European Union Politics and Policies: Theories and Applications

general courses

Classroom

This course analyses European Union politics and its selected policies from the perspective of

major theoretical approaches. After setting up a general epistemological and methodological

foundations, typical to social sciences it then focuses on European Union. In doing so it attempts

to offer a much needed link between academic theories and everyday practical problems that

students of European Integration and European Union face in their endeavours to understand and

explain the dynamics of European politics or various EU policies.

This series of seminars aims at offering participants a clear overview of selected methodological

and theoretical foundations of the European integration processes from an academic perspective.

By introducing selected theoretical approaches to European integration, with an emphasis on

intergovernmentalism, this series of seminars focuses mainly on the decision-making and policymaking process rather than the nature of the European integration or the European Union. The

lecturer will present the participants with his very own take on the European Union and

European politics, based on years of research into the EU affairs, summarised by the proposed

theory of Principled Intergovernmentalism.

1. HOFFMANN Stanley (1966), Obstinate or Obsolete? The Fate of the Nation-State and

the Case of Western Europe, “Daedalus”, vol. 95, no. 3.

2. KLEINE Mareike, POLLACK Mark (2018), Liberal Intergovernmentalism and Its

Critics, “Journal of Common Market Studies”, vol. 56. no. 7.

3. MORAVCSIK Andrew (1993), Preferences and Power in the European Community: A

Liberal Intergovernmentalism Approach, “Journal of Common Market Studies”, vol. 31,

no 4.

4. PECH Laurent, SCHEPPELE Kim Lane (2017), Illiberalism Within: Rule of Law

Backsliding in the EU’, “Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies”, vol. 19.

5. ROSAMOND, Ben, (2000), Theories of European Integration, Palgrave.

6. SCHIMMELFENNIG Frank, THOMAS Daniel C. (2008), Normative Institutionalism

and EU Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, “UCD Dublin European Institute”,

Working Paper 08-12, https://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/WP_08-

12_Schimmelfennig_and_Thomas.pdf (8.02.2021).

7. WIENER Antje, BÖRZEL Tanja A., RISSE Thomas (2018), European integration

theory (Third ed.), Oxford University Press

Course learning objectives

Students who pass this course will be able to:

1. Understand the concept of European Politics

2. Assess theoretical literature on European Integration and European Union

3. Explain how decisions are made within European Union

4. Analyze the role of various EU institutions

5. Critically evaluate arguments made by leading scholars in the field

6. Enhance their research, writing and analytical skills by completing EU politics and its

policies

You are required to submit two written assignments for this course. The first assignment is an

exercise in critical analysis of selected course readings. The second assignment is a research

essay that assesses your ability to apply theories to help explain some aspect of European Union

politics or a policy brief that addresses a strategic challenge facing the EU or one of its member

states