LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY
Department of Management and Engineering
European Integration, Political science
160208
Schedule
Spring 2016
733G41:European Democratic Culture,7,5 credits (European Integration)
733G46:European Politics,7,5 credits (Political science students in Sweden
Coordinator & examiner: Mikael Rundqvist, 013-281150
For time and rooms: see Time Edit
Week
Date
Subject
9
Monday, February 29 Introduction
Thursday, March 3
How to study democratic culture
10
Monday, March. 7
Thursday, March 10
11
Monday, March 14
12
Wednesday, March 23
13
Monday, March 28
- at 9.00
Wednesday, March 30
Democracy in Europe I
Democracy in Europe II
Seminar on democratic culture
Teacher
MR
MR
MR
MR
MR
Seminar on democracy in
Europe
MR
Hand-in Group Assignment
see below
Final seminar
MR
MR = Mikael Rundqvist, 013-281150, mikael.x.rundqvist@liu.se
Literature
Schmidt, Vivien A. (2006): Democracy in Europe. The EU and National Polities, Oxford:
Oxford University Press
Handouts
Examination
The requirements of the course are (1) active participation in the seminars and (2) completion
and presentation of an individually written paper (3) completion and presentation of a group
assignment. There are three seminars, one on an individually written paper (2,5 credits) and one
on Democracy in Europe (2,5 credits), and one on the Group Assignment (2,5 credits). The
total grade for the course is based on the grades for the three parts. Feedback in different forms
will be given on the seminars, on the individually written paper and on the group assignment.
The course “European Democratic Culture” (the lectures and the seminars) will be held
together with Swedish students who are taking the course “European Politics” – i.e. the
schedule and the requirements for these two courses will be exactly the same.
Aim of the course
After completion of the course the student should be able to:
- understand Europe's democratic historical development, and the democratic forms and
thoughts of today, especially within the frame of the European Union
1. Seminar on Democratic culture (March 14)
For this seminar each student on the course shall formulate and present an individually
written paper, on 3-4 pages - typed, size 12, 1.5 spaced - about a topic within the field of
democratic culture. The questions framed below in the section (3), about the “Group
assignment”, can give some more specified ideas about the topic, as well as the lecture on
the 3th of March (as well as the deep studies of four countries in Vivien Schmidts book). A
basic idea with this paper and seminar is to prepare ourselves and further enhance the
quality of the group assignment for the final seminar. Please be ready to hand over the
paper directly at the seminar.
2. Seminar on Democracy in Europe (March 23)
These are eight broad questions on the book by Schmidt. Be prepared to discuss them at the
seminar on March 23. Think about what you find convincing or not in the book. How does
your country fit in her theories? Are there elements that you think should be added to the
author’s theories?
1. What does the author mean when she states that the EU is characterized by ”policy
without politics”, while its member states have “politics without policy”? What are the
consequences of this paradoxical situation?
2. What is a “regional state” and how does this concept solve the problem of low
legitimacy (“democratic deficit”) for the EU according to the author?
3. A key distinction is between “compound” and “simple” states. What is this and is it a
useful distinction?
4. Membership of the EU places the member states in a quasi-federal political system;
how does this affect the political systems of the member states (decision-making and
implementation)?
5. How is the situation for organized interests affected in the four countries?
6. How is the situation for the political parties affected in the four countries?
7. How is the political debate (“the discourses”) affected in the four countries?
8. If you are from another member state, which country (of the four used as examples)
does it look most similar too? If not, what do you think about Sweden?
3. Group Assignment (seminar March 30)
In addition to the individual assignments, all students of the course need to participate in the
completion of a group assignment. The purpose of the exercise is that you will work
independently as a group with a project that will be presented at the final seminar. The task
consists in clarifying and/or criticizing the overarching theme of the course: “European
Democratic Culture” and “European Politics”. Questions you may consider: When
comparing the countries of Europe, is it possible to find indications of a common European
democratic culture? What are the similarities that serve as the foundation for such a culture?
Are there vital differences present that make it difficult to speak about a shared democratic
culture? Do countries in specific regions of Europe have more similarities with each other, e.g.
when it comes to politics? Are there several democratic cultures or politics in Europe? Is it
possible to distinguish a European democratic culture from other democratic cultures around
the world? Will political cultures in Europe become harmonized over time or will differences
persist? etcetera.
When completing this assignment you are free to use all available library resources, the
Internet, as well as course material. The important thing is that you arrive at an argument that
is supported by facts and rational reasoning – we are not interested in “mere opinions”! We
are also not interested in merely having the course literature described back to us! The sources
you have used should be referenced in your paper, using either the Oxford or Harvard
reference system. To copy and paste text into your paper is regarded as plagiarism and
will be reported to the disciplinary board. You need to give reference to the sources you
use and write the paper in your own words. The principle of quote or re-write applies.
Please also include a reference list in your final text. Try to write in a clear and coherent way.
Put an overall title on your work, use headings, subheadings and apply an ordinary paragraph
technique. Try also to work and formulate yourselves as a (i.e. one) group.
The assignment should be written as a report consisting of between 2500 – 3000 words, typed,
size 12, 1.5 spaced. It should have a title page with the names of the group participants and a
word count. All sources should be stated in a bibliography (reference list) at the end. The
assignment is to be submitted as an e-mail attachment on Monday the 28th of March, no
later than 9.00. Send your paper to the following address: mikru35.liu@analys.urkund.se
- AND, please, to no other address!
The group-papers will be published on the homepage for the course (LISAM). Use these
to prepare your presentations and comments on the other papers at the final seminar. You are
subsequently required to present your findings orally at the final seminar (maximum 15
minutes per group). The presentation shall be prepared and involve all group members. An
opposition schedule will be published on the home page for the course. Please also prepare
your oppositions in a careful manner! An instruction for this will be available on the
homepage (LISAM).