Universität Wien
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210102 SE M5: The EU’s Decision Traps: Comparing Policies (2025W)

9.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 21 - Politikwissenschaft
Prüfungsimmanente Lehrveranstaltung
Moodle

An/Abmeldung

Hinweis: Ihr Anmeldezeitpunkt innerhalb der Frist hat keine Auswirkungen auf die Platzvergabe (kein "first come, first served").

Details

max. 50 Teilnehmer*innen
Sprache: Englisch

Lehrende

Termine

Wednesdays, 15h00 – 16h30, seminar room of the Centre for European Integration Research - EIF (Apostelgasse 23, 1030 Wien, ground floor), starting 8 October 2025. Participation in the first unit of the course is mandatory!

Information

Ziele, Inhalte und Methode der Lehrveranstaltung

Nowadays, the EU is the most important level of policymaking, since the most challenging topics tend to cross borders, meaning individual states can no longer solve their societies' problems adequately. At the same time, the EU is based on treaties that granted only limited powers and established rigorous decision-making procedures. Consequently, the EU has, on occasion, been described as a 'joint-decision trap' (Fritz Scharpf). Fortunately, there are a number of mechanisms that can break EU deadlock. This seminar will focus on the dynamics between blockage and breakthrough in various areas of European integration.

Students will learn about different authors' perspectives and gain a thorough overview of EU policies while conducting their own research on specific related topics.

There will be an introductory phase with an basic information on the topic, a reading and debating phase, a research + coaching phase, and finally plenaries for presentations and debates.

Art der Leistungskontrolle und erlaubte Hilfsmittel

Deliverables include literature research and listing, a research outline, and a later seminar paper. Various presentations are also included.

The dangers and potential applications of AI in academic research will be discussed in class. Students are encouraged to use AI tools such as “DeepL Write” to improve the spelling and grammar of their texts, but you need always check the results word by word before incorporating them. Any relevant software used needs to be acknowledged in the deliverables, e.g in a list of software, including AI, right before or after the list of references. Using text-generative AI is not allowed in order to avoid losing time and energy to hallucinations.

Regular presence and active participation in all units is crucial. Missing more than one unit requires doctor's certification or similar.

Mindestanforderungen und Beurteilungsmaßstab

Grading will be based on successive written deliverables, each to be uploaded before the relevant deadline (70%). Moreover, presentations and feedback for others and contributions to the debates count (30%). Attention: Timely delivery of all partial assignments is mandatory for a positive grade.

Grading:
• 1 (excellent) 100 – 90 points
• 2 (good) 89 – 81 points
• 3 (satisfactory) 80 – 71 points
• 4 (sufficient) 70 - 61 points
• 5 (insufficient) 60 – 0 points

Students need to know and without exception follow the good academic practice standards (most importantly: https://politikwissenschaft.univie.ac.at/studium/informationen-fuer-studierende/#c511206, https://studienpraeses.univie.ac.at/infos-zum-studienrecht/sicherung-der-guten-wissenschaftlichen-praxis/plagiat/, click on "Hier finden Sie eine Handreichung, worauf bei der Verwendung und Zitierung von Quellen zu achten ist").

Correct citing and documenting of sources are, inter alia, a minimum basis for a positive grade in this class.

Plagiarism software may be used (‘Turnitin’) and individual interviews to individually discuss written work are possible and need to be passed. (German: Zur Sicherung der guten wissenschaftlichen Praxis kann die Lehrveranstaltungsleitung eine mündliche Reflexion der abgegebenen Seminararbeit vorsehen, die erfolgreich zu absolvieren ist).

Prüfungsstoff

Ongoing work as outlined (“prüfungsinhärente LV”). Students need to know and apply correctly all content discussed throughout the semester. An oral or written exam on the course essentials is possible after the introductory phase and after Christmas.

This course serves to practice and apply the methods of academic research and writing. These include, among others, correct citation, the correct documentation of sources, the use of comprehensible language as well as compliance with genre-specific rules. The correct use of the methods of academic research and writing is a prerequisite for a positive assessment.

Literatur

Gerda Falkner, Patterns of policy-making in European politics and the EU's joint-decision trap: Policies compared, 2015, Chapter 38, in: José Magone (ed.), Handbook of European Politics, Abingdon and New York: Routledge, pp. 708-722.

Gerda Falkner, The EU's Decision Traps and their Exits: A Concept for Comparative Analysis, in: Gerda Falkner (ed.) The EU’s Decision Traps: Comparing Policies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, pp. 1-17.

Gerda Falkner, In and Out of EU Decision Traps: Comparative Perspectives, in: Gerda Falkner (ed.) The EU’s Decision Traps: Comparing Policies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, pp. 237-258.

Zuordnung im Vorlesungsverzeichnis

Letzte Änderung: Fr 03.10.2025 15:06