"European Union Institutions, Politics, and Policies" aims at giving a good understanding of the polity, politics, and policies of the European Union from its beginning to the present. Much emphasis is put on the institutional development towards an ever closer union, the main policy developments over time, and the conflicts created by the constant enlargement of the EU. The theoretical perspective combines federalist, functionalist, transactionalist, neo-functionalist, liberal intergovernmentalist, delegation, governance, constructivist, and post-functionalist approaches to the understanding of European integration.
The first part of the course deals with the government, politics, and policies of the European Union. The second part focuses on theoretical explanations of the development, stagnation, and contestation of the European project from pre-theories of European integration all the way to constructivist and post-functionalist approaches.
This course also brings in a strong applied perspective through guest lectures by EU policy-makers, including Commission officials and/or practitioners working in Brussels.
This course has been awarded a three-year "Jean Monnet Academic Module" status by the European Commission's "Erasmus+" programme.
A student who has completed the course should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:
Knowledge
Skills
General competence
Form: Lectures and seminars
Hours per week: approximately 4
A compulsory assignment that has been approved, has no time limit.