IRS 221 Contemporary Europe: History of European Integration

This course is designed for students of political science, international relations and humanities who want to gain deeper knowledge of the European Union and its integration processes. It will offer students a comprehensive overview of European integration history, European Union institutions, policies, personalities, treaties and historical decisions which continue to shape events in present day policy-making setting.

Throughout the semester, step by step, we will learn about the post WWII context in which European integration took root, the early European Communities and the reasons behind their inception, enlargement and transformation, we will cover the early years of integration and the crises the Communities faced when great political personalities such as Charles de Gaulle or Margaret Thatcher clashed with ideas of supranational governance. We will cover the transformation of economic communities into a political and even a normative project in the post-Cold War era and debate the challenges that await the European Union in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008 and today.

Since this course is predominantly knowledge-based, lectures will be the preferred format. This of course does not exclude student participation throughout the course, whether in form of 'news' presentations or in-class work with period documents and discussion of their relevance.