CPE2030 will provide a new combination of the expertise and existing activities of the host organisation, enrich them with the European content and innovative methods to provide new synergies for the maximum outcomes while minimising the costs: 

 

1. It will deepen teaching in European Union studies embodied in an official curriculum by reforming and implementing the courses already coordinated by the Chair holder:

• European Integration at the BA level will expand and enforce the knowledge and understanding of fundamental dilemmas of European Union development and integration and its future and enforce the ability to apply it.

 

The course will enhance the students’:

1. knowledge and understanding of European social processes and the ability for their analysis, synthesis, foreseeing solutions and their consequences;

2. develop sensitivity to the relations among EU political and economic actors and civil society, thereby contributing to the ability of complex systems thinking and action;

3. development of critical reflection and scrutiny of European Union strategic development;

4. enhance ability to recognise, collect, select, evaluate relevant information on the EU integration and disintegration processes and its strategic development;

5. enhance the ability to recognise and positively exploit the opportunities provided by the European transnational environment and manifest them as entrepreneurial spirit and active citizenship;

 

For that purpose, the course is divided into eight thematic areas, as follows:

 

1. The key theoretical approaches in the study of EU integration processes (Hours 1-8)

2. Historical, institutional and legal framework of the European integration process (Hours 9-13)

3. The main reasons of European integration, its dynamics and key milestones in its

integration process (Hours 14-16)

4. The acquaintance with the primary EU law sources and their impact on the development of the integration process (Hours 17-19)

5. Development and operation of institutions and institutional balance and understandings of the balance between supranational and intergovernmental components of EU integration; (Hours 20-27)

6. Decision-making process and the role of each institution; (Hours 28-33)

7. Key European policies; (Hours 34-36)

8. The processes of enlargement and their influence on the future of European institutional relations. (Hours 37-40)

 

Study literature:

- Dinan, D. (2005): Ever closer union: an introduction to European integration, 3rd. edition, Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmils.

- Hix, S. (2005): The Political System of the European Union. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

- Rosamond, B. (2000): Theories of European integration. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. 

- Pinterič, U. in Prijon, L. (2012): European Union in 21st century. Trnava: Faculty of Social Sciences, University of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava.

- Wiener A., Börzel T. A., and Risse T. (2018): European Integration Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

- Zimmermann, H, Dür A. et al. (2016): Key Controversies in European Integration. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

 

Knowledge assessment:

To successfully pass this course, the students will need to:

- participate actively at seminar (20 % of final grade),

- submit a seminar work (paper) on the topic of European integration (30 % of grade) and

- pass oral or written examination (50 % of grade).

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• European Democracy and Political Culture at the MA level will enable the students to theoretically grasp the historical, theoretical and conceptual perspectives, as well key challenges and dilemmas of European Union strategic processes in the framework of democratic processes and development of European political culture.

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The course will enhance the students’:

1. understanding of the cultural phenomena and their relationship with the structure and the development of European societies;

2. ability to apply and combine the knowledge from different social science disciplines, as well as of different theoretical approaches, in understanding of issues relating to European democratic processes;

3. flexibility and adaptability, i.e. capability of operating in a multicultural environment in Europe, by understanding different social and cultural environments and cultural pluralism;

4. the ability to anticipate and solve problems arising from intercultural differences in European societies and from complex relationships between individuals and groups in different cultural environments.

 

 

For that purpose, the course is divided into six thematic areas, as follows:

1. Democracy and political culture in Europe: Cultural Political Economy, characteristics of poliarchy as 'real' democracy, culture as a basis for political action (Hours 1-8)

2. Cultural conditions for stabilization of democracy, democratic compatibility of different cultural and civilizational spheres (Hours 9-15)

3. Perspectives on European democracy: a variety of political and developmental visions - etatism vs. pluralism, centralization vs. decentralization (Hours 16-21)

4. Political culture in Europe: cultural zones, rootedness of democratic values, support for democracy, trust in political institutions, presentation of relevant research (ESS, WVS, Eurobarometer) (Hours 22-28)

5. (In) compatibility ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ political culture: political and cultural traditions of Central and Eastern Europe – modernisational lag, civilization (in) competence, the possibility of convergence in the sense of creating ‘European’ political culture (Hours 29-34)

6. European integration processes, intercultural contacts in the political field and their cultural consequences: fields of contacts (diplomacy, public administration), the nature of contacts between the different actors, different cultural patterns, reciprocity or unidirectionality of cultural influences (Hours 35-40)

 

Study literature:

- Adam, F., Makarovič, M., Rončević, B. and Tomšič, M. (2005): The Challenges of Sustained Development. Budapest & New York: CEU Press.

- Conti, N., Göncz, B. and Real-Dato, J. (2018): National political elites, European integration and the Eurozone crisis. Abingdon (Oxon); New York: Routledge.

- Klingemann, H.-D, Fuchs, D. in Zielonka, J. (eds.) (2008): Democracy and Political Culture in Eastern Europe. London: Routledge.

- Norris, P. (2012): Making Democratic Governance Work. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

- Novotny, V. (2017): Unity in adversity: immigration, minorities and religion in Europe. Brussels: Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies.

- Pollack, D., Jacobs, J., Müller O. and Pickel G. (eds.) (2008): Political Culture in PostCommunist Europe. Aldershot: Ashgate

- Tomšič, M. (2016): Elites in the New Democracies. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.

 

Electronic sources:

European Social Survey: https://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/

World Values Survey: http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/wvs.jsp

Eurobarometer: http://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/

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Knowledge assessment:

To successfully pass this course, the students will need to:

- submit a seminar work (paper) on the topic of long-term development of European democracy and political culture (50 % of grade) and

- submit two short essays on a specific current problem linked with development of the European Union democracy (50 % of grade).

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• European Union Studies at PhD level will provide the acquisition of a complex systemic perspective and an interdisciplinary approach in research on European Union strategic processes manifested as understanding of the general structure of social sciences and interconnectedness between its particular disciplines and subdisciplines; and the ability of inter-disciplinary scientific and expert dialogue and cooperation with other professional profiles in social sciences with the sole aim of presenting the gained scientific findings in the form of publications in the international scientific periodicals.

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Summary syllabus:

1. Development of European Union studies as specific interdisciplinary scientific field, going beyond the social sciences: basic concepts and approaches, the EU in the international system and the dynamics of regional integration (Hours 1-8)

 

2. Exploration of the idea and evolution of the European Union: Europe’s changing identity; European Integration in historic perspective (Hours 9-18)

 

3. Interdisciplinary advanced research on EU institutions and on multi-level governance; the EU and democratic deficit; participation and representation; researching the role of interest groups and complex networks (Hours 19-24)

 

4. Interdisciplinary advanced research on the EU policy process: specific EU policy areas; economic policy; regional policy; internal policies of the EU; external policies of the EU (Hours 25-30)

 

Among the expected learning outcomes of the course we emphasize:

• mastering complex analysis of phenomena related with the European Union; this will

give the students ability for advanced and nuanced analysis of political and discoursive

strategic processes in the EU that CPE2030 is focusing upon.

• application of the key research methods that are relevant for analysis of the topics of

variation, selection and retention of political-economic strategic discourses in the European Union relevant in CPE2030;

• formulation of scientific argumentation and articulating key issues in politics in the EU studies as required by the benchmarks of scientific publications.

 

Study literature:

- Nugent, N. ed. (2016): At the Heart of the Union. Studies of the European Commission. MacMillan Press: London.

- Radaelli, C. (2017): Technocracy in the European Union. London: Routledge.

- Wallace, H., Pollack, M. and Young, A. (2010): Policy-Making in the European Union. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 

In addition to this, students will be given a selection of the most relevant text every year, on the basis of specific interest of the students in the EU studies.

 

Knowledge assessment:

To successfully pass this course, the students will need to submit advanced seminar work (paper) on the topic of long-term development of European Union (100 % of grade).

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2. While the courses are mandatory for the students of Applied Social Studies (BA), Intercultural Management (MA) and Sociology (PhD), they will also be provided for the BA and MA students of Psychosocial Counselling (Department of Psychotherapy at the host institution), MA and PhD students of Social Science Informatics (Faculty of Information Studies) as future professionals in fields which are in increasing demand on the labour market but do not get in touch with the EU studies.

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3. Lectures and all other activities at the MA and PhD level will also be provided to students from Media and Communication Studies (Faculty of Media) to improve their theoretical, empirical and practical understanding of the enormous significance of the mass-media communication while dealing with European strategic processes and their impact in geopolitical context.

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4. The Chair will encourage, advise and mentor the young generation of teachers and researchers in European Union studies subject areas, are through the following activities:

• PhD candidates (linked to the PhD course European Union Studies) as prospective teachers in tertiary education and researchers will be encouraged to deal with EU studies subject areas, to work with BA and MA level students as teaching assistants in courses that are not part of CPE2030, namely the BA courses Public Policy and Public Finance and Methods of Qualitative Research and MA courses Comparative research Methods and Qualitative Research Methods and participate in the EU related research at the host institution.

• Young PhDs (assistant professors and teaching assistants, two of them are key staff members of CPE2030) will work with the Chair holder to develop the curricula of their own courses to include more EU-related content, include questions on EU related topics in the regular courses’ evaluation survey, and share their experience at the Workshops on how the Chair contributed to the inclusion of the EU topics.

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5. CPE2030 will organize a large number of activities designed also to target policy-makers at local, regional and national level as well as civil society. These events will be three winter camps with participation of students, young professionals and academics, three multi-day joint international field trips with participation of all target groups, three special thematic sessions at international conference will enable scientific scrutiny of the results and nine round tables will be organized to enable more applied scrutiny of CPE2030 process by industry representatives and policy-makers.