Debating the Future of European Integration (2025/2026: Semester 2 – Spring)

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Cursusdoel

Learning goals
After completing this course students are able to:
  • Goal 1: Understand and demonstrate knowledge of the specific characteristics of the European Union and its policies.
  • Goal 2: Identify relevant actors and ideas that influence European Union policies and European integration.
  • Goal 3: Understand the diversities and geographies at different levels that affect European Union policies and the European integration process.
  • Goal 4: Apply basic skills of research, analysis, and argumentation to questions of European union politics, policies and European integration.
The course consists of the following parts/grading components:

Debates and Position Papers 30%
Throughout the course, we will be debating about various timely issues affecting the future of the EU, e.g. the war in Ukraine and energy security, the challenges of a common Migration and Asylum policy, populism and national politics versus EU discourses, the consequences of the Brexit. In these debates, we take both a policy and governance perspective and a geographical and scales perspective. In groups or individually, you prepare a one-page position paper to use as a starting point for your participation in the debates

Policy brief 30%
In a policy brief (also referred to as an advocacy brief), you will address a specific public policy issue faced by EU (for example a directive or regulation currently under discussion). The purpose of the policy brief is to advice (and convince) the EU Commission to adopt a particular course of action. At the end of the semester, you will present your brief to the class.

Exam 40%
The exam covers the assigned readings (course book and articles) and the lectures.


Relationship between grading components and learning goals
  • Midterm exam (40%): this tests your knowledge of the required literature and lecture material of Part 1 of the course (course goal 1). It also tests your ability to analyze and put forward argumentation (course goal 1 and 2).
  • Debates and Position Papers (30%): the debates and the position papers that you will prepare upfront test your skills of research, analysis and argumentation on specific topics of EU politics (course goal 1, 2, 3 and 4).
  • Policy brief (30%): the policy brief and its presentation test your knowledge of EU policies and your skills of research, analysis and argumentation of EU policies and policies (course goal 1, 2, 3 and 4).


Vakinhoudelijk

In this course, we critically reflect on EU policies, policy making and European integration in relation to current events such as the war in Ukraine, the consequences of the Brexit, the ambitious agenda on climate and the COVID-19 pandemic, the external and internal borders of the EU when it comes to migration, and populism and national politics versus EU discourses, to name a few. These issues are discussed from the perspective of two disciplines: political science and human geography, where we combine policy-making processes, the EU’s political system and the different ‘geographies’. The course counts as a POL and GEO track finisher.

Format
  • The course meets for twice a week for lectures, presentations, discussions and feedback. Students prepare to participate actively in class by completing assigned readings. In small groups they work on a research project related to one of the major EU policies. There is also a mid-term exam.

Werkvormen

UCU course

Toetsing

Debates and Position Papers

Verplicht | Weging 30% | ECTS 2,25

Policy brief

Verplicht | Weging 40% | ECTS 3

*midterm FEEDBACK*

Niet verplicht

Midterm exam

Verplicht | Weging 30% | ECTS 2,25

Ingangseisen en voorkennis

Ingangseisen

Er moet voldaan zijn aan minimaal één van de cursussen:

Voorkennis

Er is geen informatie over benodigde voorkennis bekend.

Voertalen

  • Engels

Competenties

  • Academisch schrijven
  • Debatteren / discoursanalyse
  • Interdisciplinariteit
  • Kritisch lezen
  • Onderzoeksvaardigheden
  • Presenteren
  • Samenwerken

Cursusmomenten

Gerelateerde studies

Tentamens

Er is geen tentamenrooster beschikbaar voor deze cursus

Verplicht materiaal

  • DIVERSE
    Collection of academic journal articles and EU reports (available online)
  • BOEK
    L. Buonanno & N. Nugent, Policies and Policy Processes of the European Union 2nd edition, 2021 edition, December 2020, Macmillan-Red Globe Press, ISBN-10 : 1352009854; ISBN-13 : 978-1352009859

Aanbevolen materiaal

Er is geen informatie over de aanbevolen literatuur bekend

Opmerkingen

Counts as POL and GEO track finisher.

Coördinator

dr. G. Avci G.Avci@uu.nl

Docenten

dr. G. Avci G.Avci@uu.nl
dr. B.B. Szytniewski b.b.szytniewski@uu.nl

Inschrijving

Let op: deze cursus is niet toegankelijk voor studenten van andere faculteiten, bijvakkers mogen zich dus niet inschrijven.

Naar OSIRIS-inschrijvingen
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