European Union Politics - Contemporary Research Perspectives

This seminar provides students with an in-depth understanding of the functions and functioning of the European Union, building primarily on recent empirical research in the political sciences. Our joint work will be structured along three blocks.

In the first block, we will first refresh the basic theories of European integration and political co-operation. On this basis, we then review the current debate about the applicability of these theories to the different crises the EU has lived through in the last two decades. The second block will then zoom in on the functions and functioning of individual EU institutions, most notably the European Council and the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament, as well as the European Commission and other supranational agencies. Here, we will read and discuss recent empirical studies that deal with the internal decision-making logics and the relative influence of these institutions in the EU as a whole. The third block finally focusses on the interactions between European decision-making and national politics. We will especially investigate the public politicisation of EU affairs in the member states to then review empirical research studying how different EU institutions respond to and deal with such controversial public debates.

Throughout these three blocks, students will acquire a comprehensive view on the current scientific debate about the EU which should help them to engage more systematically with broader discussions in contemporary European politics. Many of the studies we will read and discuss together also demonstrate advanced methods in modern empirical political science. A willingness to engage with both the substantive and methodological aspects of this literature, as well as regular, active participation in discussions are prerequisites for the successful completion of the seminar.

A detailed syllabus, including formal course requirements, will be available at http://www.christian-rauh.eu/teaching around one week prior to the lecture period. The syllabus will also be presented and discussed during the first session. Registration and course organization will be managed via PULS and Moodle, respectively.