811-833.
Henry Farrell & Adrienne Heritier(2003), “Formal and Informal Institutions Under Co-decision: Continuous Constitution-Building in Europe,” Governance, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 577-600.
Berthold Rittberger (2003), “The Creation and Empowerment of the European Parliament,” Journal of Common Market Studies, vol. 41, no. 2, pp.203-225.
(Submission of Assignment 3)
10/8 Judicial Politics (Cini’s book Ch.11)
Fabio Wasserfallen(2010), The judiciary as legislator? How the European Court of Justice shapes policy-making in the European Union, Journal of European Public Policy, vol. 17, no. 8, pp. 1128-1146.
Leonor Moral Soriano(2007), “Vertical juridical disputes over legal bases,” West European Politics, Vol 30, No.2, pp. 321-337.
(Submission of Assignment 4)
10/15 SNU Anniversary day (No class)
10/22 Mid Term Exam Period (no class)
10/29 Regulation of the Single Market & Expenditure Policies (Ch. 16 & 21)
Sophie Meunier & Kalypso Nicolaidis(2006), “ The European Union as a conflicted Trade Power,” Journal of European Public Policy, 13:6, pp. 906-925. (Park Arang)
Philipp Genschel and Markus Jachtenfuchs(2010), “ The fiscal anatomy of a regulatory polity: tax policy and multilevel governance in the EU, Transtate Working paper no. 114.
(Submission of Assignment 5)
11/5 Economic and Monetary Union (Ch.20)
Eichengreen, Barry (2012), “European Monetary Integration with Benefit of Hindsight,” Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol., 50, NoS1, pp. 123-136.
Andrew Hughes Hallett andSvend E. Hougaard Jensen (2012), “ Fiscal governance in the euro area: institutions vs. rules, Journal of European Public Policy, Vol. 19, no. 5, pp. 646-664.
Aneta Spendzharova (2012), “Is more Brussels the solution?” New European Union Member States’ Preferences about the European Financial Architecture, Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol., 50, No. 2, pp. 315-334.
(Submission of Assignment 6)
11/12 Interior Policies (Ch.19, Part 3)
V. Guiraudon(2000), “A reappraisal of the State Sovereignty debate: The case of Migration control”, Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 33, no.2, pp. 163-195.
Maria Fletcher(2009), “Schengen, The European Court of Justice and Flexibility Under the Lisbon Treaty: Balancing the United Kingdom’s ‘Ins’ and ‘Outs’,” European Constitutional Law Review, Vol.5, pp. 71-98.
(Submission of Assignment 7)
11/19 External Political Relations – the EU’s Foreign, Security and Defense Policies (Ch.15, Part 3)
Paul James Cardwell (2011), ‘Mapping out Democracy Promotion in the EU’s External Relations’ European Foreign Affairs Review 16, 21-40.
Isabel Ferreira Nunes (2011), “Civilian, Normative, and Ethical Power Europe: Role Claims and EU Discourses,” European Foreign Affairs Review 16, 1-20.
11/26 Foreign Policies (Ch. 14 Part 3)
Kamil Zwolski(2011), “The External Dimension of the EU’s Non-proliferation Policy: Overcoming Inter-institutional Competition,” ” European Foreign Affairs Review, Vol.16, pp. 325-340..
Spyros Economides & James Ker-Lindsay (2010), “Forging EU Foreign Policy Unity from Diversity: The ‘Unique Case’ of the Kosovo Status Talks,” European Foreign Affairs Review, Vol.15, pp. 495-510..
(Submission of Assignment 8)
12/2 EU relations with China
Antoine Sautenet(2007), “The Current status and Prospects of the ‘Strategic partnership’ between the EU and China: Towards the Conclusion of a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, European Law Journal, Vol. 13, no. 6.
“Trade dispute over Textiles and Footwear” (Ref. http://ec.europa.eu/trade/creating-opportunities/economic-sectors/industrial-goods/textiles-and-footwear/)
(Submission of Assignment 9 only under the theme of “Trade dispute over Textiles and Footwear”)
12/9 Final Exam (Open Book)