Aims: To introduce students to key theories of European integration; to trace the development of the European Union; to examine current debates around the future of the European Union, including the impact of enlargement.
Learning Outcomes: Students will develop:
* an awareness and understanding of key contemporary debates on European integration;
* an understanding of how European integration works in terms of institutions and the dynamic of integration;
* an ability to discuss contemporary issues concerning European institutions and the future of European integration.
Skills: Skills in critical analysis, conceptual thinking, precision in the use of written and spoken language, exercise of independent judgement, reasoned argument, and the planning/conduct/reporting of non-quantitative research are taught and assessed in this unit. Skills in effective learning are developed in this unit.
Content: The origins of the European Community; treaty reform in the 1980s and 1990s; institutions and the "democratic deficit"; the European Union as a world actor; moves towards a European constitution; citizenship; eastward enlargement.
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