B018954 - POLITICS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

English

By taking stock of the relevant theoretical literature, the course intends to shed light on the increasing difficulties of European integration based on a critical analysis of the EU policies put in place to address the main internal and external challenges.

The list of required readings is available on the Moodle Platform along with the course syllabus and details concerning students’ presentations . Please contact professor Fargion for the password.

Students will acquire the conceptual and analytical tools to critically understand the long-term European integration process and its current challenges.

Basic knowledge of: a) the history of European integration; b) the main EU institutions with particular reference to their roles and functions.

The course will combine lectures, students’ presentations and discussions. Lectures are intended to place into context the topics addressed in the course, and allow students to grasp the pivotal elements of the texts that are assigned for reading. Discussions will give students the opportunity to explore different interpretations of the material being studied and to compare and contrast opinions of fellow students.

Students will take a final oral exam based on a critical reflection of the required readings; they will also give an oral presentation in class, and write an essay ( 1,000 words) on a topic agreed with the instructor. The presentation and the essay will count for 20 percent of the final grade. In person attendance is highly recommended and active participation in class will be positively evaluated.

The course is divided into three parts. The first part provides a critical overview of the theoretical literature that helps illuminate the strengthening and deepening of the integration process up until the early nineties and the progressive reversal of the trend, following the Maastricht Treaty, the Central-Eastern European enlargement, the international economic crisis, the refugee crisis, and - last but not least - the pandemic.
The second part focuses on the lack of adequate measures for addressing common risks, starting with a critical analysis of the EU budget and then the EU’s inability to reconcile the social and economic profiles of European integration, particularly after the Euro crisis. Special attention will be paid to the complex interplay between the European Union and national welfare states in order to contextualize the current limits of cross-national solidarity – which exacerbate the EU’s legitimacy crisis even further.
The last part is devoted to the EU’s structural difficulty in addressing the crucial changes that have occurred in the geopolitical landscape since the turn of the century with a particular focus on EU-Africa relations. Given its geographical proximity, albeit for different reasons compared to the past two centuries, we can expect that Africa will continue to play a crucial role for Europe and vice versa. Based on this consideration, and given China’s growing position in the continent, the discussion will provide evidence of the contradictions between the EU’s political ambition to be a global player in Africa and its policies.