European Integration: State of the Art
Full course description
This course opens the first year of the Research Master European Studies. It sets the scene for the following periods in two ways: First it introduces students to key current debates and contending perspectives on European integration. The focus will be on historical, theoretical, conceptual, and normative approaches to European integration, which are themselves rooted in international relations, history, political science and political philosophy. By looking at these debates, the course also introduces the three specialisations of the RMES curriculum (Historicising European Union, Governance and Representation in the EU, and Europe and the World). The course combines lectures and in-class discussion in the first four weeks. Subsequently, FASoS researchers who represent one of the three RMES specialisations discuss their specific research projects in class and thus give an insight into the practicalities of conducting research.
Course objectives
In this module students will:
- Gain knowledge on how different academic disciplines have dealt with the issue of European integration and understand key debates in these different fields;
- be able to recognise the potential and limitations of specific theories and approaches for opening (or closing) specific routes of inquiry on European integration;
- get an insight into the practical conduct of research projects and the choices that are made in designing them;
- be trained to take a reasoned position in specific academic debates and to communicate their insights in oral and written form;
- understand the three specialisations of the RMES and be prepared to make informed choices on their further study trajectory.
Prerequisites
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Recommended reading
The course syllabus provides a detailed list of readings for each seminar. Students who want to consult some introductory textbooks may want to consider the following (not mandatory):
Dinan, D., Nugent, N., & Paterson, W. E. (Eds.). (2017). The European Union in crisis. Palgrave.
Keukeleire, S., & Delreux, T. (2022). The foreign policy of the European Union (3rd ed.). Bloomsbury.
Patel, K. K. (2020). Project Europe: Myths and realities of European integration. Cambridge University Press.
Wiener, A., Börzel, T. A., & Risse, T. (Eds.). (2019). European integration theory (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Zimmermann, H., & Dür, A. (Eds.). (2021). Key controversies in European integration (3rd ed.). Red Globe Press.
- T. Conzelmann
- E.J. Radulova