Unit information: Europeanisation in 2016/17

Unit name	Europeanisation
Unit code	POLIM3028
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Perez-Solorzano Borragan
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

In what ways does the European Union impact on national policies, institutions, interests and identities? How have domestic actors adapted to European-level policies? Does the process of European integration have an impact beyond Europe? These are the questions which lie at the core of this unit. This unit will help students develop an understanding of what Europeanisation is, what it is not and why and how it shapes European states and European governance. The unit goes on to analyse the impact of European integration on domestic institutions (national executives and parliaments), national politics (political parties and interest groups) and two key national policies, namely, foreign and security policies and migration and asylum policies. The unit concludes with an assessment of the EU’s role in democratisation processes and conflict resolution. As well as providing an overview of current developments in European politics, this unit will allow you to study in depth the impact of European integration on a particular European state.

Aims:

• To address the conceptual debate about Europeanisation, globalisation and statehood.

• To enable students to develop an understanding of what Europeanisation is and is not, why and how it shapes European states and European governance.

• To analyse the different facets of Europeanisation.

• To facilitate students’ critical engagement with the main normative assumptions while assessing relevant case studies focused on the EU impact upon domestic policies, politics and polities.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Students completing this unit will develop:

1. An understanding of the conceptual debate about Europeanisation, globalisation and statehood.
2. The ability to contextualise the concept of Europeanisation within the debates on contemporary European governance.
3. An understanding of the differential impact of European integration on EU member states and neighbouring countries.
4. The ability to critically evaluate the impact of EU membership on polities, policies and politics.
5. The ability to integrate theoretical and empirical materials.
6. The ability to develop critical discussion skills, particularly through seminar participation, group work and the presentation of seminar papers.
7. The ability to write articulately, concisely and persuasively.
8. The ability to make articulate, concise, persuasive and well-paced presentations in small groups.

Teaching Information

Seminars. During the 2-hour seminars the relevant topic will be introduced by the tutor and students will be engage in intellectual discussion through individual presentations and by addressing the proposed issues for debate through selected exercises such as group work.

Assessment Information

Formative assessment: seminar presentations supported by a handout. The seminar presentation supported by a handout provides formative assessment of (1) the student’s grasp of the substantive issues associated with this unit and (2) the student’s ability to engage with that substantive material in an articulate, concise and persuasive way both verbally and in written form.

Summative assessment will consist of a 3,500-4,000 country case study (100%)

During the first seminar students will choose a particular country case which they will follow throughout the course. During the seminars, students will be expected to make contributions drawing on the material gathered about their country case and relevant to the theme covered in that particular weekly seminar. This exercise should also allow students to accumulate a considerable amount of empirical data to write a 3,500-4,000 words essay about their country case. The essay should cover the following question: - What impact has European integration had on [country X’s] domestic institutions, politics and policies?

In order to answer the question, students should choose and examine three specific examples taken from the following issue areas: domestic institutions, politics, and policies. They should also reflect on what their country case tells us about Europeanisation research more generally (e.g. in terms of theoretical approaches, dimensions or mechanisms of Europeanisation). To help students in their research, useful academic references and internet links will be available on blackboard.

The proposed unit’s assessment will match the unit’s learning outcomes as follows:

1. The country case study will allow students to examine the specific impact of European integration on a particular country and to apply the concepts, theories and analytical tools covered in this unit to a case study (Leaning outcomes 1, 2, 3).
2. Students will be asked to examine the impact of European integration on a country’s polity, politics and policy in their essay (Learning outcome 4).
3. The summative essay and formative presentation will assess the student’s ability to engage with the relevant literature and achieve and appropriate degree of depth which is still concise. They will be asked to integrate theoretical and empirical material from a comparative perspective looking at different dimensions of Europeanisation (Learning outcome 5).
4. The summative essay will also help students to develop their critical discussion skills (Learning outcome 6) as they will be expected to make contributions during seminars drawing on the material gathered about their country case.
5. The essay will assess the students’ ability to engage with substantive issues in an articulate, persuasive and critical manner in written form (Learning outcome 7).
6. The formative presentation will assess students’ ability to deliver articulate, concise, persuasive and well-paced presentations in small groups (Learning outcome 8).

Reading and References

• Bulmer, S. and Lequesne, C. (2005) The Member States of the European Union, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Featherstone, K. and Radaelli, C.M. (2003) The Politics of Europeanization, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Graziano, P. and Vink, M.P. (2008) Europeanization: New Research Agendas, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

• Green Cowles, M., Caporaso, J. and Risse, T. (eds) (2001) Transforming Europe: Europeanization and Domestic Change, Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

• Ladrech, R. (2010) Europeanization and national politics, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

• Schmidt, V. (2006) The EU and National Polities, Oxford: Oxford University Press.