“European Polity and Politics”
| Instructor: | Professor Dr. Zhou Hong，Dr. Zhang Jun Department of European Studies, |
| Course: | European Polity and Politics |
| Date: | Tuesday, 1.00 p.m. – 5.00 p.m. (September to December, 2006) Monday 1.00 p.m. – 5.00 p.m. (September to December) |
| Prerequisites: | Introduction to Politics |
| Level: | MA and Ph.D. Students |
| Credits: | 3 |
| Course Syllabus: The textbook shall stimulate the interest of students in exploring the mechanisms of international cooperation, of balancing common and competing interests between states, societies and interest groups. It shall teach them to look in a systematic way for theoretical explanations and empirical data that may support or undermine preliminary assumptions. By presenting a choice of competing analytical frameworks, it shall broaden their knowledge on theory and methodology. The main aim is to strengthen the students’ analytical capabilities so that they will be able to transfer the knowledge gained in this course to other fields of comparative government and international relations. Course Content: The course gives an introduction to the process of European integration and the functioning of the European Union of today. It describes and explains (1) the driving forces of European integration, (2) the nature of the EU as a political system above the nation-state and (3) the characteristic features of European governance. The focus is on institutions and the political decision-making process of the EU, not on particular policies. Though main attention is paid to the European Union as such, two further dimensions are added: One is the transformation of the national systems of governance under the impact of the EU, the other is the EU’s setting in the international environment. The course provides information on the EU and it gives an introduction into social science research on the EU. The course shall offer 4 teaching modules, each of which corresponds to 3 to 5 chapters in the textbook (for a 15-weeks course): 1. The dynamics of European economic integration The first three weeks will take a look back into the history of West-European integration in order to demonstrate the explanatory power of competing integration theories. The teaching objective is to explicate post-war European integration as a remarkable turning point in European history and to provide theoretical knowledge for its understanding. The puzzle to be explained is why former enemies joined forces and, after a devastating war, managed to cooperate for the sake of welfare and peace. “Neo-Functionalism” became the most prominent theory to explain the driving force of West-European integration. To better judge this theoretical explication, emphasise will be put on the course of economic integration and how it contributed to the deepening and widening of the EC system. The importance of theoretical thinking will be underlined by demonstrating that economic theories have been guiding posts for the making of European integration. A profound history of European regional integration after World War II will be presented in an extra course. 1.1. European integration: A turning point in European history (week 1) - Discussion of three different approaches explaining European integration: (1) actor-centred approach (2) structuralist approach and Neo-Realism (3) functionalist approach 1.2. Steps and leaps in European economic integration (week 2) - Explanation of the dynamics of economic integration - Presentation of neo-functionalism as the dominant integration theory 1.3. From Common Market to Economic and Monetary Union (week 3) - The essence of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) - Analysing the negotiation preceeding the EMU with the help of game theory Module 2, week 4 to 8. 2. The political system of the European Union The success of European integration is based on institutions. Without an institutional underpinning the persistence of international cooperation would have been in danger. An elaborate institutional system has been established that secured a balance between the competing individual interests of the member-states and their common aspiration for peace and welfare through cooperation. A particular “Community method” of decision-making has been institutionalised and adapted to changing circumstances. The EU has developed into a “regulatory state” with considerable impact on the member-states. Even without a European government the EU is constraining national governments in exerting their sovereign power in a wide range of policy domains. 2.1. The political system of the European Union (week 4 and 5) - The importance of institutions - Explanation of the institutional set-up of the EU, build on three pillars - The political system of the European Community (EC), its structure (European Commission, Council of Ministers, EP, European Court of Justice, Economic and Social Committee, Committee of the Regions) and decision making procedures 2.2. The dominance of regulatory policies in the EU (week 6) - Explanation of the theory of regulatory policy (distributive, re-distributive, and regulative policy) - Consequences of de-regulation at the national and re-regulation at the European level 2.3. European multi-level governance (week 7) - Comparison of different types of governance - Characteristics of European governance in a multi-level system - The transformation of governance in the EU and in EU member-states 2.4. Policing the EU (week 8) - Justice and Home Affairs (JHA), the “third pillar” of the EU - Expanding European cooperation on sensitive issues close to national sovereignty - Democratic control and European Fundamental Rights Module 3, week 9 to 11. 3. The legitimacy of European governance The increase in binding decision-making of the EU raises questions about the political legitimacy of European governance. Defining legitimacy as responsive and responsible government, the objective of this part of the course is to develop and discuss different aspects of political legitimacy and to apply these to the European Union. As an example for legitimacy based on the quality and efficiency of governance, the Europeanisation of the welfare state will be looked at. The role and organisation of public and private interests in the EU is worth analysing because functional interest representation might support or downgrade the legitimacy of the EU. Finally, the empirical and normative aspects of EU legitimacy will be dealt with in depth. The question is why parliamentary democracy that guarantees democratic legitimacy in the member states may prove deficient in the EU system. Attention will be drawn to the specific problems of democratic legitimacy arising in the European multi-level system and possible solutions shall be studied. 3.1. The Europeanisation of the welfare state (week 9) - Development of the Europeanisation of the welfare state - Explanation of the slow integration of social policy 3.2. Organising public and private interests in the EU (week 10) - The (unbalanced) organisation of interests - Characteristics of European interest intermediation 3.3. Democratic legitimacy in a multi-level system (week 11) - Problems of defining and measuring legitimacy - Parliamentary legitimacy and the democratic deficit of the EU Module 4, week 12 to 14. 4. The EU in the international system The last three weeks of the course will concentrate on the EU in the international system. By doing so it has to be differentiated between European economic foreign policy on the one hand, and European foreign relations and security policy on the other hand. The enlargement of the EU to the East and South-East presents an additional aspect to be studied in this part of course. The analysis will focus on the interdependence of European regional integration and the international system, the way in which inner-European and international conflicts of interests are dealt with and channelled by institutions, and on those forces which push - or slow down - further integration. By studying the EU in the international system, the explanatory power of both, the institutionalist and the constructualist approach will be tested. 4.1. - European economic foreign policy as part of the “first pillar” of the EU - The EC and WTO - Explaining the “Europeanisation” of economic foreign policy 4.2. Foreign relations and security policy (week 13) - Common Foreign and Security policy (CFSP), the “second pillar” of the EU - Explaining the belated integration of European foreign relations and security policy 4.3. The enlargement of the EU to the East and South-East (week 14) - Explaining the EU’s policy and politics of enlargement - Inner-European consequences of enlargement - Consequences of the EU’s Eastern and South-Eastern enlargement for European security and stability 5. Final exams (week 15) Methods of Assessment: · Students shall be graded on the basis of oral and written contributions. Oral contributions include participation in group discussions in class and a presentation of a selected topic in class. Written contribution will be in form of a short summary of one of the required readings and/or reports written in “problem based learning” sections and a final exam. Reading List: · Kohler-Koch, Beate/Conzelmann, Thomas/Knodt, Michèle (2004): European Integration – European Governance, · Nugent, Neill (2003): The Historical Evolution, in: Nugent Neill: The government and politics of the European Union, 5. ed., · Rosamond, Ben (2000): Neofunctionalism, in: Rosamond, Ben: Theories of European Integration, Houndmills: Macmillan · Swann, Dennis (1995): Tariff Barriers and the Customs Union; in: Swann, Dennis: The economics of the Common Market: Integration in the European Union, 8. ed., · Tsoukalis, Loukas (2000): Economic and Monetary · Christiansen, Thomas ( · Christiansen, Thomas (2001b): The Council of Ministers. The politics of institutionalised intergovernmentalism, in: Richardson, Jeremy (ed.): European Union. Power and policy-making, 2nd edition, · Jeffery, Charlie (2002): Social and Regional Interests: ESC and Committee of the Regions, in: Peterson, John/Shackleton, Michael (eds.): The Institutions of the European Union, · Maurer, Andreas (2003): The Legislative Powers and Impact of the European Parliament, in: Journal of Common Market Studies · Wincott, Daniel (2001): The Court of Justice and the European policy process, in: Richardson, Jeremy (ed.): European Union. Power and policy-making, 2nd edition, · Majone, Giandomenico (1994): The rise of the regulatory ‘state’ in · Hix, Simon (1999): Regulation of the Single Market, in: Hix, Simon: The Political System of the European Union, · Kohler-Koch, Beate (2001): The evolution and transformation of European governance, in: Academic Forum of School of Law & Political Science of Nankai University, · Den Boer, Monica and Wallace, William (2000): Justice and Home Affairs, in: Wallace, Helen and Wallace, William (eds.): Policy-making in the European Union, 4. ed., Oxford : Oxford University Press · Leibfried, Stephan/Pierson, Paul (2000): Social Policy. Left to Courts and Markets?, in: Wallace, Helen and Wallace, William (eds.): Policy-making in the European Union, 4. ed., · · Scharpf, Fritz W. (2003): Problem-Solving Effectiveness and Democratic Accountability in the EU, Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung (MPIfG) Working Paper 03/1, February 2003 · Benz, Arthur (2003): Compounded Representation in EU Multi-Level Governance, in: Kohler-Koch, Beate (ed.): Linking EU and National Governance, · Woolcock, Stephen (2000): European Trade Policy, in: Wallace, Helen and Wallace, William (eds.): Policy-making in the European Union, 4. ed., · Lamy, Pascal (2004): | |