The Domestic Politics of European Integration

30 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This module examines the impact of the European integration process, politics and institutions on the domestic politics of European states. We will look at the impact of the European issue on political parties, party systems, referendums and public opinion. We will explicitly link the fields of EU and comparative European politics with cases primarily drawn from the member states of the European Union. Throughout the course, we will address both the theoretical literature (in asking what different approaches to European integration have to say about the domestic politics of member states), and the empirical literature looking at a number of specific areas, namely European referendums, European Parliament elections, the impact of Europe in domestic elections and party systems and the structure of public opinion on European integration in member states.

European Union Justice and Home Affairs

30 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This module provides an advanced analysis of the origins, the policy-making process and major policy issues in cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs at the Union level. Its main aim is to equip you with the concepts and instruments necessary for the professional analysis of this still relatively young but fast expanding area of EU politics. The module will focus on the practice of decision-making in the Union institutions and the identification of the key factors determining the development of EU cooperation in the various policy fields covered by the EU treaty objective of establishing an 'area of freedom, security and justice', including specific priorities and problems of individual Member States. The module will also provide an analysis of the Schengen system, the relevant current treaty provisions, the state of implementation of the 2010-2014 Stockholm Programme, specific problems of the enlargement process, the growing international dimension of EU justice and home affairs and the implications of the Lisbon Treaty reforms. The module will to a significant extent rely on the use of official documents of the EU and the Member States with whose main categories you will be familiarised at the beginning.

EU Single Market Law

30 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

The 'single' or 'internal' market lies at the very heart of the European community, defined by reference to the 'four freedoms' - policies on the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital destined to ensure an ever closer economic, monetary and political union.

You will examine the legal foundations of the single market tracing the deployment of both 'negative' and 'positive' integration mechanisms together with the use of various legal and judicial techniques destined to achieve completion of the internal market. While concentrating particularly on the free movement regimes applicable to goods, establishment and services, the module will investigate the interaction of these key policy areas with other issues such as social welfare provision, the rights and duties of private parties and the protection of fundamental rights.

Energy and Environmental Security in Europe

30 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This course addresses the growing importance of security as an issue for energy and environmental policy and analyses the way in which different concepts of security have emerged (or re-emerged) to redefine policy priorities in both areas. While global developments form an important context to the course, our primary focus is European, taking Europe not only as major source of energy demand and environmental damage but also as an important protagonist. We will examine how EU energy and environmental policies have sought to address security issues internally and externally, the latter in its bilateral, neighbourhood and multilateral diplomacy.

European Political Integration

30 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

The aim of this module is to analyse the development trends and the institutional set-up of the European Union as the main framework of European political integration and as a sui generis political system. 

The objectives are: to explain the political and legal dynamics of EC/EU integration and of the specificities of the institutional order it has generated; to analyse and evaluate the internal organisation and functioning of the main EU institutions; to offer substantial insights into practice of decision-making in the EU system; to identify specific strengths and weaknesses of the EU as a legislator and an economic and political actor in international relations; to evaluate both the challenges posed to the political and institutional system of the EU by enlargement and major reform trends; to familiarise participants with the use of official EU sources.

The International Relations of the European Union

30 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This module gives a broad introduction to the ideas and issues related to the EU's role in global affairs. It commences with an analysis of the Union's emergence as an international actor, and a brief survey of the role played by the various EU institutions. You then analyse the political context of five different, but nevertheless inter-related, aspects of the EU's engagement in foreign policy: CFSP (Common Foreign and Security Policy), ESDP (European Security and Defence Policy), conflict prevention and non-military instruments of foreign policy, the external dimension of the EU's internal security policy and international development. Over three weeks, you then assess the Union's relations with its peripheries to the east and south and to the west.

The Making of Contemporary Europe

30 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

This module introduces you to the politics, economics and society of contemporary Europe. You will study Europe as a whole, covering East and West, North and South, spending a large amount of time looking at Central and Eastern Europe, which most European studies courses often neglect. The module locates the main themes of post-war European history in a theoretical and comparative context, to help you understand contemporary developments within a broader conceptual framework. You will take an inter-disciplinary approach, explicitly looking for the connections between different disciplines in order to understand the key issues of contemporary European governance.

Central themes you will address include: the historical tension between the two models of economic, political and social organisation (liberal, capitalist West European and communist, totalitarian centrally-planned East European) that has dominated the post-war period and divided the continent; the European project, understood as European integration in the widest sense; and the extent to which Europe is a separate and distinctive civilisation with a fundamental unity.

Political Parties and Party Systems in Comparative Perspective

30 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

Political parties are one of the main representative linkages in liberal democracies and the study of parties and party systems has long constituted a major focus of concern in comparative political studies. This module wants to address the following questions: where did parties and party systems come from? How have they changed? Are they all the same? And where are they going? Therefore the module offers you an understanding of the development of political parties and party systems and their importance in contemporary European democracies. Although the primary empirical focus is on the development of parties and party systems in Western Europe, the module is designed primarily as a tool rather than a survey, in order to allow you to use theoretical and analytical models to study parties and party systems in particular countries

Political Economy of EU Integration

30 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This module will examine the process and economic consequences of economic integration in the EU. You use some economic theory to analyse the positive and normative aspects of integration but the module requires an interest in economic issues rather than any formal training. It will place emphasis on the external as well as the internal dimensions of EU integration in order to show both the development of EU relations with trading partners and also the way in which the need for a common response to external challenges has influenced the strategy of EU development. Particular emphasis will be given to the political economy on EU enlargement and deeper integration with the EU's neighbourhood. 

Politics and Public Policy

30 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

This is an introductory module in comparative public policy. The focus is on three general tasks: exploring cross-national variation in specific policy choices; evaluating analytic models that seek to explain these differences; and assessing socio-economic outcomes associated with specific policy choices. We will therefore address the following general questions: why do policies on issues such as pensions, family benefits, or education differ from country to country? Are these differences a consequence of different cultures, economic conditions, political institutions or interest group pressures? Why are some countries and governments more successful than others in tackling certain policy problems, such as unemployment, poverty and female labour force participation? The focus is on domestic - primarily economic and social policies. While our primary interest is public policies of EU countries, we will frequently draw parallels with other systems of policy making, such as the United States and Japan.

The Politics of Eastern Europe in Transition

30 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This module surveys the politics of Central and Eastern Europe since 1989 to the present by exploring the process of democratic transition and consolidation. It aims to identify the specific characteristics and features of post-communist politics in the newly democratic states of Central and Eastern Europe by studying examples within the analytical frameworks normally employed for the study of more established Western democracies. It also examines the particular challenges posed by the process of integrating post-communist states into Western political, economic and security structures.

Politics of Immigration

30 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

Immigration is one of the most contested and divisive issues on the political agenda of liberal democratic states. This module examines the political dynamics and processes that shape how liberal states seek to govern immigration and immigrants. It explores how constitutive features of liberal statehood, including representative democracy, capitalist political economy, constitutionalism, and nationhood, create conflicting imperatives for migration governance, leading to paradoxical outcomes of both openness and closure. You will gain knowledge about recent immigration, integration, and citizenship policies, and acquire an analytical understanding of how political processes shape those policies. The module focuses on the politics of immigration in Europe, though comparative experiences from North America are also addressed

Territorial Politics in Europe

30 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This module analyses the influence of territory on political processes and political outcomes. Since the 1960s European political systems have all – to greater or lesser extents – been forced to adapt to demands for a 'territorialisation' of political affairs. Indeed, more or less every nation-state has been by affected by processes of federalisation, regionalisation and/or devolution. In short, territory matters in understanding how politics functions in democratic states more than at any time in living memory. You subsequently explore how this territorial challenge came about, why it matters and whether further territorialisation is to be expected.

You will analyse both how territorial governance functions (eg multi-level governance, federalism, or regionalism), and what the nature of the territorial challenge is. You will consider how elections to new or reinvigorated territorial institutions (eg the Scottish Parliament, the Spanish Autonmous Communities, the German Laender and so forth) matter and how voters perceive them. You will also analyse how state-wide politics has been affected by increasingly powerful sub-state administrations, and whether there has been a much vaunted hollowing out of the nation-state as well as analysing particular sets of policy challenges posed by contemporary territoral politics.