Fall 2009 - European Integration

UC Center Program Courses - Fall 2009

PCC 115. European Integration

Prof. Mariam Habibi

Office Hours
by appointment

Lecture
Tuesday and Thursday, 1 - 2:30pm

Over the past 200 years, the destiny of Europe has witnessed spectacular ups and downs. Once an imperial power controlling some 1/3 of the planet, the Europe of 1945 shrivelled in stature and in strength. At pains with its own reconstruction, it also had to renounce control of its colonial empire. The Cold War, following the Second World War, divided Europe into two hostile camps thus adding to its insecurity and humiliation.

Europe's upheavals in the twentieth century however gave birth to a new vision; a vision that finally realised and became sensitive to the dangers of nationalism and over protective economies, strove to surpass national boundaries and thus sought to regain some of its lost prestige and strength. The shattering experience of two world wars that tore Europe apart, gave birth to 'an ever closer union between the peoples of Europe', in other words, the European Union. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the bipolar world, this relatively young institution has come to play a continuously greater role in world affairs. Consequently it has undergone numerous important changes in a short period of time. Today the European Union is living through probably the most momentous period of its existence: it has on the one hand enlarged and reunited with its other half, thus bringing together 455 million people. On the other hand, through the writing of a constitution it sought to carve out a more definable identity for itself. The failure of the Constitutional Treaty in 2004 showed how fragile and non linear this passage has so far been.

France's role in the initial creation and the subsequent evolution of this union has been far from minimal. The very idea of unity was announced in a speech by Jean Monnet, a member of the French Committee of National Liberation, back in 1943. The Plan that led to the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the forerunner of the European Economic Community, which eventually became the European Union was named after France's foreign minister, Robert Schuman. The committee responsible for the writing of a constitution for the European Union was presided by another Frenchman, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. France was also the first country to reject the European constitution, thus paving the way for a possible turning point. Though significant, France's contributions have however not always been constructive. On many occasions France has been accused of putting her national interests before those of Europe. Their general stance can be summed in President Mitterrand's ambiguous phrase: ' France is our homeland, but Europe is our future'.

The aim of this class is to provide a general introduction to the history, the structure and the current developments of the European Union, with a specific focus on France. We shall start first with a historical examination of the reasons that led to the creation of the union, we will then turn to its evolution over the years and finally look at the recent events and discuss what lies ahead in the future for the European Union. 5.0 credits

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COURSE MATERIALS

Stubb, Bomberg and Peterson, The European Union: How does it work? Oxford University Press, 2nd edition 2008.
Additional articles, maps, speeches that you can access electronically.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Grading

Option 1

Presentation 15%
Midterm 30%
Final 40%
Research paper 25%

Option 2

Presentation 15%
Midterm 40%
Final 45%

Below you will find a brief description of what is expected for each requirement:

A class presentation: 'European Union this Week' (10 minutes):

Each student will provide a brief presentation on ONE event in the European Union during their assigned week. You will find very useful web links at the end of the chapters of your text book. There is also a section on European politics in the Online Resource Centre of your text book (see the end of chapter one). Other material for this assignment should be found in dailies such as The International Herald Tribune, the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and weeklies such as Time Magazine, Newsweek and the Economist.
Each student should look through the Discussion Questions at the end of every chapter of the book and the Study Questions on the syllabus and participate in class discussions. Students should try the multiple choice questions at the end of every chapter as a way to check their understanding of the chapter.
Students are required to keep to the assigned readings every week and come prepared for questions in class.

A mid-term exam.
Option 1: A case study on a topic of the student's choice.

Instructions for this paper will be found at the end of this syllabus. PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. The paper should NOT exceed 5 pages.

A final exam.

THERE IS A MANDATORY CONFERENCE ON 27th NOVEMBER. THIS IS NOT DURING CLASS TIME. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU WRITE DOWN THE SPECIFIC DATE.

Instructions for the Research Paper

The aim of the term paper for this course is to apply many of the things you have learnt in this class to the real world. It is for you to show your understanding of the institution of the EU and show how it actually works. It is more of a case study than a research.
To give you an example:
EU and the environment:
Take a specific policy that the EU has adopted or is about to adopt on the environment.
Choose the following:

Explain/analyse the procedure it went through / or is going through to be ratified. What position did individual countries take? Who was it proposed by? Which countries opposed it? What type of debate took place at each level of its ratification?
Look at the role of lobbies/interest groups in the initiation of this policy.
Look at the implementation of this particular policy.
Look at cases ( if any) of non implementation that may have reached the Court of Justice

And so on….
Other examples could include:

Adhesion of a new country: as you know there were debates recently over the adhesion of Croatia ( not to mention Turkey)
A dispute with a particular company on the basis of the competition laws
Policy of regional languages
A particular case form the Court of Justice
The stability pact

Your research will therefore be mainly on the web and looking at official EU material and possibly debates in journals and newspapers and magazines. The paper needs to be referenced throughout and a list of sites/works cited at the end of the paper.

There is no need (given the length of the essay) to go into a historical background, but it is necessary to contextualize the debate and show its significance today.

Class Policy

Absence Policy: Students are expected to attend all sessions. Students have the right to two non-excused absences. Excused absences fall into two categories: sickness or unforeseen emergency and school-sponsored activities. When a student misses a class, responsibility for making up missed work rests solely on his or her shoulders.

Academic Dishonesty: Regardless of the quality of work, plagiarism is punishable with a ‘failing grade’ in the class and possible expulsion from the Program. Plagiarism may be broadly defined as copying of materials from sources, without the acknowledgment of having done so, claiming other’s ideas as one’s own without proper reference to them, and buying materials such as essays/exams.

Late Assignments: Deadlines for assignments are to be respected. Late assignments will be downgraded. There are NO additional or make up assignments.

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COURSE SCHEDULE

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL MATERIALS MARKED WITH * ARE PASSWORD PROTECTED. YOU CAN ACCESS THEM WITH A USERNAME AND PASSWORD THAT WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE UC PARIS STUDY CENTER.

Week 1.
a. The History of Europe and the birth of the 'Idea of Europe'

Assignment:

Look at the illustrations of Europa [VIEW]*
Check the EU map [VIEW]*

Study Question:

1. Define what the term 'Europe' means to you. What are the biases inherent in your definition?

b. The History of Europe: Projects for Europe

Assignment:

The Briand Memorandum: a Union not a unity [PDF]*
The Ventotene Manifesto: For a free and united Europe [PDF]*
D.C. Villanueva, Richard von Coudenhove Kalergi's Pan Europa as the Elusive 'Object of Longing' [PDF]*

Study Question:

1. How important have historical factors been in shaping the idea of European integration?

Week 2 & 3.
Focus on France
France during the Second World War
France since the Second World War

Reading:

Read the speech by Jean Monnet [PDF]*
Tint, Chapter 7: “Defeat and Occupation 1939-1944” [PDF]*
Henri Rousso, passages from The Vichy Syndrome [PDF]*
Look at the map of Vichy France [VIEW]*

Study Questions:

Why does Monnet consider France 'alone' capable of leading Europe after the war?
What is meant by France’s 'strange defeat'?
Was nationalism discredited after WW2?

Thursday 24 September: Class excursion (class time): mémorial de la Libération de Paris & musée Jean Moulin

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Week 4.
The European Union: an overview
The theoretical approach

Reading:

Stubb, Bomberg and Peterson, The European Union: How does it work? chapter 1