Il corso offre una riflessione critica sulle politiche interne ed esterne della UE, facendo riferimento agli strumenti metodologici e concettuali sviluppati nell'ambito delle teorie del policy making europeo.
The list of required readings can be found on the syllabus, which is uploaded under the heading "Programma esteso".
Obiettivi Formativi
The general aim of the course is to provide students with a critical understanding of policy making at the EU level. By the end of the course students should be able to appreciate what is at stake in the most important internal and external EU policies and what are the main factors influencing the relevant decision making process.
Prerequisiti
Basic knowledge of: a) the history of European integration; b) the main EU institutions with particular reference to their role and functions.
Metodi Didattici
Students are expected to participate actively in the course; hence, they should complete the assigned reading before class. In addition, students will have to make a short presentation and write three short reports agreed during the course.
Modalità di verifica apprendimento
The oral presentation and the three handouts will be taken into account for the final grading (25 percent). The final exam consists of four short written essays on the topics covered by the course. Students will have three and a half hours to complete the assignment.Required readings will be reduced by 25 percent for students participating in the EU Simulation with James Madison University.
Programma del corso
FIRST MODULE (27 FEBRUARY-22 MARCH)
• Introduction to the course
• The EU and future challenges
• Long-term historical constraints. The legacy of European Nation-States: (I)State Formation; (II) Capitalist Development; (III) Nation Building; (IV) Democratization; (V)Welfare State
• The treaties of the 1950s as a phase of boundary redefinition. The EU as a political system.
Required reading: The Schuman Declaration – 9 May 1950; S. Hix and B. Hoyland, The Political System of the European Union, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, excerpt “What is the EU? A Political System but not a State”:12-16. ( uploaded on Moodle)
• The Grand Theories of European integration: Neo-functionalism and Intergovernmentalism
Required reading : Power-point presentations (uploaded on Moodle)
• Tutorial on Paul Pierson’s article on “ The path to European Integration: a Historical Institutionalist Analysis”
Required reading: Paul Pierson, “ The Path to European Integration: a Historical Institutionalist Analysis”, Comparative Political Studies, 1996, no.2 only section 1 and 2: 128-148. (uploaded on Moodle)
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• From the analysis of the integration process to the analysis of how the EU actually works and produces its policies.
• Policy versus politics.
• “Who gets what, when and how”
• The policy cycle
Required reading: E. Versluis, M.van Keulen and P. Stephenson, Analyzing the European Union Policy Process, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, Chapter 1: 11-24.
• The segmentation of policy making
• Analyzing policy making across time. From the Treaty of Rome to the Lisbon Treaty: degree of policy integration and extent of supranational decision-making.
Required reading: ; S. Hicks and B. Hoyland, The Political System of the European Union, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, excerpt “The Institutional and Policy architecture of the EU”: 2-12. (uploaded on Moodle).
• The actors of policy making: The Commission.
Required reading: S. Schmidt and A. Wonka “European Commission” in E. Jones, A. Menon and S.Weatherill (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the European Union, Oxford University Press, 2014:336-346. (uploaded on moodle)
SECOND MODULE ( 27 MARCH- 26 APRIL)
During the second module students will give a five minutes oral presentation on the profile and priorities of individual EU Commissioners. They will also have to work on three short handouts providing information on: a) their country’s MEP membership in EP Committees ( for larger countries each student will consider a maximum of eight MEPs), b) national parties’ composition of the European Parliament’s political groups in the current and the previous legislature; c) do be defined.
• The actors of policy making : The European Parliament
Required reading: T. Raunio, The European Parliament in E. Jones, A. Menon and S.Weatherill (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the European Union, Oxford University Press, 2014:365-373.(uploaded on Moodle)
• The actors of policy making: Council of Ministers and European Council
Required reading: J. Lewis, Council of Ministers and European Council, in E. Jones, A. Menon and S.Weatherill (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the European Union, Oxford University Press, 2014:321-331.(uploaded on Moodle)
• The actors of policy making: Interest groups
Required reading: S. Hix and B. Hoyland, The Political System of the European Union, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, chapter 7, Interest representation: 159-186.(uploaded on Moodle)
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• What do we analyze? Types of policies: redistributive, distributive and regulatory policies.
• Tutorial on Majone’s article “The rise of the Regulatory State in Europe”
Required reading: “The Rise of the Regulatory State in Europe”, West European Politics 1994, no.3: 77- 101.
• EU Policy instruments
Required reading: E. Versluis, M.van Keulen and P. Stephenson, Analyzing the European Union Policy Process, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010: 57-63.
• Evolution of EU budgetary policies over time.
• Analysis of the 2014-2020 multi-annual financial framework. Looking into the functional breakdown of EU expenditure.
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• Analyzing the different phases of EU policy making
• Agenda setting: theoretical perspectives and key issues.
Required reading: E. Versluis, M.van Keulen and P. Stephenson, Analyzing the European Union Policy Process, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010: chapter 5 “Agenda setting”:107-130.
• Policy shaping. The role of experts. Intra-organizational dynamics and power relations in the Commission.
Required reading: E. Versluis, M.van Keulen and P. Stephenson, Analyzing the European Union Policy Process, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010: chapter 6 “Policy shaping”: 132-152 (except pages 146-149 on theoretical perspectives); M. Hartlapp, J.Metz, C.Rauth, “Linking Agenda setting to coordination structures: Bureaucratic Politics inside the European Commission”, Journal of European Integration, 2013, no.4: 425-440. (uploaded on Moodle)
• Introduction to EU electronic sources. (the class will be held in the computer room by Dr. Calonaci, European Documentation Centre of the University library)
• Decision making in the EU: intra and inter-institutional dynamics.
Required reading: E. Versluis, M.van Keulen and P. Stephenson, Analyzing the European Union Policy Process, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010 chapter 7 “Decision making”: 154-178.
• The case of the “Agenda for change” in development cooperation policies: comparing the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council’s positions.
Required reading: V: Fargion and M. Mayer The European Union as a Global Social Policy Actor in A. Kaash and K. Martens (eds.) Actors and Agency in Global Social Governance, Oxford University Press, 2015: 105-113; “EU development policy at crossroads” excerpt from the paper by V: Fargion and M. Mayer “Health diplomacy in Africa: a win-win strategy for the EU?” presented at the annual conference of the Italian Political Science Association, University of Florence, 12-14 September 2013.
THIRD MODULE ( 8 MAY-31 MAY)
Apart from regular classes, students will attend the conference “The EU and Global Challenges. 28 Ideas from the Erasmus Generation” organized by Professor Fargion for the 60th anniversary of the Rome Treaties and the 30th anniversary of the Erasmus Program. The University of Florence has been recognized by the European Commission as a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence and the conference is part of its planned activities. The event involves 54 students ( a male and a female for each EU member country) selected by 27 partner Universities, plus the Florence team. Against the backdrop of the current deep crisis, the conference intends to encourage a group of students coming from all over Europe to present specific proposals and discuss their views with representatives of EU institutions, particularly MEPs on how to re-launch the European integration process and strengthen EU’s role in the international arena. The conference is scheduled during the Festival of Europe which takes place in Florence every two years.
• Implementation: from Brussels to national and local administrations. Regulatory policies and non-compliance: explanatory factors.
Required reading: E. Versluis, M.van Keulen and P. Stephenson, Analyzing the European Union Policy Process, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, chapter 8 “Implementation”: 180-191 and 200-203.
• European environmental directives and implementation problems. The case of waste management in the Naples area. ( seminar by PHD Benedetta Cotta)
• The concept of Europeanization
• Structural funds as an opportunity for regional governments. The case of Italy.
Required reading: V. Fargion, S.Profeti, L.Morlino, “Europeanization and Territorial Representation. The Case of Italy”, West European Politics, 2006/4:757-783 ( uploaded on Moodle)
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• Sensitive issues in EU internal policies: the lack of intra-EU solidarity in the light of the confining conditions of the EU integration process: the limited scope of EU social policy.
• European social policy in a historical perspective: from the Treaty of Rome to the Single European act; the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers; the Maastricht Treaty and the Social Protocol; The European social dialogue and its outcomes; the Amsterdam Treaty and the European Employment Strategy. The impact of the EU on national welfare states
• The Lisbon Strategy and the Open Method of Coordination;
• The role of the European Court of Justice ( the Vicking and Laval cases). The clash between economic and social integration.
• Europe 2020 - between discourse and reality: rising poverty and unemployment across Europe.
• Current EU migration and asylum policies.
Required reading: materials uploaded on Moodle.
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• Sensitive issues in EU external policies: the case of EU development cooperation with Sub-Saharan Africa.
Required reading: V. Fargion and M. Mayer, The European Union as a Global Social Policy Actor in A. Kaash and K. Martens (eds.) Actors and Agency in Global Social Governance, Oxford University Press, 2015: 113-125; V. Fargion and M. Mayer, “The European Union and Global Governance for Health”, paper presented at the RC19 annual conference, Bath 26-28 August 2015 (uploaded on Moodle)
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• The financial and economic crisis as a watershed in the development of the EU. Current problems and future prospects.
• Concluding remarks and overall discussion of the main topics covered by the course.
Required reading: V. Fargion, ‘L’afasia dei partiti europeisti e l’orizzonte strategico che ancora non c’è’, Italianieuropei, 2014/2: 41-49. G. Majone ‘From Regulatory State to democratic default?’ Journal of Common Market Studies, 2014/6:1216-1223.(uploaded on Moodle)