BA § 5 (1) 5.b European Integration - Introduction

Students acquire the ability to explain and describe the process of European integration and how the European Union works. They are able to analyse and independently answer the questions concerning the institutions, decision-making processes and policy fields in the political system of the EU and its member states.

COVID 19, refugee crisis, Brexit or economic shocks – the European Union (EU) is at the center of attention of anyone living in Europe. Since its creation, the EU has widened in scope and deepened its competences so that it has emerged as the most advanced regional integration project in the world. This course aims to provide students with empirical knowledge about the EU and a theoretical toolbox to analyze a wide range of EU-specific questions. In the course, participants will learn to understand the EU’s political system and its policy-making process and to identify, compare, and apply theories of European integration to current EU-specific cases.

Interactive discussion and in-class group exercises during the sessions
Discussion and peer-feedback on the response papers
Presentations by course participants
Political science related written skills in the term paper

Participation in class and in in-class exercises during the sessions 10%
Presentation 20%
Literature summary 30%
Term Paper 40%

Cini, Michelle and Nieves Pérez-Solórzano Borragán (eds) (2019), European Union Politics, 6th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hix, Simon and Hoyland, Bjorn (2011), The Political System of the European Union, 3rd ed., Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

successful completion of the module according to § 5 Para 1 No 1