The course has three main goals: 1) To offer an introduction to the process of European integration from the start of the EEC to 2020; 2) To explain how the European Union is ruled devoting special attention to the European Council, the Council of the European Union, the Commission, the Parliament and the Court of Justice; 3) To examine the representation process within the EU, with special attention to the political groups and the eurosceptic parties emerged in the 2019 EP elections.
M. Brunazzo e V. Della Sala, La politica dell’Unione europea, Mondadori, edizione aggiornata del 2019 (whole book)
L. De Sio, M.N. Franklin e L. Russo, The European Parliament Elections of 2019, Luiss University Press, 2019, free download at the link
https://cise.luiss.it/cise/2019/06/26/the-european-parliament-elections-of-2019-the-e-book/
(second part)
Other articles and publications to be added to reading list will be suggested during the course
6 CFU (CODE B018833)
M. Brunazzo e V. Della Sala, La politica dell’Unione europea, Mondadori, edizione aggiornata del 2019 (whole book)
Other articles and publications to be added to reading list will be suggested during the course
Learning Objectives
The course aims to provide students with the knowledge and analytical tools necessary to understand political dynamics within contemporary EU. On top of knowledge and analytical independence, the course also aims to foster the students’ interest on Eu current affairs and to promote their critical thinking skills on EU politics.
Prerequisites
Daily reading of national and/or international press.
Ability to read publications in English
Teaching Methods
Lectures; individual or group research activities
Type of Assessment
Final written examination with a mix of multiple choice and open-answer questions (to be completed within one hour and half)
There is no mid-term exam
Note: depending on the state of the pandemic emergency, the features of final test could be modified
Course program
The course is divided into three parts:
First part
Introduction to the EU;
The process of European integration from the 50s to the 2004 great enlargement;
The impact of the great recession and Brexit on the integration process;
Present and future perspectives on the integration process
Second part
Features of the European decision-making process;
The European Council;
The European Commission;
The Council of the European Union;
The Court of Justice;
The European Parliament
Third part
Representative democracy at the EU level;
The 2019 EP elections: features and novelties;
The political groups of the European Parliament;
Euroscepticism and populism at the EP level: definitions and causes;
National case studies