The Politics of the European Union

This course is class-restricted to juniors and seniors. This course explores the creation, development, operation and future of the European Union (EU) and does so using a comparative politics framework which approaches the EU as a political system with its own institutions, policies, processes, etc. The course begins by outlining the foundation and early development of the EU in the post-World War II era and engages with early IR theories. It considers the EU's economic foundations, institutional set-up and the dynamics of its political system. It assesses the role played by different European states, in particular smaller states within the EU framework. It includes some exploration of recent political, economic and security crises which have challenged the EU integration process and it explores the EU's relations with the rest of the world, including the US.