B009875 - EUROPEAN GOVERNANCE AND DECISION MAKING

English

The general aim of the course is to provide students with a critical understanding of EU policymaking with reference to both internal and ‘external’ EU policies. EU development cooperation will be used as a case study to test the conceptual tools and theoretical approaches discussed in the first part of the course.

First Part:
Wallace H., Pollack M., Young A. ( eds.), Policy Making in the European Union, 2010, Oxford University Press, pp. 15-104; 481-501.
Pierson P., "The Path to European Integration. A Historical Institutionalist Analysis", Comparative Political Studies, 29 (2), 1996, pp.123-163
Radaelli C., "Idee e conoscenza nelle politiche pubbliche europee: tecnocrazia o politicizzazione?", Rivista Italiana di Scienza della Politica, 29 (3)1999, pp. 517-546.
Suggested optional reading:
G. Sacconi, ReachStory- il racconto di un successo della buona politica. La nuova legge europea sulla chimica, Milano, edizioni Angelo Guarini, 2008.

Second part:
Fargion V: e Mayer M. “The European Union and the Social Dimension of Globalization. Discourse and Policy practice”, (http://www.cccg.umontreal.ca/RC19/program.html ) (Italian version: La dimensione sociale nella politica estera dell’Unione Europea, “Rivista delle Politiche Sociali”, 2010, no. 1, pp.231-255)
Fargion V. and Mayer M. “Re-focusing Development Co-operation in Africa: The EU as a Global Health Champion?”, SISP Annual Conference, Rome September 2012
European Commission Staff Working Paper “Impact Assessment” accompanying the Communication “Increasing the impact of EU Development Policy: An Agenda for Change” SEC (2011)1172 final
European Commission “Increasing the impact of EU Development Policy: An Agenda for Change” COM (2011) 637 final
European Parliament, Committee on development, Draft Report on an Agenda for Change: the future of EU development policy (2012/2002 (INI))
Council of the European Union , 3166th Foreign Affairs Council Meeting , 14 May 2012, Council Conclusions on “Increasing the Impact of EU development Policy: An Agenda for Change” and Council Conclusions on “Annual Report 2012 to the European Council on EU development Aid Targets.”
Further readings will be assigned in connection with the guest lectures (please refer to the course materials that will be posted on the website)

The general aim of the course is to provide students with a critical understanding of policymaking by EU institutions. At the end of the course it is expected that students will be able to address the relevant questions in order to understand what is at stake in the most important internal and external EU policies and what are the endogenous and exogenous factors influencing the underlying decision making process.

Students are expected to participate actively in the course; hence, they should complete the assigned reading before class. In addition, students will have to make a short presentation and a written essay (no longer than 3,000 words) on a topic of their choice in the context of EU development co-operation policy.

40 per cent of the final grade is determined by the student’s presentation and written essay (no longer than 3,000 words) on a topic of his/her choice in the context of EU development co-operation policy; the remaining 60 percent is determined by the final oral examination.

The first part of the course focuses on the main theoretical approaches to the European integration process and its policy outcomes. Special attention will be paid to neo-functionalism, inter-governmentalism, neo-institutionalism and EU governance and policymaking theories. Based on a selection of the main scholarly contributions, the following issues will be addressed: institutional constraints, actors’ profile and internal dynamics within the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council, timing, agenda setting, decision making rationales, policy types and the domestic impact of EU policy making. By taking stock of the theoretical perspectives reviewed, the second part of the course is devoted to a critical understanding of EU development cooperation policy. The latter offers an interesting opportunity to shed light on a variety of crucial aspects including: historical legacies; the contrasting interests of member States; the complexities of EU inter-institutional dialogue; the influence of private interests, civil society and NGOs; EU’s limited role in the global arena vis-à-vis the US and the BRICS. The course includes a series of guest lectures by MEPs, other EU officials and academics.