Universität Wien

210152 SE EC SE (2015S)

The EU and global governance

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

Seminare
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.
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 19.03. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 26.03. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 16.04. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 23.04. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 30.04. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 07.05. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 21.05. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 28.05. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 11.06. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 18.06. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 25.06. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This course looks at the international relations of the European Union (EU) and its role in global governance. While European integration started off as an internal project centering on the making of the Single Market and the harmonization of Member State policies, over time the external dimension of major EU policies gradually gained in importance. The EU has not only emerged as a foreign policy and security actor, it also became involved in managing globalization in areas such as commerce, the environment or social affairs. The course gives a brief overview of the EU's unique institutional set-up as an external actor and examines its international relations with a focus on (a) the Union's relations with its neighborhood; (b) inter-regional cooperation (e.g. EU-ASEAN and EU-MERCOSUR); and (c) the EU’s relations with international organizations (e.g. WTO; UN). Additionally, the course covers the EU's role in global security governance. To stimulate discussions, the course uses important current events as case studies such as the EU's response to the developments of the Arab spring; or its role in managing the international financial crises. Course requirements are active participation, short summaries of the assigned reading, short essays and potentially a final exam.

Assessment and permitted materials

Regular and active participation is mandatory for a successful completion of the course (not more than two classes can be missed). Participation in the first session is compulsory and unexcused absence will lead to de-registration from the course. Students need to prepare input papers (1-2 pages) on the basis of the assigned reading (see above) and are asked to upload their papers prior to each session on moodle. Moreover, each student will present an argument related to the course reading during an open debate with a fellow student. During the course students should visit an external event related to the course and will prepare a short summary of the event (2-3 pages) to be submitted until 1. July 2015. This will replace one of the seminar sessions (the exact session/date is still to be announced). Moreover, students are asked to hand in a final paper (10 pages) on a self-selected topic related to the overall theme of the course (deadline for submission is 20. July 2015). Students in the group that won most debates during the course will only have to write a final paper of 5 pages. The final assessment will be made as follows: input papers and debate 50 percent, summary of external event 10 percent, final paper 40 percent.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

As part of the so-called ‘Erweiterungscurriculum’ (http://eif.univie.ac.at/lehre.php) this course is designed for students outside the field of political science that take an interest in the EU. The course aims at promoting a better understanding of critical issues related to the EU’s global role. Rather than engaging in abstract theoretical debates these issues are addressed through accessible materials and timely case studies. The course introduces students to the EU’s role in key domains of global governance – thus transcending the more narrow focus on the EU’s foreign and security policy – and seeks to stimulate critical thinking about the EU’s global role in a broad sense.

Examination topics

The different sessions of the course are based on (a) an academic introductory text providing an accessible overview of the topics covered in each session (usually from a text book) and (b) a more ‘policy oriented’ text (e.g. a press article or a think tank paper) dealing with key events or timely developments to stimulate discussions. The students are asked to hand in short input papers based on the assigned course readings for each session (to be uploaded through moodle). The input papers are meant to develop a specific argument on a topical question related to the assigned literature. To facilitate a debate, students are divided in two groups (group A and group B). While students in group A are asked to present one side of an argument (e.g. ‘the EU is a unique and powerful global actor’) students in group B are meant to argue an opposing view in their input papers (e.g. the EU is not a relevant international actor). In each session one student from each group (a representative of group A and a representative from group B) consults with his respective group for a short while and subsequently both students enter into a 10 minutes long debate in the plenum during which they present their respective arguments.

Reading list

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:38