Universität Wien
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210074 SE BAK15 East European Studies (2016W)

Civil Society in a Changing World (engl.)

6.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 21 - Politikwissenschaft
Continuous assessment of course work

Die selbstständige Anmeldung innerhalb der Anmeldephase zu Semesterbeginn ist für die Teilnahme an dieser Lehrveranstaltung verpflichtend! Eine nachträgliche Anmeldung ist NICHT möglich.
Anwesenheitspflicht in der ersten LV-Einheit: Studierende, die der ersten Einheit unentschuldigt fern bleiben, verlieren ihren Platz in der Lehrveranstaltung, und Studierende von der Warteliste können nachrücken.

Nach der ab Oktober 2015 geltenden Satzung der Universität Wien gibt es neue letztmögliche Abgabefristen für Seminararbeiten falls Lehrveranstaltungsleiter keine kürzeren Fristen bekannt geben.

Wintersemester der 30.April
Sommersemester der 30. September

Die Lehrveranstaltungsleitung kann im Einzelfall entscheiden, ob ein Gespräch zur Arbeit erforderlich ist. Das Gespräch ist notenrelevant und ist zu dokumentieren (Prüfungsprotokoll).
Stellt sich bei dem Gespräch heraus, dass der/die Studierende über die Inhalte des schriftlichen Beitrags keine oder ungenügend Auskünfte geben kann, ist die Seminararbeit (=Teilleistung) negativ zu bewerten. Gibt der/die Studierende zu, dass die Arbeit nicht selbst verfasst wurde, ist die Lehrveranstaltung mit einem "X" zu bewerten ("Nichtbeurteilung wegen unerlaubter Hilfsmittel").

Plagiate
Ein Plagiat ist die bewusste und unrechtmäßige Übernahme von fremdem geistigem Eigentum; der/die AutorIn verwendet ganz oder teilweisefremde Werke in einem eigenen Werk, ohne die Quelle anzugeben. Dies wird im Sammelzeugnis mit einem X gekennzeichnet und mit folgendem Zusatz versehen. Nicht beurteilte und nichtige Prüfungen: Gemäß § 74 ist die Beurteilung einer Prüfung für nichtig zu erklären, wenn diese Beurteilung oder die Anmeldung zu dieser Prüfung erschlichen wurde (N), Gemäß § 13 (7) des studienrechtlichen Satzungsteils der Universität Wien sind Prüfungen, bei denen unerlaubte Hilfsmittel mitgenommen oder verwendet werden, nicht zu beurteilen (X).
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 50 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Thursday 06.10. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 13.10. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 20.10. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 27.10. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 03.11. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 10.11. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 17.11. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 24.11. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 01.12. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 15.12. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 15.12. 18:30 - 20:00 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 12.01. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 19.01. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 19.01. 18:30 - 20:00 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 26.01. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Civil society has increasingly come to be understood as fundamental for public deliberation and civil interest representation, which stand at the basis of a democratic society. Civil society is in this sense a mediator between the citizen and the state. It consists of various types of organizations, outside of government institutions and official parties, offering alternative ways to affect policy. Strengthening civil society has become a central focus both at the European Union level and also in the national political arenas. From the European Union's efforts to consolidate and promote a civil society dimension, to the local debates surrounding the democratic deficit, there is an increasing consciousness to bring citizens closer to the European level.

The first part of the seminar will discuss the evolution of the conceptual elements that make up civil society and the relevance of different approaches to the current global context. This section will also provide an advanced understanding of the debates, theories and essential concepts relevant to civil society.
The second part focuses on Europeanization and how the different levels (national to global) interact. The approach will include both the top-down (the impact the EU has on the national arena and local civil society) and the bottom-up levels (when national civil societies impact policy making at the EU level), discussing current developments.
The third part of the seminar is more applied and focuses on the case of Romania, as a case of difficult and unsteady development of civil society within Central and Eastern Europe. Romanian civil society emerged for the first time after 1989, experiencing nothing like the Solidarity Movement in Poland, for example. In this sense, it is a late developing country, in terms of the political impact of civil society. This section will analyze and discuss recent relevant episodes, from the local perspective but also in the context of the European Union's impact on the Romanian civil society. This case will serve to contextualize the concepts and theoretical approaches discussed and will also bring depth to the two levels, the national and the European Union.

The seminar readings cover key texts on civil society and Europeanization, NGOs, social movements and advocacy networks. Over the seminar, the following questions will be answered:
- Who is part of civil society? How is it defined in respective literature?
- What are the channels through which civil society can impact policy?
- How is Romanian civil society developing as a post-communist EU member state?
- How did political elites in Romania respond to the new developments in terms of civil society participation?

Assessment and permitted materials

The seminar is set up in a way that students have to prepare given articles and texts prior to each session. Most of the sessions are structured in a way that small working groups discuss the topic at the beginning of the session and subsequently the debate will be shifted to the plenary. The reason for this method is to enable students to participate actively on a constant basis.
Students have to write three essays (1000 words each) over the course of the semester. The purpose of the essays is to deepen the understanding of the articles and link them to the topic of the session. In line with the course structure, one essay needs to be submitted for each part of the seminar.
Apart from the essays (50 %), students have to pass a midterm take-home exam (40 %), which will take place from November 24-27, 2016. The purpose of the exam is to get feedback on the level of understanding of the content of the course covered until the exam. Moreover, two sessions will include a seminar conference, which means that students in group have to prepare short presentations of given topics covered in the texts (10 %).

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Students have to successfully pass each of the assessments (essays, exam, and presentation) in order to receive a positive mark.

Examination topics

Reading list

Selection

Edwards, M. (2011). The Oxford handbook of civil society. New York ; Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ekiert, G., & Kubik, J. (2014). Myths and Realities of Civil Society. Journal of Democracy, 25(1), 46-58.
Epstein, R. A., & Jacoby, W. (2014). Eastern Enlargement Ten Years On: Transcending the East-West Divide? JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 52(1), 1-16.
Gherghina, S. (2015) The Romanian presidential election, November 2014. Electoral Studies, 38, 109-114.
Greenwood, J. (2007) Organized Civil Society and Democratic Legitimacy in the European Union. British Journal of Political Science, 37(2), 333-57.
Hooghe, L., & Marks, G. (2001). Multi-level governance and European integration. Lanham, Md. ; Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield.
Howard, M. M. (2002). The Weakness of Postcommunist Civil Society. Journal of Democracy, 13(1), 157-169.
Kohler-Koch, B., & Quittkat, C. (2009). What is civil society and who represents civil society in the EU? Results of an online survey among civil society experts. Policy and Society, 28(1), 11-22.
Margarit, D. (2016). Civic disenchantment and political distress: the case of the Romanian Autumn. East European Politics, 32(1), 46-62.
Mercea, D. (2014). Towards a Conceptualization of Casual Protest Participation: Parsing a Case from the Save Rosia Montana Campaign. East European Politics & Societies.
Morales, L., & Geurts, P. (2007). Associational involvement. In J. W. v. Deth, J. R. Montero, & A. Westholm (Eds.), Citizenship and involvement in European democracies : a comparative analysis (pp. 135-157). Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge.
Parau, C. E. (2009) Impaling Dracula: How EU Accession Empowered Civil Society in Romania. West European Politics, 32(1), 119-141.
Pianta, M. (2013). Democracy lost: The financial crisis in Europe and the role of civil society. Journal of Civil Society, 9(2), 148-161.
Piotrowski, G. (2009). Civil society, un-civil society and the social movements. Interface: a journal for and about social movements, 1(2), 166 - 189.
Sánchez-Salgado, R. (2014). Europeanizing Civil Society, Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology. Basingstoke.
Segert, D. (2013). Understanding the Footprint of State Socialism in East Central European Post-Socialism. Human Affairs, 23(3), 416-428.
Tismaneanu, V. (2013). Understanding 1989: Civil Society, Ideological Erosion, and Elite Disenchantment. East Central Europe, 40(1-2), 150-155.
Vesalon, L., & Cretan, R. (2015). We are not the Wild West: anti-fracking protests in Romania. Environmental Politics, 24(2), 288-307.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:38