LFU:online

An examination of the current issues and problems of national and international politics.

The content of this course is to explore basic issues of European politics with an emphasis on the German speaking countries. We will first look at broad literature on selected political systems to have an insight of how European policy works. We will analyze the types of Welfare State models and what makes them different from the US. We then turn to the character of democratic institutions and party competition in these countries in recent years. How does democracy work in parliamentary political systems? What do different parties stand for? What are the major lines of conflict in the domestic politics of (Central) European countries, and is this different from that in the US?

Furthermore we will discuss current issues, like the changes of the welfare system, the impact of the European Union on national policies and also emerging local topics (Tyrol/Austria).

The goal is to provide students with an understanding of the way (Central) European politics work. The objective is to enable students to develop a critical understanding of the nature of European politics and society, to the point where they can follow what they read in newspapers and periodicals about Europe. That is why there will be frequent classroom discussion.

The University of New Orleans International Summer School program has a mandatory class attendance policy. All students are required to attend class for all morning classes and any required afternoon and/or weekend fields trips and lectures. No unexcused absences are allowed. However, LFU students who have to miss a UNO class due to LFU examinations in the first two weeks of our program, can receive one excused absence for this. Any further unexcused absences will result in an academic penalty. Each faculty member determines the penalty for missed classes. Most professors deduct a letter grade for each additional missed class day. For details, please refer to your course syllabi, which will be distributed on the first day of class. Mail: Center-New-Orleans@uibk.ac.at

Die Anrechnung der Kurse der UNO-IBK International Summer School muss von den Studierenden selbst vorab mit den zuständigen StudiendekanInnen geklärt werden. Diese allein entscheiden über die Anerkennung der belegten Kurse für das jeweilige Studienfach. Es wird empfohlen, sich einen Vorabbescheid über die Anerkennung der Kurse ausstellen zu lassen.