PS
210-401 Introduction to European Politics: East and West
(Download PDF) |
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| Instructor: |
Mark Schroeder, M.A. |
| Class Times: |
Tuesday and Thursday 5:30 pm – 6:45 pm |
| Location: |
CB 231 (White Hall Classroom Building) |
| Office: |
#1602 Patterson Office Tower |
| Telephone: |
859-257-4436 |
| E-mail: |
maschr2@uky.edu |
| Web: |
http://www.uky.edu/~maschr2 |
| Office Hours: |
Monday and Wednesday 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm and by appointment |
Required Texts:
Gabriel A. Almond, Russell J. Dalton, G. Bingham
Powell, Jr., eds. European Politics Today. Second Edition
(New York: Longman, 2002).
E. Gene Frankland, Global Studies: Europe. Seventh
Edition (Guilford, CT: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2002).
Course Overview:
This course is designed to introduce students
to the politics of contemporary Europe. Understanding the dynamics
of “Old” and “New” European politics presents
opportunities and challenges that confront traditional approaches
for scholars and policy makers. This course seeks to understand
the institutional, historical, political, social, and economic
dynamics that drive the contemporary policies of European countries
and regions. Students will gain familiarity with the concerns
and policies of European countries, regions, and institutions.
You will learn to evaluate the policies of and opinions held by
individual and collective European countries towards each other
and other states and regions of the world.
Throughout the course you will be expected to
contribute with news from the rest of the world by reading the
print or on-line versions of the Wall
Street Journal, The
Economist, the New
York Times, and other similar newspapers. Following the
countries and regions of the Europe by reading these daily journals
will give you considerable information on the interactions and
international relations between nation states in the new Europe.
| Course Assignments
and Grading: |
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25% Midterm Research Paper
20% Midterm Exam
20% Group project
25% Final Exam
10% Participation via quizzes, attendance, other short assignments
Late assignments, quizzes, research papers,
projects, etc. will not be accepted later than seven calendar
days following their due date. A penalty of one third of a letter
grade per calendar day will be applied towards any late assignment.
Plagiarism will not be tolerated and if found, for example, by
“googling” your research paper, will result in a minimum
of a failed grade; please refer to official University of Kentucky
regulations regarding plagiarism.
This is your opportunity to research how a European
country relates to the world. You are to explain what drives the
international relations policies of your selected European country.
How does your selected country view its position in the world?
How does your country understand the theories of and participate
in international relations? What are the political, cultural,
economic and historical values that have contributed to its current
international relations position? Your purpose is not to determine
whose “side” your country is on but to understand
and explain why your country has its particular international
relations position. More specifically: you are building a case
to explain why your selected country takes the position in international
relations it does on particular issues. You are not just stating
what those positions are.
Begin by selecting a country that interests you.
Perhaps it is one that you have traveled or would like to travel
to. Since not all countries are concerned about all international
issues, you will need to determine what world issues your country
cares about. You will be providing these positions later in your
paper. It is your job to present the motive of your selected country
for taking those positions from their perspective. You are presenting
the “why” of the case such that if you present your
case well, it will seem obvious, given the characteristics of
your selected country, that they would take the positions they
have. You may find yourself disagreeing with the actions and positions
of the country you are studying, but this is not a critique of
what is right or wrong from your perspective, so you want to be
careful to keep such commentary out of your paper. You are only
interested in providing the reasons your selected country has
for doing what they do, whether you agree with them or not.
This paper takes planning to do it effectively,
and it will be well worth taking the time to outline your arguments
before writing. I suggest that you consider at least several academic
sources before writing. Be careful with your sources: Wikipedia,
newspaper stories and country websites, while helpful for introductory
purposes, don’t provide the substantive analytical content
that your paper requires. The paper must be 6-8 pages long, 12-point
font, typewritten and double-spaced, and must include citations
to all references used. E-mailed copies of your paper will not
be accepted.
You are to form groups of five people and select
from a list of actionable topics that I will distribute in class.
You are to research this topic, and, acting as members of the
European Parliament, make a 15 minute presentation of this topic
to the class. The class in turn will act as ministers of the Council
of the European Union. You are to convince the class that your
topic requires the support of, intervention by, and/or a resolution
from the Council, whichever is appropriate to your topic. Your
presentation is worth 50% of the group project grade.
Following your presentation you are to submit
to me an eight page, type-written and double-spaced paper outlining
your case to the Council of the European Union. Your paper is
worth 30% of the group project grade. Attached on a separate page
to your group paper, include a letter grade recommendation according
to each member’s participation.
Following each presentation, each student is
required to submit to me a written evaluation of the presentation
followed by a letter grade. This evaluation should include three
aspects: the presenter’s command of speech and delivery,
the presenter’s knowledge of the topic, and the presenter’s
ability to convince. The student evaluation is worth 20% of the
group project grade.
| Week 1 (January 13): |
Course overview |
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| Week 2 (January 18-20): |
Introduction to the European Context |
Readings:
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European Politics Today (EPT) Ch. 1
Global Studies: Europe (GSE) pp. 3-16 |
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| Week 3 (January 25-27): |
Democratic Political Culture |
Readings:
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EPT Ch. 2
GSE pp.16-36 |
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| Week 4: (February 1-3): |
Democratic Government in Europe |
Readings:
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EPT Ch. 2
GSE pp. 36-48 |
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| Week 5 (February 8-10): |
Established Democracy: England |
Readings:
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EPT Ch. 4
GSE pp. 170-181 |
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| Week 6 (February 15-17): |
Established Democracy: France |
Readings:
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EPT Ch. 5
GSE pp. 90-98 |
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| Week 7 (February 22-24): |
Established Democracy: Germany |
Readings:
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EPT Ch. 6
GSE pp. 99-106, 223-229 |
Midterm Research Paper due at beginning
of class on Thursday Feb. 24th
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| Week 8 (March 1-3): |
Democratic Transition: Spain |
Readings:
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EPT Ch. 7
GSE pp. 152-156, 235-242 |
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| Tuesday March 8: |
Midterm Exam |
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| Week 9 (March 10): |
Democratic Transition: Russia |
Readings:
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EPT Ch. 8 |
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| Week of March 15-17: |
Spring Break—no classes |
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| Week 10 (March 22-24): |
Democratic Transition: Poland |
Readings:
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EPT Ch. 9
GSE pp. 49-60 (Poland section only) |
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| Week 11 (March 29-31): |
Democratic Transition: Hungary |
Readings:
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EPT Ch. 10
GSE pp. 49-60 (Hungary section only) |
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| Week 12 (April 5-7): |
Institutions and Integration |
Readings:
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EPT Ch. 11
GSE pp. 186-217 |
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| Week 13 (April 12-14): |
Group project presentations |
Readings:
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| Week 14 (April 19-21): |
Group project presentations |
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| Week 15 (April 26-28): |
Dead week, Review |
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| Tuesday May 3: |
Final Exam from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm in CB 231 |
