Universität Wien

210171 SE M9: East European Studies (2024S)

The 2024 EU elections in the eastern members

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

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Studierende, die der ersten Einheit unentschuldigt fern bleiben, verlieren ihren Platz in der Lehrveranstaltung.

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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: German

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Saturday 23.03. 08:00 - 11:30 Hörsaal 3 (H3), NIG 2. Stock
  • Saturday 13.04. 08:00 - 13:00 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
  • Saturday 25.05. 08:00 - 12:00 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
  • Friday 14.06. 08:00 - 13:00 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
  • Saturday 15.06. 08:00 - 13:00 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The direct election of the European Parliament is scheduled for the tenth time in June 2024. In the media, the election is often referred to as a "make or break election," especially since, according to current polls, right-wing and EU-critical parties frequently record high levels of support.

The eastern EU members, who joined since 2004, generally receive varying degrees of attention in the European public, also regarding the upcoming election. While the recent change in government in Poland was predominantly well-received in Europe, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán continues his conflict with European institutions and engages in EU-critical campaigns in his well-known style months before the EU election. Beyond the countries usually in focus, EU-critical and right-nationalist parties are gaining ground in the eastern members, such as the formerly social-democratic Smer in Slovakia or the right-nationalist AUR in Romania.

The course aims to examine key developments leading up to the 2024 EU election and contextualize them using scientific literature. Specifically, the focus is on the campaigns and major parties in the eastern EU members. At the same time, the course also addresses the fundamental attitudes of the populations in these countries towards the EU and explores why many people in the eastern EU member states feel like "second-class EU members."

The course predominantly involves reading and discussing English-language scientific sources, as well as primary sources like EU documents or speeches. Additionally, students prepare and discuss current developments at the beginning of each session. Further, in consultation with the course instructor, students choose, design and conduct their own small research project on the 2024 EU election, which will be presented at the end of the course and also documented in the final written assignment.

Assessment and permitted materials

At the center of the seminar is the interactive discussion of the mandatory texts and the current developments leading up to the 2024 EU election, requiring attentive reading of the literature and proficiency in English (as most texts are written in English). Various discussion formats, including Fishbowl, panel discussions, and small groups, will be employed.

To successfully complete the seminar, regular attendance (no missed sessions, as the classes are conducted in block form), preparation of the mandatory readings, and active participation in the discussions are fundamental. The performance assessment consists of five components: three written assignments (50%, depending on the task, 1500 or 2500 words each), two brief reviews of the written assignments of other students (10%, approximately 300 words), the presentation of a current topic (10%), as well as the individual project at the end of the course (20%), and oral participation (10%).

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

All five assessments (reviews, written assignments, presentations, oral performance) must each be evaluated positively to pass the seminar. Since the course is conducted in block format, no session can be missed.

In individual cases, the course management can decide whether a discussion regarding the work is necessary. The discussion is grade-relevant and must be documented (examination protocol). If, during the discussion, it becomes evident that the student cannot provide sufficient information about the content of the written contribution, the seminar paper (=partial achievement) is to be evaluated negatively. If the student admits that the work was not self-written, the course is to be assessed with an "X" ("Non-assessment due to unauthorized aids").
Plagiarism is the conscious and illegitimate adoption of someone else's intellectual property; the author uses entirely or partially foreign works in their own work without indicating the source. The plagiarism detection software "Turnitin" from the University of Vienna is used to check final papers. A plagiarism is marked with an 'X' in the diploma supplement and accompanied by the following note. Unassessed and invalid examinations: According to § 74, the assessment of an examination is to be declared invalid if this assessment or the registration for this examination was obtained by deception (N). According to § 13 (7) of the study law statute part of the University of Vienna, examinations in which unauthorized aids are taken or used are not to be assessed (X).

Examination topics

Compulsory reading, slides from the course instructor, and discussions in the course.

Reading list

Braun, D., & Grande, E. (2021). Politicizing Europe in Elections to the European Parliament (1994–2019): The Crucial Role of Mainstream Parties. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 59(5), 1124–1141. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13168
Braun, D., & Schäfer, C. (2022). Issues that mobilize Europe. The role of key policy issues for voter turnout in the 2019 European Parliament election. European Union Politics, 23(1), 120–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/14651165211040337
Csehi, R., & Zgut, E. (2021). ‘We won’t let Brussels dictate us’: Eurosceptic populism in Hungary and Poland. European Politics and Society, 22(1), 53–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/23745118.2020.1717064
Gattermann, K. (2020). Media Personalization during European Elections: The 2019 Election Campaigns in Context *. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 58(S1), 91–104. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13084
Hix, S., & Høyland, B. K. (2022). The political system of the European Union (Fourth edition). Bloomsbury Academic.
Hobolt, S. B., & De Vries, C. E. (2016). Public Support for European Integration. Annual Review of Political Science, 19(1), 413–432. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-042214-044157
Hobolt, S. B., & Wittrock, J. (2011). The second-order election model revisited: An experimental test of vote choices in European Parliament elections. Electoral Studies, 30(1), 29–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2010.09.020
Kritzinger, S. (Ed.). (2020). Assessing the 2019 European Parliament elections. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Makaryčev, A. S. (Ed.). (2021). Multifaceted nationalism and illiberal momentum at Europe’s eastern margins. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
Marsh, M. (1998). Testing the Second-Order Election Model after Four European Elections. British Journal of Political Science, 28(4), 591–607. https://doi.org/10.1017/S000712349800026X
Mudde, C. (2019). The 2019 EU elections: Moving the center. Journal of Democracy, 30, 20.
Treib, O. (2021). Euroscepticism is here to stay: What cleavage theory can teach us about the 2019 European Parliament elections. Journal of European Public Policy, 28(2), 174–189. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2020.1737881
Van Der Brug, W., Popa, S. A., Hobolt, S. B., & Schmitt, H. (2021). Illiberal democratic attitudes and support for the EU. Politics, 41(4), 537–561. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263395720975970
(preliminary selection)

Association in the course directory

Last modified: We 31.07.2024 12:06