Dr Spyridon Economides

This course is compulsory on the MSc in EU Politics and MSc in EU Politics (LSE and Sciences Po). This course is available on the CEMS Exchange, MBA Exchange, MSc in European Studies (Research), MSc in International Political Economy, MSc in International Political Economy (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in International Political Economy (Research), MSc in International Relations (Research) and MSc in International Relations Theory. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course is an introduction to the causes and nature of European integration. The topic is presented from a historical, social scientific and normative perspective: We critically examine various theories of, and current debates about European integration by studying the process of integration, its effect on EU member states and third actors, the EU's constitutional character and the crises it is facing. The first part of the course analyses different stages in the integration process, asking why and how member states surrendered more and more power to European institutions. The second part discusses a number of big questions that this transfer of power raises. For example, what are the consequences of the single market and currency on the relationship between states and market in the EU? What are the consequences of political and legal integration for the separation of powers at the national level? What is the source and nature of the EU's power in world politics? We conclude by reflecting on the debate about Euroskepticism, the EU's perceived democratic deficit and the future of European integration. At the end of this course you will have gained an overview and better understanding of the history of European integration, integration theories and their intellectual history, the EU's political system, and current public and scholarly debates about EU politics.

10 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the MT. 1 hour of lectures in the ST.

Students on this course will have a reading week in Week 6, in line with departmental policy. 

Two 2,000-word essays are set and marked by the seminar teacher.

No single book is exactly coterminous with the syllabus. The following are useful background readings that are recommended for purchase: Desmond Dinan, Europe Recast: A History of European Union. 2nd edition. Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2014; Ben Rosamond, Theories of European Integration, Macmillan, 2000; A Moravcsik, The Choice for Europe: Social Purpose & State Power from Messina to Maastricht, London, UCL Press, 1998; Ian Bache, Stephen George and Simon Bulmer, Politics in the European Union. 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 2011.

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.