Master in European Integration and Development

European Politics and Social Integration

The purpose of this one year Master program is to offer students an education of the highest academic standards on the European unification process. Below is the full description of all courses:

Institutional and Political Aspects of the European Integration
Professor: Angela Liberatore
Contact hours: 26 Education form: lecture Exam:  written final
The Course will explore key issues in the development of EU integration with focus on key issues and policies. The EU will be taken as the key unit of analysis, but attention will be given to both the internal (national, regional) and international actors and context.

Core themes of the Course include:
  • What is Europe, and what is European integration?
    Different theoretical perspectives (functionalism, intergovernmentalism, multilevel governance), historical perspectives (from post-World War II to latest enlargement), current debates (e.g. EU as 'superstate'? Defining borders of the EU?)
  • Who is 'the EU', and how it works?
    The EU institutions and decision-making processes, and their changes over time (with focus on the introduction of co-decision, 'new modes' of governance, and the Constitutional debate post-Nice); EU citizenship and the debate on democratizing the EU (from four freedoms to political rights; rights of non-citizens and Charter on Fundamental Rights; 'democratic deficit' and legitimacy issues; checks and balances and/vs politicization approaches).
  • Why should one bother?
    Examples from policy areas/issues in each of the pre-Lisbon Treaty 'pillars' will be discussed, namely environmental policies (e.g. climate change) and research policy (e.g. the 7th Framework Programme); CFSP/ESDP (e.g. some ESDP missions); JHA (e.g. counter-terrorism).
Students will be exposed to the above themes through the presentation and discussion of selected academic literature and the analysis of selected policy documents. They will be encouraged to deepen the examination of a specific topic (of agreed choice), make autonomous use of a wide range of resources, and offer ideas on issue they consider most important for the understanding of current and future developments in the EU.

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Theory of European Economic Integration
Professor: Jef Vuchelen
Contact hours: 26 Education form: lecture Exam:  written final
The aim of this course is to provide a theoretical background to the European integration process.
The main elements of the course are :
  • A discussion of the meaning of integration (including foreign examples and an historical illustration on Europe)
  • A broad theoretical explanation of the stages of the integration process (free trade area, customs union, internal market, etc.) using tools of international trade
  • A detailed discussion of the internal market
  • A discussion of the common policies within the EU (agricultural policy, competition, the road toward the monetary union, its functioning, the introduction of the Euro etc.
  • A discussion of remaining problems (new members, coordination of fiscal policy etc.)
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The Rule of Law in the EU
Professor: Irina Tanasescu
Contact hours: 26 Education form: lecture Exam:  written final
The course is designed to introduce, and to lead to a general understanding of, the concept of the rule of law and its – greater than static - application in the European Union: whilst the emphasis is on the use of “the law” in practice, this depends, first and foremost, on a clear understanding of the more important, basic concepts.

Scope

In the Union, legislation (secondary law) is adopted by the Institutions on the basis of its primary constitutional documents, the Treaties: these are being constantly amended, most recently by the (reform) Treaty of Lisbon. For its part, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has been particularly bold in interpreting and applying the law. Using the - unique - preliminary ruling procedure as its main vehicle, the ECJ has established a series of principles (primacy, direct effect, compensation for damages) which seek both to underline the independence of the Community and to guarantee the rights of the citizens vis-à-vis the Member States. And whilst no enlargement should affect respect for the law in the Union, certain Union activities do not - as yet - fall to be scrutinised by the EJC. There are also certain non-Union bodies, the European Court of Human Rights, the World Trade Organisation, the EFTA Court, which have an influence on the law as it is applied in the Union. Nevertheless, it remains the case that the principles laid down in the Treaties and vigorously built upon and staunchly defended by the ECJ are being constantly applied by the courts and tribunals of the Member States and that across the entire spectrum of Community activities.

Method
- Discussion of specific topics on the basis of papers or case studies.
- Analysis of ECJ case law in the context of the main areas of Community activity.
- Group participation, as appropriate in the form of the presentation of differing positions on a particular subject.

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The EU and the Stakeholders of the Economy
Professor: Harri Kalimo
Contact hours: 26 Education form: lecture Exam:  written final
The internal market is often seen as the engine of the European integration project. The participants to the EU’s internal market—the different stakeholders in the European economy—have consequently always been of paramount importance to the development of Europe. In today’s global networked economy, their importance is only further emphasized.

This course therefore looks at the EU and its institutions, policies and processes through the lens of such “stakeholders of the European economy”. The focus is on the interests of the consumers, the industry, and the environmental organizations in particular. While the stakeholders of the economy are the theme of the lecture series, the lectures combine two distinct narratives: the internal market interests of the stakeholders of the economy, on the one hand, and representation of such interests in the EU system, on the other.

These two narratives are usually not dealt with together: through the combination of the internal market and interest representation, the lectures attempt to give the participants a more holistic vision of the European integration process. The lectures connect the economic, legal and political aspects into a multi-disciplinary vision on the EU.

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European Cultures and Mentalities in Historical Comparative Perspective
Professor: Peter Scholliers
Contact hours: 26 Education form: lecture Exam:  oral exam
The course considers the history of food as a good "proxy" of general cultural developments. Food is much more than satisfying plain bodily functions; food and drink is about enjoyment, frustrations, and above all, social and cultural life. This goes beyond the simple act of eating or drinking: it involves how food is cooked, who is eating with whom and where, how people talk and write about food, how food is used to celebrate, who does the shopping and the dishes, et cetera.
Since long, the history of food has been studied, and many social researchers have stressed the function of food and drink as a cultural phenomenon. Hence, the use of food history in this course to learn about mentalities and cultures in Europe.

Various themes will be discussed, among which 'Food and Health', 'Food of the Elite', 'Gender, Age and Food',' History of the Restaurant', 'Snacks and Fast Food','Food and Identity Formation'. Broad social and economic historical developments will also be considered.

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Civil Society Representation and Diversity in the EU
Professor: Alison Woodward
Contact hours: 26 Education form: lecture Exam:  written final
By taking this course, the student should acquire:
  • Familiarity with the major sources of social diversity and how they affect European societies and the potential for unity
  • Insight into diverse civil society traditions in East-Central, North and Southern Europe
  • An ability to analyse the political construction and mobilization of diversity and identities and an understanding of the factors that govern an eventual impact on European integration
  • Knowledge of the main channels and methods of civil society interest representation and insight into issues around transnational mobilization in the European Union


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Multi-Level Governance in the EU
Professor: Angela Liberatore
Contact hours: 26 Education form: lecture Exam:  written final
The course will be divided in three separate but interconnected sections.

First, the course will discuss the disparate body of theories and concepts of multilevel governance (MLG). The presentation of the MLG concept covers key texts by G. Marks, L. Hooghe, F. Scharpf, A. Benz, I.J. Sand, Sandholz and others.

Second, the broader theoretical assumptions and methods underlying the multilevel governance approach shall be discussed, this involves presentations on new institutionalism, bargaining theory, network analysis, legitimacy studies, deliberative democracy.

Third, a number of concrete cases of multilevel governance shall be presented and discussed. European cohesion policy, social policy, agricultural policy, environmental policy, internal market and external relations in EU and complexl policymaking processes will be scrutinized on the basis of empirical studies.

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Master Thesis
thesis supervisor chosen on an individual basis
Independent study Education form: master thesis Exam:  master thesis
The students must choose out of the block with subjects offered, a domain in which he/she will write his/her master thesis.
  • Subject of Common Foreign and Security Policy   [More info]
  • Subject of European Citizenship and Identity   [More info]
  • Subject of Sustainable Development and Ecological Issues   [More info]
  • Subject of Migration and Multicultural Europe    [More info]
  • Subject of EU Social and Educational Policies    [More info]