European Politics,
POLS #160-401: Meredith 229
Professor Eleanor Zeff
Spring 2002: MW-2-3:15
Office #209: 271-3102
Off. Hrs. MW-3:30-5; TR-1-2
eleanor.zeff@drake.edu or
by appointment
Politics Department Philosophy:
The program in Politics seeks to induct students into the community of liberally
educated indi-viduals, who are capable of understanding government and politics in
terms of the theories, concepts, and tools of sophisticated political analysis, which
characterize the discipline of political science. The liberal-arts dimension of our
mission stems from our belief that all people are embedded in a polit-ical environment
which acts upon them in ways they must understand if they are to function effectively
as active participants in a democratic society.
Our goal, therefore, is not to train professional political scientists, but rather
to produce the liberally educated citizen who is fluent in the language of politics
and political analysis and thereby has a foundation for both citizenship in a democratic
society and successful training in a job, in gradu-ate school, or in a professional
school. Such a person has the capacity to recognize and evaluate as-sumptions, implications,
and causal relationships pertaining to politics and to other realms of human experience.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
With the end of Communism in Eastern Europe, the whole context of European politics
has changed. What is ÒEuropeÓ and where does it begin and end
are the major questions of the day. In an area formerly consisting of contentious
and sovereign ÒnationÓ states, we now see an inter-twining of international
and domestic issues, governing on multiple levels and the decreasing influence of
the sovereign state. Many of the old theories that used to help us understand
European politics are no longer valid. We need to explore new ideas and test
new hypotheses about how politics operates in modern Europe. In an area only
slightly larger than the United States, there are more than forty nations containing
people who speak over thirty languages. At the same time that we see trends
toward more unity in Europe, we also find some of the bloodiest struggles for national
identity. The formation of the European Union occurred at the same time that
the former Soviet Union divided into more than fifteen independent Republics, Yugoslavia
broke apart and the Czech Republic and Slovakia separated.
We will explore these issues while assessing their impact on the politics of individual
European nations. We note that there does seem to be a particular European model
of politics and policy making, but that there is also clearly much variation in policies
from country to country. The individual political culture of each nation
helps shape its politics and influence how it interacts with other nations in the
international system. The impact of globalization hits each nation differently.
The European model of democracy and economics is quite different from the
American model, and we will explore these concepts in the context of European politics.
The course focuses on the old continental ÒWestern EuropeÓ (France,
Germany, Italy, the Benelux countries and Spain) and especially on the diverse ways
that these specific countries face the common problems of democratization, competition,
globalization, integration and rapidly increasing social and ethnic diversity.
REQUIRED READINGS:
Kesselman and Krieger, European Politics in Transition, Houghton Mifflin Company,
2002.
Sakwa and Stevens, Contemporary Europe, St. MartinÕs Press, 2000.
Zeff, The European Union and the Member States, Lynne Rienner, 2001.
Slomp, European Politics Into the Twenty-First Century , Praeger, 2000.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Participation
10% (more than 2 unexcused absences will lower grade.)
Midterm Exam:
25% (part short answer and part essay)
Final Exam
25% (all essay)
Two 5-6-page papers
25% (based on questions from the readings)
Oral component
Group Project with
15% (there will be six groups, 2 for France, 2 for Germany
and 2 for Italy: One group for each country
Class presentation
will study Governance and Policymaking and the other
will study Representation and Participation (see K and K)
COURSE OUTLINE:
January 23- 30, Feb. 4-6: -Introduction (4 class periods):
Readings: K and K, pp. 4-34; S and S, pp. 1-84: Slomp, pp. 1-48.
There will be no class on Mon. Jan 28 as Dr. Zeff has an out of town meeting.
Feb. 11-25: -The European Model of Government (5 class periods):
Readings: S and S, pp.85-136, and 225-249; and Slomp, pp. 49-122.
Feb. 27- First paper: Choose one question from the Sakwa and Stevens (S and S) book
to discuss. You may choose from the questions listed on pages 65, 108 or 135.
Use all of the required readings up to this point to support your argument.
There will be an oral discussion of these questions in class on Feb. 27.
March 4-25: -France: (5 class periods) March 18-22-Spring Break
March 27: Midterm Exam
Readings: K and K, pp. 231-314, Zeff, chapter on France, pp. 29-57.
April 1-10: -Germany (4 class periods)
Readings: K and K, pp. 315-410, Zeff, pp. 89-114.
April 15-17: -Italy (2 class periods)
April 22: Group presentations: Each group member must talk. Each group does one paper.
Group members write personal notes about their contributions and group dynamics.
Readings: K and K, pp. 411-512, and Zeff, pp. 115-142.
April 24-29: -Spain, the Benelux countries and a regional Europe (2 class periods)
Readings: Zeff, pp. 59-88 and 235-263, Slomp, pp. 155-171.
May 1-8: -Europe, Globalization and the European Union (3 class periods)
May 6: Second Paper , Choose questions in S and S. pp. 159-60, 200-1, 223, 261.
Readings: Slomp, pp. 123-154; S and S, pp. 135-60, 182-223, 251-61, K and K. pp.
39-45