EUROPEAN
POLITICS
POLITICAL SCIENCE 4240
Spring Semester 1999
Tuesday, Thursday 11:00-12:15
521 General Classroom Building
Dr. William M. Downs
Department of Political Science
Georgia State University
Tel: (404) 651-4841
Fax: (404) 651-1434
E-mail: polwmd@panther.gsu.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The principal aim of this upper-level undergraduate course is to achieve
an advanced understanding of major substantive and theoretical issues in
contemporary European political systems. A comparative methodological approach
will encourage critical thinking about key trends and controversies, and
it will enable students to assess the performance of individual political
systems in relation to broader patterns in both Europe and--by extension--the
United States. Among the topics covered by lectures and readings will be
the following: political culture and value change, party systems and party
government, electoral behavior, political control over national economic
policy making, effects of unemployment and inflation on government stability,
territorial decentralization, right-wing extremism, foreign and security
policy, and supranational integration. We will ask such questions as:
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How stable is the existing democratic order?
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How serious are threats to this order, such as recent internal conflicts,
persistent socioeconomic inequalities, and violence with racist underpinnings?
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How did Europe react to genocidal violence on its eastern doorstep--and
with what implications for the future?
-
How, if at all, have traditional political party systems adapted and evolved
in response to changing electorates?
-
What is the best model for balancing the demands of economic performance
and social services?
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Is European monetary union desirable/possible?
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How does European integration—especially the single currency--impact the
United States?
TEXTS AND COURSE MATERIALS
The following texts are required reading and are available for purchase:
Gabriel A. Almond, Russell J. Dalton, and G. Bingham Powell, Jr.,
eds. European Politics Today. New York: Longman, 1999.
Henri J. Warmenhoven, ed. Global Studies: Western Europe, 5th
edition. Guilford, CN: Dushkin, 1997
Russell Dalton. Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties
in Advanced Industrial Democracies, 2nd edition. Chatham, NJ: Chatham
House, 1996.
Notes on Articles and Chapters: Additional readings will come from
select journal articles and book chapters, which will be made accessible
to you. Unless otherwise indicated, all such required journal articles
and book chapters will be on reserve at Library South. Moreover, we may
decide to distribute a copy of the following week's reading at each class
session--allowing those who so wish to then arrive at their own system
for copying and circulation. Those for whom neither of the above systems
works may be able to check materials out for 2 hour periods from the file
holder on my office door.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING SYSTEM
Students will be evaluated along four dimensions. Half of your grade
will be determined by a midterm exam (20%) and a comprehensive final exam
(30%). The remainder of your grade will be determined by regular and active
class participation, scores on two short essay assignments, and a research
paper.
Attendance. This is a lecture-discussion course. Students are
thus expected to attend all class sessions and will sign an attendance
sheet at each class. Students who miss more than two classes will lose
2% of the final course grade for each additional class missed, up to a
total of 10%. Absences for medical reasons or for attending an official
university sponsored inter-collegiate event (but not a practice) will be
excused only when accompanied by a written note from the attending physician
(one week following absence) or team coach (one week prior to event).
Class Participation. Students must complete the assigned readings
on time and actively participate in class discussions. To stay abreast
of developments in European politics, students should follow current events
through the reading of a major national newspaper, such as the New York
Times, The Christian Science Monitor, or the Wall Street
Journal. Regular reading of news magazines such as The Economist,
International
Herald Tribune, Time, Newsweek, or US News and World
Report is also recommended. All of these papers are available for free
on the World Wide Web. Current events will be discussed throughout the
course and may also be part of the exams.
Examinations. Two in-class examinations, consisting of a midterm
exam and comprehensive final, will constitute 50% of each student's grade.
The exams will consist of a mix of multiple choice, short answer, and essay
questions. Material discussed in class as well as material covered in required
readings will appear on the exams. I also reserve the right to schedule
unannounced quizzes on the readings if deemed necessary. In the past, I
have given as few as none and as many as four pop quizzes during the course
of a semester. No make-ups will be given for missed quizzes.
Written Assignments. At the beginning of the semester, students
will select two European countries that will subsequently be the focus
of two take-home written assignments worth 20% of your grade. The assignments
will be distributed at least one week in advance of their due date. These
assignments (approximately 5 double-spaced, type-written pages plus bibliography)
will require each student to use traditional research methods, such as
library research, and newly emerging research tools, such as the World
Wide Web.
The research paper (20%) will involve an analysis of a specific question
about European politics. A well-developed paper prospectus
(5% of the paper grade) describing the problem, outlining the research
focus, time frame, and countries for the paper--and including a preliminary
bibliography--is due on March 2. The paper is due without
exception on April 29. Details of the paper assignment will be
distributed and discussed early in the semester.
Distribution of Grade Weights:
Paper 1
10%
Paper 2
10
Research Paper Prospectus 5
Research Paper
15
Midterm
20
Participation
10
Final Exam
30
SCHEDULE:
Topic I.
Introduction to European Politics & Political
Economy
January 12 Introduction to
Course
Introductory comments and
discussion of course format.
Framing of central issues
and questions.
January 14 Historical and Institutional
Foundations of Democracy in Europe
-
Almond, Dalton, and Powell, Chapters 1-3
-
Global Studies: Western Europe, pp. 3-39
Topic II.
Parliamentary Government: The British Model
January 19 Historical Context of Contemporary
Politics/Processes and Institutions
-
Almond, Dalton, and Powell, Chapter 4
January 21 The Road to Tony Blair and "New Labour"
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Global Studies: Western Europe, Article 21
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Global Studies: Western Europe, pp. 44-46, 152-161
January 26 Politics of Territorial Identity
in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland
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Global Studies: Western Europe, Articles, 10-11, 23
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John T. Ishiyama and Marijke Breuning, "The Scottish National Party and
Plaid Cymru in Great Britain," in Ethnopolitics in the New Europe
(London: Lynne Rienner, 1998): 133-169.
Web Links
of Interest:
British General Election 1997 http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~pruffini/ge97.html
United Kingdom Parliament http://www.parliament.uk/
British Monarchy http://www.royal.gov.uk/
Liberal Democratic Party http://www.libdems.org.uk/
Conservative Party http://www.conservative-party.org.uk/
Labour Party http://www.labour.org.uk/
Scottish National Party http://www.snp.org.uk/
New Northern Ireland Assembly http://www.ni-assembly.gov.uk/index.htm
Newspaper Links http://www.ukindustry.co.uk/links-np.htm
Topic III.
Mixed Parliamentary-Presidential Systems: The French
Model
January 28 Constitutional Engineering and
the Durability of the Fifth Republic
-
Almond, Dalton, and Powell, Chapter 5
February 2 Evaluating System Performance
-
Global Studies: Western Europe, pp. 73-79, Articles 14-15
February 4 Oil on the Fire: How Immigration
has Fueled the Rise of the Front National
-
Global Studies: Western Europe, Articles 8-9, 13
-
William M. Downs, "The Front National as Kingmaker…Again: France’s Regional
Elections of 15 March 1998," Regional and Federal Studies 8:3 (1998).
-
Paper 1 ("Combating Extremism in Europe") due
Web Links of Interest:
National Assembly http://www.assemblee-nat.fr/0index.html
Foreign Ministry http://www.france.diplomatie.fr/
Socialist Party (PS) http://www.parti-socialiste.fr/
Rally for the Republic (RPR) http://www.rpr.asso.fr
Front National (FN) http://www.front-nat.fr/
Le Monde (major newspaper) http://www.lemonde.fr/
Topic IV.
Federal Political Systems: The German Model
February 9 From Occupation to Reunification: Political
Development
-
Almond, Dalton, and Powell, Chapter 6
February 11 Coping with the Problems of Unity
-
Global Studies: Western Europe, pp. 80-86, Articles 16-19
February 16 Red-Green Government: Making Sense of the 1998 Bundestag
Election
Web Links of Interest:
German Federal Government http://www.bundesregierung.de/english/01/newsf.html
Federal Chancellor http://www.bundeskanzler.de/kanzlerenglisch/home.html
Bundestag http://www.bundestag.de/
1998 Election Results (BBC) http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/special_report/1998/09/98/german_elections/
1998 Election Results (CNN) http://cnn.com/SPECIALS/1998/09/germany/video.html#decides
Christian Democrats (CDU) http://www.cdu.de/
Social Democrats (SPD) http://www.spd.de/
Free Democrats (FDP) http://www.liberale.de/
Greens http://www.gruenebt.de/
Party of Democratic Socialists http://www.pds-online.de/
Topic V.
Citizen Politics
February 18 Politics and the Public in Europe
and America
-
Dalton, Chapters 1-4
-
Global Studies: Western Europe, pp. 47-49
February 23 Measuring Value Change
February 25 Should Voting be Mandatory? Evidence
from the European Experience
-
Arend Lijphart. "Unequal Participation: Democracy's Unresolved Dilemma."
American
Political Science Review 91:1 (March 1997): 1-14.
Web Links of Interest:
Eurobarometer opinion surveys http://europa.eu.int/en/comm/dg10/infcom/epo/eb.html
Electoral Results http://www.pitt.edu/~alvarez/
British public opinion studies http://www.mori.com/polls/index_pl.htm
French public opinion studies http://www.ifop.fr/homeifop.htm
Topic VI.
Consociationalism In Europe
March 2 How Can Stability Be Achieved in
Culturally Fragmented Societies?
-
Global Studies: Western Europe, pp. 52-60, 120-124,
146-151
-
Research Paper Prospectus due
Web Links of Interest:
Austrian Constitution http://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/law/au__indx.html
Things Belgian http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/BelgCul.html
Dutch Politics http://www.politiek.com/index_en.htm
Swiss Institutions and Actors http://www.hugo.ch/switzerland/non-profit/politic.htm
March 4 Midterm
March 9 Spring Break
March 11 Spring Break
Topic VII.
Democratization in Southern Europe
March 16 The Spanish and Portuguese Roads
to Reform
-
Almond, Dalton, and Powell, Chapter 7
-
Global Studies: Western Europe, pp. 129-133, 136-140
March 18 Reinventing Government, Greek and Italian
Styles
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Global Studies: Western Europe, pp. 87-92, 103-108
Web Links of Interest:
Spain online http://www.europeonline.com/esp/index_gb.htm
Portuguese government sites http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/pt.html
Greek political resources http://www.hri.org/nodes/grpol.html
Italian political parties http://www.agora.stm.it/politic/italy1.htm
Spanish Civil War http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~warden/scw/scwindex.htm
Topic VIII.
The International Dimension: Politics in the European
Union
March 23 Why Europe? Historical Origins of
the European Union
March 25 Institutions: Commission, Parliament,
Court of Justice, Committee of Regions
-
Almond, Dalton, and Powell, Chapter 11 (pp. 485-511)
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Global Studies: Western Europe, Article 6
March 30 European Monetary Union and the Single Currency
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Almond, Dalton, and Powell, Chapter 11 (pp. 511-513)
-
Global Studies: Western Europe, Articles 4, 7
April 1 Toward a European
Welfare State?
-
Global Studies: Western Europe, pp. 40-43, Article 5
April 6 US-EU Relations
-
Zbigniew Brzinski, "A Plan for Europe," Foreign Affairs (January/February
1995): 26-42.
-
Selections from:
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Washington’s "Farewell Address" (1796)
-
Truman Doctrine
(1947)
-
Hans J. Morganthau, "The Atlantic Alliance" (1958)
April 8 Model EU Debate
Web Links of Interest:
European Union http://europa.eu.int/index-en.htm
European Treaties http://europa.eu.int/abc/obj/treaties/en/entoc.htm
European Parliament http://www.europarl.eu.int/
Common Foreign Policy http://ue.eu.int/pesc/default.asp?lang=en
Balkans Crisis http://www.intl-crisis-group.org/
EU Center of Georgia http://www.inta.gatech.edu/eucenter/home.html
Topic IX.
And Then the Wall Came Down: Rebirth in Eastern Europe
April 13 The First Domino: Poland--From Solidarity
to NATO
-
Almond, Dalton, and Powell, Chapter 9
-
Global Studies: Western Europe, Article 1
April 15 A Democratic Political Culture in Ten
Years? Evidence from Hungary
-
Almond, Dalton, and Powell, Chapter 10
-
Global Studies: Western Europe, Article 2
April 20 Guest Speaker: Attilio
Stajano, Visiting Professor and EU Scholar-in-Residence
(European Union Center, University System of Georgia)
April 22 On the Outside Wanting In: Extending
NATO/EU Membership to Eastern Europe
April 27 Russia: Part of the New Europe?
-
Almond, Dalton, and Powell, Chapter 8 (especially pp. 313-322, 325-327,
335-353, 358-360)
Web Links of Interest:
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty http://www.rferl.org/newsline/
Poland online http://www.polandonline.com/
Hungarian government http://www.meh.hu/
Central and Eastern Europe links http://law.gonzaga.edu/library/ceeurope.htm
NATO http://www.nato.int/
Enlargement Reports http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg1a/report_11_98_en/index.htm
April 29 Europe in the 21st
Century: Prospects and Challenges
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Loose-ends, wrap up; review
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Paper due
May 6 Exam
Note: This course syllabus provides a general plan for the
course; deviations may be necessary.
Note: Students are responsible for the information contained
in the Academic Honesty policy found in On Campus.