This course explores basic issues in the politics and political development of various European countries. It will give a theoretically based introduction into political systems in general, into European political systems in particular. Emphasis is placed upon the role of constitutional organizations as well as political parties and interest groups in Europe. We begin by inquiring into the historical and institutional foundations of European political systems. We then turn to current political and institutional issues in selected European countries. In the final part of the course, we inquire into the European Union as overarching integration project that deeply affects politics and policy of European countries.
Attendance policy:
Since IES courses are designed to take advantage of the unique contribution of the instructor and the lecture/discussion format is regarded as the primary mode of instruction, regular class attendance is mandatory. Each student may have no more than one absence in each course for whatever reasons. Your final grade in the course will be reduced by one fraction of a grade (i.e. A becomes A -) after that.
Method of presentation:
Lecture, discussion, and field study. Students are encouraged to regularly comment on press releases from online European daily journals.
Field study:
Field study trip to European institutions (TBA)
Required work and form of assessment:
Mid-term (25%)
Presentations (25%)
Research Paper (30%)
Memos (20%)
Presentations (25%)
Every week, one or two students will be assigned to make presentations on the topics listed in the syllabus. A good presentation is one that combines a clear and articulated argument and questions for discussions. A one-page handout is required.
Research paper (30%): Students are expected to write a research paper on a topic of their choice. The paper can focus on a specific country or a political and/or institutional issue. Either way, students should demonstrate research and a critical analysis based on the literature and knowledge gained through the course. It should be 3500 words minimum and double-spaced. A 1-page outline, containing 2-3 bibliographical sources, is due on class 12 (indicated on syllabus). Students are expected to follow the advice and comments that will be provided. Plagiarism (citing of text without a source or copying from the internet) is NOT ACCEPTABLE.
Memos (20%) Every week, one or two students will write memos on selected topics related to the class presentation. The memos are one to two-page long, and constitute short and clear synthesis of the topic. Students are expected to correct the memos according to the professor’s comments and then to communicate them to their fellow students. Memos are parts of the material needed for the midterm exam.
content:
Introduction to Comparative European Political Systems
Presenting the class, the syllabus. Overview of political systems in Europe.
Historical perspectives
Lecture : From the historical foundations of state-building to the current European context
Readings: EPT Chapter 1 p.1-21
Suggested readings : Page, Edward C. 1995. Patterns and Diversity in European State Development. In: Jack Hayward and Edward C . Page (eds) Governing the New Europe. Oxford: Polity Press, 9-44. Tilly, Charles 1992. Coercion, Capital and European States, Ad 990-1992. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers, 38
– 66.
Constitutional organizations in Europe : rules, principles and the distribution of power (1)
Lecture : Accuracy of the presidential, semi-presidential and parliamentary regimes distinction
Readings : EPT chapter 2 and 4 ; MSEU chapt. 12 Kassim H. "The European Union and member state institutions."
Suggested readings : Alan Siaroff, "Varieties of parliamentarianism in the advanced industrial democracies, International Political Science Review, 2003, 24 (4), pp. 445-464 ; Lijphart chapt.10
« Division of power : The Federal-Unitary-Decentralized Contrasts » Memo 1 : Majoritarian vs. Consensus Democracy ?
Interest groups, parties and civil society
Lecture : Citizens and democratic politics in European countries
Readings : EPT chapt. 3 ; MSEU chapt. 13
Suggested readings : Bouwen, Pieter (2002). "Corporate lobbying in the European Union : the logic of access." Journal of European Public Policy 9(3): 365-390
Jordan, Grant (1998). What drives associability at the European level? The limits of the utilitarian explanation. Collective action in the European Union. J. Greenwood and M. Aspinwall. London, Routledge:
31-62
The United Kingdom
The « Westminster model »
Readings : MSEU chapt. 6 Allen, David « The United Kingdom » ; EPT chapt.5 « Politics in
England »(oct. 14th)
Suggested readings : Lijphart, chapt.2 « The Westminster model of democracy »
Memo 2 : Prime ministers and the transformations of parliamentarism from M. Thatcher to G. Brown(Anton)
Federalism in Europe (1) : Germany
The impact of Unification on German institutions (presentation)
Readings : The New York Times : « Be Nice to the Germans » http://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/20/opinion/be-nice-to-the-germans.html; ADBS Chapt.7 « Politics in Germany », BL chapt.4 Anderson Jeffrey « Germany »
Suggested readings : Togetherness: A Balance Sheet,” The Economist (September 30, 2000): 25-27 (oct
19th)
Memo 3 : Comparison of Cabinet formation in the UK and Germany
Federalism in Europe (2) : Switzerland and Belgium
Comparison of Swiss and Belgian « consociational democracies »
Readings : BL Chapt. 8 Jones Erik « Benelux countries », ADBS chapt. 4, Henderson, Conway W. 1981. Comment: Consociational Democracy and the Case of Switzerland. The
Journal of Politics 43 (4):1232-1235.(oct.21st) Suggested Readings :
Memo 4 : Challenges to national unity in contemporary Belgium
Hand-in of research papers drafts
Judicial review under Sarkozy’s presidency : the Hadopi case
Readings : ADBS chapt.6 « Politics in France » ; BL chapt. 5, Balme Richard and Woll Cornelia
« France »(oct 28th)
Suggested Readings : Arista Maria Cirtautas.2000 « France : Historical development, contemporary politics »
Memo 5: « Cohabitation » and the Fifth Republic
Memo 6 : Decentralization in France
Spain
Regional autonomy and national unity in contemporary Spain
Readings : ADBS chapt.8 « Politics in Spain » ; BL Bindi Federiga and Cisci Manuela « Italy and Spain » Suggested readings : Gunther, Richard, Montero J., Botella, J. Democracy in modern Spain, New Haven, CT : Yale University Press, 2004
Memo 7 : The Basque question
Midterm exam
Greece and Portugal
The end of dictatorship in Greece and Portugal : a comparison (presentation)
Readings : MSEU, chapt.11 Hibou Béatrice « Portugal and Greece » ;
Suggested readings : “Southern Europe: a Third Wave success story” in Larry Diamond et al. eds,
Consolidating the Third Wave Democracies, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997
Memo 8 : The political dimension of the 2008 urban riots in Greece
Russia
Party development in post-1989 Russia (presentation)
Readings : EPT, chapt. 9 « Politics in Russia »
Suggested readings : Yitzhak Brudny, “Continuity of Change in Russian Electoral Patterns? The
December 1999– March 2000 Electoral Cycle,“ in A. Brown, ed. Contemporary Russian Politics, pp.154-
178.; HERSPRING, pp. 31-51: Thomas Remington, “Putin, the Duma, and Political Parties”; Kim
Murphy, “Russia Overhauls Its Election Laws,” Los Angeles Times (July 7, 2005). Memo 9: The Chechnia war
Poland
Democratization and civil society in Poland
Readings : EPT, chapt. 10 « Politics in Poland » ; MSEU, chapt. 16 Klaus Goetz, « New Member States and the EU »
Memo 10 : Poland, the European Union and « Christian values »
Northern Europe
Sweden and Scandinavia : one ideal model ?
Readings : MSEU, chapt. 10 Morten Egeberg, « Nordic Countries » ; economist.com « A midsummer night’s dream : a survey of the Nordic region » http://www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=1825016
The EU and member states electoral systems
Referendum in Europe
Readings : MSEU, chapt.14. Claudio Radaelli and Simon Bulmer: The Europeanization of National
Policy?; Lijphart : Patterns of democracy, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1999, chapt. 8
Suggested readings : Michael Gallagher, P.V. Uleri (dirs), The referendum experience in Europe, New York, Macmillan, 1996. Simon Hug, Voices of Europe : citizens, referendums and European integration, Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.
Memo 11: The far-right and elections in Europe
Class presentations of individual research papers
Accession of Turkey to the European Union
Required readings:
The required books should be acquired when SMD books come to the center or there may be used copies available to buy in the academic advisors office though there are copies available on reserve to read in the center. A limited number of the articles indicated in required readings are also available in the academic advisors office, web links are indicated where they exist.
(MSEU) Bulmer, Simon; Lequesne, Christian: The Member-States of the European Union,Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2005
(EPT) Almond, Gabriel A., Dalton, Russell J., Bingham Powell, G., Strom, Kaare: European Politics Today, Pearson Longman, 2006
Recommended readings:
Döring, Herbert (ed.), Parliaments and majority rule in Western Europe, Frankfurt, Campus, 1995
Lane, Jan-Erik & Ersson, Svante, Democracy : a comparative approach, New York, Routledge, 2003, 306 p.
Laver, Michael & Shepsle, Kenneth, Making and breaking governments : cabinets and legislatures in parliamentary democracies, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1996, 301 p.
Lijphart, Arendt, Patterns of Democracy, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1999, 351 p. Stone Sweet, Alec, Governing with judges. Constitutional politics in Europe, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2000, 232, p.
Mair, Peter, Party system change : approaches and interpretations, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1997, 244 p.
Müller, Wolfgang & Strom, Kaare, Coalition governments in Western Europe, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2000, 602 p.
Tsebelis, George, Veto players. How political institutions work, New York/Princeton, Russel
The Financial Times www.ft.com. The Guardian (UK newspaper) has a weekly European edition with extracts of several continental European newspapers. The British BBC also has a good site for European news.
You will find an interesting guide to various European media sources on the website of the Center for European Studies of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill http://www.unc.edu/depts/europe
European Political Systems And Political Thought
This course explores basic issues in the politics and political development of various European countries. It will give a theoretically based introduction into political systems in general, into European political systems in particular. Emphasis is placed upon the role of constitutional organizations as well as political parties and interest groups in Europe. We begin by inquiring into the historical and institutional foundations of European political systems. We then turn to current political and institutional issues in selected European countries. In the final part of the course, we inquire into the European Union as overarching integration project that deeply affects politics and policy of European countries.
Since IES courses are designed to take advantage of the unique contribution of the instructor and the lecture/discussion format is regarded as the primary mode of instruction, regular class attendance is mandatory. Each student may have no more than one absence in each course for whatever reasons. Your final grade in the course will be reduced by one fraction of a grade (i.e. A becomes A -) after that.
Lecture, discussion, and field study. Students are encouraged to regularly comment on press releases from online European daily journals.
Field study trip to European institutions (TBA)
Mid-term (25%)
Presentations (25%)
Research Paper (30%)
Memos (20%)
Presentations (25%)
Every week, one or two students will be assigned to make presentations on the topics listed in the syllabus. A good presentation is one that combines a clear and articulated argument and questions for discussions. A one-page handout is required.
Research paper (30%): Students are expected to write a research paper on a topic of their choice. The paper can focus on a specific country or a political and/or institutional issue. Either way, students should demonstrate research and a critical analysis based on the literature and knowledge gained through the course. It should be 3500 words minimum and double-spaced. A 1-page outline, containing 2-3 bibliographical sources, is due on class 12 (indicated on syllabus). Students are expected to follow the advice and comments that will be provided. Plagiarism (citing of text without a source or copying from the internet) is NOT ACCEPTABLE.
Memos (20%) Every week, one or two students will write memos on selected topics related to the class presentation. The memos are one to two-page long, and constitute short and clear synthesis of the topic. Students are expected to correct the memos according to the professor’s comments and then to communicate them to their fellow students. Memos are parts of the material needed for the midterm exam.
Introduction to Comparative European Political Systems
Presenting the class, the syllabus. Overview of political systems in Europe.
Historical perspectives
Lecture : From the historical foundations of state-building to the current European context
Readings: EPT Chapter 1 p.1-21
Suggested readings : Page, Edward C. 1995. Patterns and Diversity in European State Development. In: Jack Hayward and Edward C . Page (eds) Governing the New Europe. Oxford: Polity Press, 9-44. Tilly, Charles 1992. Coercion, Capital and European States, Ad 990-1992. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers, 38
– 66.
Constitutional organizations in Europe : rules, principles and the distribution of power (1)
Lecture : Accuracy of the presidential, semi-presidential and parliamentary regimes distinction
Readings : EPT chapter 2 and 4 ; MSEU chapt. 12 Kassim H. "The European Union and member state institutions."
Suggested readings : Alan Siaroff, "Varieties of parliamentarianism in the advanced industrial democracies, International Political Science Review, 2003, 24 (4), pp. 445-464 ; Lijphart chapt.10
« Division of power : The Federal-Unitary-Decentralized Contrasts » Memo 1 : Majoritarian vs. Consensus Democracy ?
Interest groups, parties and civil society
Lecture : Citizens and democratic politics in European countries
Readings : EPT chapt. 3 ; MSEU chapt. 13
Suggested readings : Bouwen, Pieter (2002). "Corporate lobbying in the European Union : the logic of access." Journal of European Public Policy 9(3): 365-390
Jordan, Grant (1998). What drives associability at the European level? The limits of the utilitarian explanation. Collective action in the European Union. J. Greenwood and M. Aspinwall. London, Routledge:
31-62
The United Kingdom
The « Westminster model »
Readings : MSEU chapt. 6 Allen, David « The United Kingdom » ; EPT chapt.5 « Politics in
England »(oct. 14th)
Suggested readings : Lijphart, chapt.2 « The Westminster model of democracy »
Memo 2 : Prime ministers and the transformations of parliamentarism from M. Thatcher to G. Brown(Anton)
Federalism in Europe (1) : Germany
The impact of Unification on German institutions (presentation)
Readings : The New York Times : « Be Nice to the Germans » http://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/20/opinion/be-nice-to-the-germans.html; ADBS Chapt.7 « Politics in Germany », BL chapt.4 Anderson Jeffrey « Germany »
Suggested readings : Togetherness: A Balance Sheet,” The Economist (September 30, 2000): 25-27 (oct
19th)
Memo 3 : Comparison of Cabinet formation in the UK and Germany
Federalism in Europe (2) : Switzerland and Belgium
Comparison of Swiss and Belgian « consociational democracies »
Readings : BL Chapt. 8 Jones Erik « Benelux countries », ADBS chapt. 4, Henderson, Conway W. 1981. Comment: Consociational Democracy and the Case of Switzerland. The
Journal of Politics 43 (4):1232-1235.(oct.21st) Suggested Readings :
Memo 4 : Challenges to national unity in contemporary Belgium
Hand-in of research papers drafts
Judicial review under Sarkozy’s presidency : the Hadopi case
Readings : ADBS chapt.6 « Politics in France » ; BL chapt. 5, Balme Richard and Woll Cornelia
« France »(oct 28th)
Suggested Readings : Arista Maria Cirtautas.2000 « France : Historical development, contemporary politics »
Memo 5: « Cohabitation » and the Fifth Republic
Memo 6 : Decentralization in France
Spain
Regional autonomy and national unity in contemporary Spain
Readings : ADBS chapt.8 « Politics in Spain » ; BL Bindi Federiga and Cisci Manuela « Italy and Spain » Suggested readings : Gunther, Richard, Montero J., Botella, J. Democracy in modern Spain, New Haven, CT : Yale University Press, 2004
Memo 7 : The Basque question
Midterm exam
Greece and Portugal
The end of dictatorship in Greece and Portugal : a comparison (presentation)
Readings : MSEU, chapt.11 Hibou Béatrice « Portugal and Greece » ;
Suggested readings : “Southern Europe: a Third Wave success story” in Larry Diamond et al. eds,
Consolidating the Third Wave Democracies, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997
Memo 8 : The political dimension of the 2008 urban riots in Greece
Russia
Party development in post-1989 Russia (presentation)
Readings : EPT, chapt. 9 « Politics in Russia »
Suggested readings : Yitzhak Brudny, “Continuity of Change in Russian Electoral Patterns? The
December 1999– March 2000 Electoral Cycle,“ in A. Brown, ed. Contemporary Russian Politics, pp.154-
178.; HERSPRING, pp. 31-51: Thomas Remington, “Putin, the Duma, and Political Parties”; Kim
Murphy, “Russia Overhauls Its Election Laws,” Los Angeles Times (July 7, 2005). Memo 9: The Chechnia war
Poland
Democratization and civil society in Poland
Readings : EPT, chapt. 10 « Politics in Poland » ; MSEU, chapt. 16 Klaus Goetz, « New Member States and the EU »
Memo 10 : Poland, the European Union and « Christian values »
Northern Europe
Sweden and Scandinavia : one ideal model ?
Readings : MSEU, chapt. 10 Morten Egeberg, « Nordic Countries » ; economist.com « A midsummer night’s dream : a survey of the Nordic region »
http://www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=1825016
The EU and member states electoral systems
Referendum in Europe
Readings : MSEU, chapt.14. Claudio Radaelli and Simon Bulmer: The Europeanization of National
Policy?; Lijphart : Patterns of democracy, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1999, chapt. 8
Suggested readings : Michael Gallagher, P.V. Uleri (dirs), The referendum experience in Europe, New York, Macmillan, 1996. Simon Hug, Voices of Europe : citizens, referendums and European integration, Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.
Memo 11: The far-right and elections in Europe
Class presentations of individual research papers
Accession of Turkey to the European Union
The required books should be acquired when SMD books come to the center or there may be used copies available to buy in the academic advisors office though there are copies available on reserve to read in the center. A limited number of the articles indicated in required readings are also available in the academic advisors office, web links are indicated where they exist.
(MSEU) Bulmer, Simon; Lequesne, Christian: The Member-States of the European Union,Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2005
(EPT) Almond, Gabriel A., Dalton, Russell J., Bingham Powell, G., Strom, Kaare: European Politics Today, Pearson Longman, 2006