Course Syllabus

The European Game of Politics: Crisis and Survival

 

Semester & Location:	Spring 2020 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits:	Core Course - 3 credits
Core Course Study Tours:	Hamburg, Germany and Brussels, Belgium
Major Disciplines:	Political Science, International Relations
Faculty Members:	Jakob Dreyer - dreyer90@gmail.com Christine Nissen - chni@diis.dk
Program Director:	Neringa B. Vendelbo - nb@dis.dk
Program Assistant:	Julia Magnuson - jma@dis.dk
Time & Place:	Monday/Thursday 8.30-9.50, N7-B11

Program Orientation: Wed, January 15 2020, 15.00-16.00 

Description of Course

After the two World Wars, Europe was destroyed, and its key political concern was to avoid another devastating war on the continent. This sparked a historical, political, and economic transformation, which laid the foundation of the European Union. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 the Union has enlarged East, and gradually proliferated to more policy areas.

Externally, the EU has slowly been emerging as a major player on the World stage, while internally the Union attempts to strike a balance between continued enlargement and further political integration. However, lately, the European Union and cooperation has been face with several, simultaneous political problems; economic turmoil, Brexit, refugee increase, and global warming. 

 Considering these events this phase helps students understand, answer and discuss the following questions. What is the European Union, and what are its policies?  Who are the major actors in European politics? Will the Union survive the present crisis? By examining students will be better able to understand crises, and potential futures of European politics.

 

Content: 

The course traces the foundation and development of European integration over the last decades. It analyses the role of major actors shaping the European Union and discusses main EU policies. Current challenges facing the European Union, such as Brexit, migration, and contestation and co-operation between the EU and European governments will be studied. Case studies of political events unfolding during the semester will be used to supplement the course.

I: Introduction, history, institutions, theories

II: Core Course Week 1: Guest lectures, field studies and short Study Tour to Hamburg, Germany

III: Policies of the EU

IV: Core Course Week: Long Study Tour: Visit to Brussels, Belgium

V: Current issues and struggles over Europe

VI: Simulation Game – playing the European Council: How to negotiate and compromise on national interests

 

Learning Objectives

• Students will gain an understanding of what the EU is in theory and especially in practice by studying the forces governing contemporary European politics, the competing interests influencing the policies of the European Union, the functioning of EU institutions, the decisionmaking processes, and the significance of the EU for European integration.
• Students will, through selected readings and class discussion, gain a view of international relations from the European and EU member state perspectives, and a particular understanding of the contemporary key issues on agenda of the Union, including Brexit, Migration and Security and Defence policy.
• Students will write analytical papers by studying and discussing how current political science research is conducted (e.g. what constitutes sound evidence and arguments in political science).
• Finally, students will increase their ability to analyze and discuss complex political issues.

 

Faculty

Jakob Dreyer

Doctoral fellow at the University of Copenhagen. His research focuses on Western security politics, focusing on how political, military, and technological developments shape military interventions. Further, he studies the contemporary evolution of European foreign and security policy. Jakob has a background as a linguist officer and advisor in the Danish Defence. With DIS since 2019.

 

Christine Nissen

Dr. Christine Nissen is a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS, Copenhagen). Furthermore, she holds a position as a national researcher for the pan-European think tank European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). Her main area of research is European foreign and security policy, including the workings of the EU foreign policy institutions, and the interplay between EU and national foreign policies, in particular in the case of Denmark. With DIS since 2017.

 

Readings

We will mainly read from the two edited volumes on the EU. These books should be picked up during the arrivals workshop.

• Daniel Kenealy, John Peterson, and Richard Corbett, The European Union: How does it work?, 2015.
• Sophie Vanhoonacker, The EU as a system of IR, in International Relations and the European Union. 2017

 

Field Studies

19/02, 8.30-12.30

29/04, 13.00-17.00

 

Expectations of the Students

Participation

The course consists of a series of lectures, guest lectures, a field study, two study tours and a simulation game. Attendance is mandatory. The readings provide the basis for student presentations and discussion in each lecture and you may be called upon randomly. All obligatory readings, lectures, guest lectures, field studies, study tours and the simulation game are drawn upon for the short answer tests, the research paper and the midterm. Additional material will be distributed during the course.        

Evaluation

Negotiation Simulation Game

The course includes a special simulation game section, in which students “representing” the EU member states as well as key EU institutions will negotiate a current issue following the actual negotiation format of the EU Council of Ministers or the European Council.

Purpose: To get in-depth knowledge of an issue currently topping the EU agenda and an experience of how negotiations take place in the Council of Ministers or European Council.

This semester, we will negotiate the UK’s way of out the EU. The BREXIT negotiations and the forthcoming Brexit remarks the biggest contemporary crisis in the history of the European Union. How the future relationship between the UK and the EU will have a decisive impact on the EU, the UK and broader international relations in many years to come.

 

Grading

Assignment	Percent
Midterm Exam	15%
Participation on Study Tours, Including Student Presentations (Hamburg) and Political Actor Assignments (Brussels)	20%
Final Essay	30%
Participation in and preparation for classes, and field studies	15%
Participation in all phases of the simulation game (incl. final evaluation and country position papers)	20%

 

Core Course Week and Study Tours

Core Course week and study tours are an integral part of the core course as we take the classroom on the road and see how theory presented in the classroom is translated into practice in the field. You will travel with your classmates and DIS faculty/staff on two study tours; a short study tour during Core Course Week to Hamburg and a long study tour to Brussels.

 Expectations for study tours:

• Participate in all activities
• Engage in discussions, ask questions, and contribute to achieving the learning objectives
• Respect for the destination, the speakers, DIS staff, and your fellow classmates
• Represent yourself, your home university and DIS in a positive light

 While on a program study tour DIS will provide hostel/hotel accommodation, transportation to/from the destination(s), approx. 2 meals per day and entrances, guides, and visits relevant to your area of study or the destination. You will receive a more detailed itinerary prior to departure.

Travel policies:

You are required to travel with your group to the destination. If you have to deviate from the group travel plans, you need approval from the program director and the study tours office.   

 

GUIDELINES FOR GRADED ASSIGNMENTS 

 

Country/Actor Profiles for SIM Game 

If given a role as an EU member state:

1. Political system:

Parliamentary system, presidential system, one chamber – two chambers, number of

political parties, etc.

2. What kind of government and who’s in government – Prime Minister/President
3. EU-position:

- Membership of EU – year

- Member of the Euro-zone? When?

- Number of members of the European Parliament

- Number of votes in the Council of Ministers

- Some main political position in relation to EU politics: Reform, budget, CAP,

structural funds, foreign and security policy, the Lisbon Treaty and the

constitutional crisis, etc.

If given role of EU Actor:

• Summarize basic information about the institution
• Give an outline of main position on negotiations based on recent statements/newspaper articles

Short paper – max. 2 pages

 

MIDTERM STUDY GUIDE

Topics and readings

Material covered so far in the course

Your answers

When answering the factual questions it is important to be precise. When answering the essay type

questions it is important that you give discursive and analytical answers using relevant

arguments.

 

RESEARCH PAPER - GUIDELINES

Format

• 4-5 pages if individual,
• 10-12 pages per group (2 persons).
• One page equals 300 words.
• Use ”Writing Papers at DIS” as your guideline. You may see “How to write a paper”, by Stephen Van Evera (Both readings can be found on DIS Forum under EPS files section) The paper should be analytical and investigative. Use statistics, official information, articles, research papers, readings from class, interviews, etc. If possible, try to integrate your own data gained via your interviews in Brussels if they can fit into your desired research topics.

Topics

You can choose your topic within the field of European Politics: The European Union and discuss it with Christine in or after class.

There will be an essay writing workshop where you will receive feedback from your peers as well as from Christine on your research ideas. If you have additional questions you are always welcome to schedule an individual meeting with me before or after class or email me with your concern/idea/question.

 

EU POLITICAL ACTORS INTERVIEWS EXERCISE IN BRUSSELS

The "Political Actors Interview Exercise" is an all-day student-centered exercise, taking place during the Brussels part of the European Politics Long Study Tour. Participation will count towards your European Politics core class course grade.

 

Objectives

Interest articulation and aggregation – lobbying, coalition-building, compromising, cutting deals, etc. – among actors representing political actors (Permanent Representatives and Lobbyists) and different types and levels of interests are essential aspects of any political process, including that of the European Union.

The objectives of the exercise are to generate, through student interviews with various types of actors in the EU political system, an understanding of the ways "interests" are being translated into "policies" in the EU or, to put it differently, an understanding of the non-formalized aspects of EU policy-making. Furthermore, the students will gain valuable experience of interviewing political actors and translating gained information into useful policy-analysis – a key skill useful in almost all positions within the broader field of policy-making, diplomacy, research, consulting.

 

Format

Students will be subdivided into groups of 3-5, each of which will interview a political actor for about an hour about their "policy-making" activities (see further below). Afterwards, each group will compare their notes taken during the interview and reflect on insights gained as well as produce a report based on the findings.

Later, members of different groups will share and compare what they learned. Preparing the Interview Each student group will be assigned to a particular interviewee in advance of the tour. The group must prepare the interviews by gathering information about the specific member state/permanent representatives and next the institution/organization/party group/company etc. in which the interviewee works as well as information on his/her position and, if possible, general responsibilities/assignments/duties in the organization. Use websites and other information sources, but do not contact the interviewee directly. You need to find enough relevant information to make the interview meaningful and "professional."

 

The Interview

Please remember that the objective of the interview is not only to elicit what the interviewee does but also and especially how he or she works politically, i.e. attempts to translate the interests/duties/responsibilities he or she represents into policies or benefits. Note also that most actors are both lobbying/politicking and being lobbied/politicked.

During the interview, you should (as a minimum) elicit the following:

• Name, title and position of the interviewee; main job tasks/responsibilities; at what level and with what formal competence does the interviewee participate in the EU political process, functions, mission of his/her organization/institution
• How the interviewee works politically: Lobbying, coalition-building, politicking, etc. (you may want to ask the interviewee to offer some concrete cases). In particular, find out

- Which organs/institutions/actors/persons the interviewee works with/through when articulating his/her interests (these may be different from interest to interest)

- What is a typical decision-making process that the interviewee experiences? Who sets the

process in motion? When does the interviewee step in?

- Who typically tries to influence the interviewee, and in what ways

- What is the lobbying process like: How legitimate is it in the EU system? How does it start? What does it take to be a good lobbyist?

- What is the politicking/coalition-building process like: How does it start? What does it take to be a good negotiator?

 

Logistics and Practicalities

Each group will be given full address information, city maps, subway tickets, and travel directions in Brussels. Please note that groups will be responsible for finding their way to visits. Be sure to know exactly where you are going before you leave for the interview. If you are visiting an EU institution, please plan on arriving 15 minutes early in order to clear security.

Each group should organize itself in advance and decide such items as who is in charge of getting the group to the interview, introducing the group to the interviewee, taking notes, writing a thankyou letter after returning to Copenhagen, etc.

Please wear business attire for the interview (and for other professional visits during the tour). Group Interview Reports – one on the political lobbyist and one on the member state permanent representative

 

Political Actor Interview Reports

Based on the interviews that you conduct in Brussels, you will write a brief report discussing your findings.

• The reports are written in your interview groups and are thus not an individual report
• The reports will be max. 2-4 pages long.
• The Reports should include:
  • Short presentation of the person and the organization/institution etc., which he/she represents.
  • What came out of the interview – “How they are playing the game?” Key observations, interesting statements. How is lobbying taking place? Invited or financed by the EU etc. Inspiration may come from the questions in “EU Political Actor Interviews Exercise in Brussels – Instructions”.
  • How did the interview go? Have a brief, final discussion of any bias, challenges, moral/cultural issues you encountered when carrying out the interview and reflect briefly on how this may have affected your interview data.

 

Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:

• Course Enrollment and Grading
• Attendance
• Coursework, Exams, and Final Grade Reports

 

 

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