210113 SE M5a Vertiefungsseminar: Conflicts over Europe (engl.) (2013W)

The course examines in depth several interlinked challenges currently facing the EU.

1. Democracy and the EU.
Is the EU democratic? How does the EU affect the quality of national democracies? We examine the changing roles of the European parliament and national parliaments and concepts such as input and output legitimacy.

2. The euro and the sovereign debt crisis.
How is the crisis reshaping EU and national politics and institutions? In this part of the course, we examine the origins of the crisis as well as the political responses to it at the European and the national level. What factors have prevented politicians from coming up with effective responses at the EU level? Are these responses eroding further national democracies?

3. The institutional setup for a EU of 28 member states.
The central question of this part of the course is whether the EU needs more or less flexibility? We examine what mechanisms are available to resolve the competing goals of unity and diversity such as Treaty opt-outs and enhanced cooperation. Should individual states be able to halt major agreements through negative referenda or supreme court rulings (Ireland and Germany will be discussed, respectively).

4. Enlargement
With more countries wanting to join the club, where does the EU draw the line? What are the benefits and disadvantages of further enlargement?

5. Politicization of the EU.
Is the time of the EU as an elite-driven project over? Are negative public opinion and Euroskepticism things that Brussels cannot afford to ignore any longer? To what extent can national political parties and national politicians mediate between the citizenry and the EU and do they? Are alternative channels for direct participation or preference aggregation effective?