Objectives
Learning more about European Union (EU) governance issues has long been a fascinating topic for many postgraduate students. It has become an even more important subject with the disappearance of the iron curtain and the emergence of the 'new Europe' in which Western and Eastern Europe have been gradually growing together as can be seen, for example, from the most recent EU enlargements in 2004 and 2007. The degree allows students to develop an advanced understanding of EU governance issues by providing a research led teaching environment for postgraduate students.The core modules of the MA in European Union Governance will focus particularly on the EU's history, policy actors (including institutional, governmental and non-governmental actors), decision-making processes and common policies as well as on theories of EU integration and politics.They will also cover EU enlargements, the rise of new modes of governance and how the democratic deficit could be reduced. Students will be able to acquire detailed knowledge about the EU's changing role within the wider European and global context. In addition to the core modules, students will be able also to opt for additional modules which focus on, for example, particular member states (e.g. the reunified Germany and its role within the EU and wider Europe) and public policies (e.g. environmental policy and security policy) as well as many other exciting topics (e.g. global governance issues, international politics, the political economy of the internet and comparative legislative studies).
Course description
Centre for European Union Studies (CEUS)
You will have plenty of opportunities to listen to important
European politicians, senior officials or leading academics, as the
Centre for European Union Studies (CEUS), which is hosted
by the Department of Politics and International Studies and
directed by Dr Wurzel, organises a wide range of events
including a fortnightly seminar series, international conferences
and the annual Jean Monnet lecture. CEUS, which strongly
encourages postgraduate students to participate in its
activities, has been recognised as a 'Centre of Excellence' in
research and teaching by the European Commission since
1999.
Programme structure
Core
All students on the MA in European Union Governance must
take the following core modules.
The EU - Political Integration and Policy Analysis
(semester one)
The main aim of this module is to provide students with a
good understanding of the EU's history, central policy actors
and different policy-making processes. It begins with a short
review of the EU's history while paying particular attention to
the various Treaty amendments. This is followed by an
assessment of the shifting roles of and power relations
between the main EU institutional actors (including the
Commission, European Parliament, Council of Ministers and
European Council as well as the European Court of Justice,
Economic and Social Committee and Committee of Regions),
member governments and non-governmental actors. Issues
such as the Europeanisation of member states and the EU's
democratic deficit will be assessed in this module.The module
also analyses different theories of EU integration and politics.
EU - National and International Perspectives (semester two)
This module focuses in particular on the EU's policy-making
processes, common policies and increasing role as an
international actor. It also focuses on the implications of the
various enlargements for both the EU as well as the 'old' and
'new' member states.This module begins with a short review
of the EU's changing powers which is followed by a detailed
assessment of the formal and informal rules of the policymaking
processes that are illustrated by case studies.The main
common policy areas which will be analysed include the Single
European Market (SEM), Common Agricultural Policy (CAP),
Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), structural policies,
environmental policy, immigration policy and Common
Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Following the analysis of
different common policy areas, attention then shifts to the rise
of new modes of government and what implications this has
for the traditional Monnet method.
Additional modules
Students on the MA in European Governance will also be able
to choose two additional modules per semester from a list of
options that at present includes but is not restricted to the
following:
• Germany in the European Union and the
Wider Europe
• Political Economy of Southern Europe
• The European and International Politics of the
Environment
• European Public Policy
• Globalisation and Governance in Theory
• EC Competition Law and the Global System
• The Political Economy of the Internet
• Political Economy in Perspective
• Political Economy of Development
• International Relations theory
• The Political Theory of Multiculturalism
• Parliament in the Contemporary Political System:
Government
• Parliament in the Contemporary Political System:
Citizenship
• Comparative Legislatures: Systems and Cultures
• Research Methods in Political Science
