POLS 3210: Western European Government & Politics

POLS 3210: Western European Government & Politics Spring 2019 MWF 8.30-9.20am, Engineering 201 Instructor: Steffen Blings steffen.blings@usu.edu Office Hours: M, 12-1pm; W 11am-12pm Old Main 324C Course Description Europe is in many ways remarkable. The continent is characterized by high economic output but a mostly low military profile. Within the last 70 years it has developed form a perpetual zone of (potential) conflict into a stable security community, and most of its countries are organized within the most powerful and integrated supranational institution in the world: the European Union. Yet Europe has recently been faced with an economic crisis, an increasingly tense relationship with its Russian neighbor due to the war in Ukraine, and growing disenchantment with the EU in countries as different as Great Britain and Greece. In this seminar we will make make use of the toolkit of the social sciences to shed light on the development of European countries since World War II. The course will take a comparative approach around themes to illuminate commonalities and differences in political, societal, and economic structures across Europe. We will cover both the broader trends as well as delve into country studies that illustrate these trends, including examples from France, Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. Specifically, the class will address governmental structures, party and electoral politics, political participation, and the political economy and welfare states of the European continent. It will also provide an introduction to the European Union as an institution and its consequences for policy-making and political participation in the member states. In the process we will explore questions like: does the variation in government structures across Europe make a differences for the types of policies enacted or for how civil society organizes? How different are the outcomes produced by the different welfare state regimes across the European continent? 1

Learning Goals This class will encourage you to develop and demonstrate competency in the following areas and skills: Employing the toolkit of comparative politics and international relations to think critically about developments in the (European) political sphere Gaining an overview of the politics of Europe including its civil society and economies Understanding the basic structure of the European Union and its effects on member states Devising your own research design including how to develop an argument, identify an appropriate analytical approach, and gather initial evidence Presenting the results of analytical thinking in front of an audience Course Requirements Attendance and participation This class will mix lecture and seminar elements. Active participation in the seminar-style activities is accordingly central and required. You have two free passes, meaning two unexcused absences for which you aren t required to notify me ahead of time that you will miss class. Each additional unexcused absence will reduce your participation grade by one third of a letter. If you are unable to attend due to an illness or emergency, you must notify me before class begins to have your absence excused. Please come to class prepared to engage thoughtfully, listen attentively, and interact with your peers respectfully. Debating politics can be a divisive topic, but differences in opinion and background provide an opportunity for intellectual growth. We all stand to benefit from being aware of and welcoming these differences. Furthermore, we can only have a successful discussion if the classroom is a comfortable space for all participants. Confrontational or disrespectful behavior will not be tolerated. If for any reason you feel uncomfortable contributing in class, please visit my office hours so that we can discuss strategies for increasing your class participation. Readings This class combines materials from different books and journal articles. All readings will be made available online and should be completed before the class for which they are assigned. Please bring the readings and 2

your notes on them with you to class (either in hard copy format or electronically). In a typical week we will discuss new concepts and apply them to the European context on Mondays and Wednesday, while students will lead the class as a discussion section on Fridays (see the Assignments section below). Accordingly we will cover all readings for each week on Mondays and/or Wednesdays. Please complete the readings marked with an asterisk (*) in the course schedule below by Monday of the respective week and the remaining readings by Wednesday. While this is not a current events the class you will profit from staying up-to-date with developments in European politics. Both the New York Times and The Washington Post offer coverage of European politics. Good European English-language sources are The Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/uk) as well Le Monde Diplomatique (http://mondediplo.com), and Spiegel International Online (http://www.spiegel. de/international/). Note that the latter two websites are less frequently updated than The Guardian s website. Assignments and Grading There are four major course requirements, which are described in more detail below and account for 850 of the 1000 that can be earned in this class. The remaining 150 points of the final grade is constituted by regular attendance. Overview of Assignments Assignment Learning Objectives Length Points Due Date Reading Summary Developing Reading 1 p. 100 sign up in week Comprehension 2 Class Presentation & Introduction Paper Presentation, Analysis 2 pp. 200 sign up in week 2 Midterm Exam Research Design Demonstrating Knowledge of Course Material, Applying Theories Research, Argumentation, Analysis, Citing Correctly 250 February 20 Presentation of Research Question and Theory sign up in week 2 Final Draft: 6-7 pp. 300 04/29, 9:20am Each student will be responsible for starting off the class discussion in one Friday session of the class 3

with a short presentation based on a short impulse paper (about 2 pages). The impulse paper should link a newspaper article covering a recent event to the concepts and readings we have discussed in that week and identify one or two questions that the newspaper article raises. The questions can be empirical (e.g., regarding a real-world development that the concepts we covered cannot explain) or normative (e.g., regarding how politicians or the public should react to a real-world development). Please email me the newspaper article by the time we meet in class on Wednesday and submit the impulse paper by Thursday, 5pm. Beyond the class presentation, students will also write one reading summary and take an in-class midterm exam. The final assignment is a research design on a question of their choice connected to European politics. Written assignments should be double-spaced, using font size 12 and 1-inch margins. Unless otherwise notified in advance, all assignments should be handed in in hard copy. If you are submitting an assignment via e-mail it must be in Microsoft Word format (.doc or.docx). Do not consider an e-mailed assignment turned in until you have received written confirmation from me. Late assignments will be docked one third of a letter for each 24 hours or portion thereof after the due date they are turned in. If you feel that you will not be able to submit an assignment on time due to illness, emergency, or a conflict with work required for other courses please let me know as early as possible. In order to facilitate peer editing and review, as well as to learn from and about each other s academic interests, writing styles, and techniques more generally, all writing assignments done for this class may be shared with and read by all members of the class. Other Course Information Email policy Feel free to email me with questions or to set up an appointment. Longer discussions and all conversations about grades must take place in person. I will guarantee a response to emails within 48 hours during the week. However, do not wait until the last minute. While I typically check emails several times a day, there is no guarantee that I will receive, read and be able to respond to last minute requests or questions. Note to students with disabilities USU welcomes students with disabilities. If you have, or suspect you may have, a physical, mental health, or learning disability that may require accommodations in this course, please contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) as early in the semester as possible (University Inn # 101, 435-797-2444, drc@usu.edu). All 4

disability related accommodations must be approved by the DRC. Once approved, the DRC will coordinate with faculty to provide accommodations. Academic integrity Each student in this course is expected to abide by USU s Student Code. All the work you submit in this course must originate with you in form and content with all contributory sources fully and specifically acknowledged. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the Student Code and the rules for properly acknowledging the work and ideas of others. You can find information on how to cite sources and avoid plagiarism here: https://usu.instructure.com/courses/152916. During examinations, you must do your own work. Talking or discussion is not permitted during the examinations, nor may you copy from others or collaborate in any way. Any violation of the rules for academic integrity will be punished in accordance with USU s policies. Course Schedule Week 1 (January 7, 9, & 11): Introduction to the class and a refresher on comparative politics Clark, Golder, and Golder (2017), chapter 2 Week 2 (January 14, 16, & 18): Parliaments & Governments Laver (2006) Levy and Skach (2008) King and Allen (2010) Week 3 (January 23 & 25): Federalism & Forms of Government Monday, January 21; NO CLASS: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Beramendi (2009), pp. 752-763 Lijphart (2012), chapters 2-3 Bräuninger and König (1999) Week 4 (January 28, 30, & February 1): Party Politics Gallagher, Laver, and Mair (2011), pp. 228-237 & chapter 8 * Burchell (2001) Week 5 (February 4, 6, & 8): Electoral Systems and Behavior Norris (1997) * Anderson (1995) * Bull and Newell (2009) 5

Week 6 (February 11, 13, & 15): Civil Society and (Political) Participation Dalton (2014), chapter 4 * Kitschelt (1986) Turner (2013) Week 7 (February 20 & 22): In-class Midterm & The European Media Monday, February 18; NO CLASS: Presidents Day Bale (2008), chapter 7 In-class Midterm: Wednesday, February 20 Week 8 (February 25, 27, & 29): Library/Research Instruction Session, Writing Research Designs/Papers, & European Economies Monday, February 25; Library/Research Instruction Session (we will meet in LIB 155) Hjortshoj (2009), chapter 8 * Hancké (2011) Nölke and Vliegenhart (2009) Week 9 (March 4, 6, & 8): European Welfare States Gualmini and Rhodes (2011) * Svallfors (2004) * Rueda (2005) Week 10 (March 11, 13, & 15): Spring Break NO CLASSES: Spring Break Week 11 (March 18, 20, & 22): European Integration: History & Institutions Dinan (2015) Lenschow (2015) Week 12 (March 25, 27, & 29): The European Union: Enlargement & Democratic Deficit Doyle and Fidrmuc (2006) * Moravcsik (2002) Follesdal and Hix (2006) Week 13 (April 1, 3, & 5): Research Design Presentations No required reading April 3 & 5: NO CLASS; instructor conference travel Week 14 (April 8, 10, & 12): (Im)Migration in Europe & The European Economic Crisis Joppke (2007) * Ford and Goodwin (2014), chapter 5 * Matthijs (2014) 6

Week 15 (April 15, 17, & 18): European Foreign Policy & The Future of Europe Stivachtis (2007) * Erickson (2015), chapter 5 * Kagan (2002) Moravcsik (2009) Schmidt (2009) Week 16 (April 22): Conclusion No required reading Research Design Due: 04/29, 9:20am Course Readings Anderson, Christopher J. 1995. The Dynamics of Public Support for Coalition Governments. Comparative Political Studies 28 (3): 350 383. Bale, Tim. 2008. European Politics: A Comparative Introduction. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. Beramendi, Pablo. 2009. Federalism. In The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics, ed. Carles Boix, and Susan C. Stokes. Oxford: Oxford University Press pp. 752 781. Bräuninger, Thomas, and Thomas König. 1999. The checks and balances of party: German federal government in divided legislature. European Journal of Political Research 36 (2): 207 234. Bull, Martin J., and James L. Newell. 2009. Still the Anomalous Democracy? Politics and Institutions in Italy. Government and Opposition 44 (1): 42 67. Burchell, Jon. 2001. Evolving or conforming? Assessing organisational reform within European green parties. West European Politics 24 (3): 113 134. Clark, William Roberts, Matt Golder, and Sona Nadenichek Golder. 2017. Principles of Comparative Politics. 3rd ed. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. Dalton, Russell J. 2014. Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies. 6th ed. Thousand Oaks: CQ Press. Dinan, Desmond. 2015. How did we get here? In The European Union: How does it work?, ed. Daniel Kenealy, John Peterson, and Richard Corbett. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press pp. 24 44. Doyle, Orla, and Jan Fidrmuc. 2006. Who favors enlargement?: Determinants of support for EU membership in the candidate countries referenda. European Journal of Political Economy 22 (2): 520 543. Erickson, Jennifer L. 2015. Dangerous Trade. Arms Exports, Human Rights, And International Reputation. New York: Columbia University Press. Follesdal, Andreas, and Simon Hix. 2006. Why There is a Democratic Deficit in the EU: A Response to Majone and Moravcsik. Journal of Common Market Studies 44 (3): 533 562. Ford, Robert, and Matthew Goodwin. 2014. Revolt on the Right. Explaining support for the radical right in Britain. London: Routledge. 7

Gallagher, Michael, Michael Laver, and Peter Mair. 2011. Representative Government in Modern Europe. 5th ed. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill. Gualmini, Elisabetta, and Martin Rhodes. 2011. Welfare States in Trouble: Policy Reform in a Period of Crisis. In Developments in Euopean Politics, ed. Erik Jones, Paul M. Heywood, Martin Rhodes, and Ulrich Sedelmeier. 2nd ed. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan pp. 173 197. Hancké, Bob. 2011. Varieties of European Capitalism and their Transformation. In Developments in Euopean Politics, ed. Erik Jones, Paul M. Heywood, Martin Rhodes, and Ulrich Sedelmeier. 2nd ed. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan pp. 155 172. Hjortshoj, Keith. 2009. The Transition to College Writing. 2nd ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin s. Joppke, Christian. 2007. Transformation of Immigrant Integration. Civic Integration and Antidiscrimination Policies in the Netherlands, France, and Germany. World Politics 59 (2): 243 273. Kagan, Robert. 2002. Power and Weakness. Policy Review 113: 3 28. King, Anthony, and Nicholas Allen. 2010. Off With Their Heads : British Prime Ministers and the Power to Dismiss. British Journal of Political Science 40 (2): 249 278. Kitschelt, Herbert P. 1986. Political Opportunity Structures and Political Protest: Anti-Nuclear Movements in Four Democracies. British Journal of Political Science 16 (1): 57 85. Laver, Michael. 2006. Legislatures and Parliaments in Comparative Context. In The Oxford Handbook of Political Economy, ed. Barry R. Weingast, and Donald A. Wittman. Oxford: Oxford University Press pp. 121 140. Lenschow, Andrea. 2015. Environmental Policy. Contending Dynamics of Policy Change. In Policy-Making in the European Union, ed. Helen Wallace, Mark A. Pollack, and Alasdair R. Young. 7th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Levy, Jonah D., and Cindy Skach. 2008. The Return to a Strong Presidency. In Developments in French Politics 4, ed. Alistair Cole, Patrick Le Galès, and Jonah D. Levy. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. Lijphart, Arend. 2012. Patterns of Democracy. Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries. 2nd ed. Yale University Press. Matthijs, Mathias. 2014. Mediterranean Blues: The Crisis in Southern Europe. Journal of Democracy 25 (1): 101 115. Moravcsik, Andrew. 2002. In Defence of the Democratic deficit : Reassessing Legitimacy in the European Union. Journal of Common Market Studies 40 (4): 603 624. Moravcsik, Andrew. 2009. Europe: The quiet superpower. French Politics 7 (3/4): 403 422. Nölke, Andreas, and Arjan Vliegenhart. 2009. Enlarging the Varieties of Capitalism: The Emergence of Dependent Market Economies in East Central Europe. World Politics 61 (4): 670 702. Norris, Pippa. 1997. Choosing Electoral Systems: Proportional, Majoritarian and Mixed Systems. International Political Science Review 18 (3): 297 312. Rueda, David. 2005. Insider Outsider Politics in Industrialized Democracies: The Challenge to Social Democratic Parties. American Political Science Review 99 (1): 61 74. Schmidt, Vivien. 2009. Envisioning a Less Fragile, More Liberal Europe. European Political Science 8 (2): 212 224. 8

Stivachtis, Yannis A. 2007. The EU as an International Actor: Civilian, Normative or Military Power? In The State of European Integration, ed. Yannis A. Stivachtis. Hampshire: Ashgate pp. 41 58. Svallfors, Stefan. 2004. Class, Attitudes and the Welfare State: Sweden in Comparative Perspective. Social Policy & Administration 38 (2): 119 138. Turner, Eric. 2013. The Grillini in Italy: New Horizons for Internet-based Mobilization and Participation. Social Movement Studies 12 (2): 214 220. 9