The EU, power, and democracy, 7.5 Credits

Contents

The purpose of this module is to give an overarching introduction to the history, institutional set-up, policy work and democratic situation of the European Union. Joining the EU leads to an upheaval in the national political context and puts new questions of accountability and public influence on the agenda. This makes an up-to-date understanding of the organization relevant. In this course we therefore seek to answer questions about what the EU really is, how it operates and how its member states are affected by the membership in the union. We will learn how the Eurozone is set-up, why the EU is able to send troops to Mali and why the common agricultural policy is so hard to reform. Questions about democracy and legitimacy are also core themes and will be integrated into all parts of the course.

Expected learning outcomes

In order to pass this course the student should, as far as knowledge and understanding are concerned, be able to:

• Account for the overarching structure of the EU as well as explain how the main changes that have taken place since its foundation affect its daily work
• Describe the main policy areas of the EU as well as how increased European influence over salient political questions affects democracy and legitimacy in Europe

In order to pass this course the student should, as far as skills and abilities are concerned, be able to:

• Use European integration theories in order to on a general level be able to explain how the EU has developed
• Draw on different theories of democracy to assess the democratic credentials of the union

Required Knowledge

Univ: 30 ECTS-credits in Political Science or equivalent.

Form of instruction

This course consists of lectures, seminars, a book report and one exam. The lectures aim to support students’ learning as a complement to individual study of the required readings. The seminars offer the opportunity to further discuss issues and concepts introduced throughout the course and the book report aims to give students the opportunity to more thoroughly engage with the union’s democratic situation. All in all the hope is that these different features of the course will provide a coherent whole that allows students to draw on different learning strategies to understand the activities of the EU.

Examination modes

The grade in the EU module is based on three things:
1.         Participation in mandatory seminars
2.         A individual book report
3.         A written individual exam.
 
For their participation in the seminar discussions, students can get pass or fail. The points received on the book report and the written exam are added together and the total result can then be awarded one of three grades: Fail (U), Pass (G), and Pass with distinction (VG).