|
Instructors: Dr. habil. Julian Bergmann
Event type:
Seminar
Displayed in timetable as:
Sem Polycrisis
Language of instruction:
Englisch
Min. | Max. participants:
- | 30
Priority scheme: Senatsrichtlinie
Allocation scheme: Politikwissenschaft für BQ und FAF
Contents:
European integration theory does not comprise one homogenous research agenda, but encompasses a wide range of theoretical approaches that differ with regard to their epistemological underpinnings, ontological assumptions and their analytical focuses. Traditional integration theories such as neofunctionalism and intergovernmentalism, which emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, mainly sought to explain the outcome of the integration process. Since the 1980s, the research interest of integration scholars has to some extent shifted towards analysing the system of governance that originated from the European integration process, leading to the emergence of various institutionalist perspectives on the EU. The post-positivist turn in International Relations theory also contributed to the rise of constructivist and critical approaches to European integration and thus to a diversification of epistemological and ontological assumptions. Since the mid-2000s, another wave of theoretical innovation, including the emergence of postfunctionalism, and new intergovernmentalism, has led to a varied mixture of theoretical approaches and conceptual lenses in European integration theory.
Despite this dynamic evolution of European integration theory, questions remain to what extent it is able to provide convincing explanations of the multiple crises that the European Union has faced over the last decade, often referred to as the ‘polycrisis’. In particular, this seminar will apply European integration theory to three fundamental crises and explore their implications for the European integration process: (1) the Eurozone and economic crisis, (2) the so-called “refugee crisis”, and (3) the Covid-19 pandemic. The main objective of the seminar is to familiarise participants with main strands and approaches of European integration theory and enable them to understand and critically judge their explanatory value in applying them to recent crises that EU policy-makers had to deal with over the last decade.
Learning objectives
- Familiarizing students with key approaches and concepts to explain European integration, particularly in the post-Maastricht era
- increasing students’ knowledge of integration dynamics in a broad field of EU policies, including economic, health, migration and foreign policies
- enabling students to apply and critically judge the explanatory value of European integration theory with regard to their application to recent key milestones in the European integration process
Additional information:
Teaching format and methods
IMPORTANT: Please note that the teaching format depends on the given pandemic situation during the winter term. If possible, the seminar will be held in-presence every two weeks, with two sessions from 12.15-15.45 (180 minutes). If the course needs to be held digitally due to pandemic circumstances, we will have regular weekly sessions from 12.15-13.45 (90 minutes). More information will be provided to the students as soon as possible.
Teaching language
Please note: The course is held exclusively in English. All course work (short presentations, summaries, etc.) must be completed in English. The only exception to this rule is the term paper, which you can do in either German or English.
|
