74513 - EU INSTITUTIONS

Academic Year 2024/2025

Learning outcomes

This course analyzes the origins and main developments of EU institutions with a special focus on the last EU institutional cycles. By the end of the course, students should be able to: understand the evolution and the current institutional design of the EU; assess the role played by each institution in different decision-making methods and in different policies; compare the last institutional cycles; discuss main political developments and challenges in EU politics.

Course contents

The course is organised in lectures as detailed in the following program. During the first part (weeks 1-7), after an introduction to the EU political system, its main developments in terms of deepening and widening, and the theory of differentiated integration, the course focuses on EU institutions (European Commission, Council of the EU, European Council, European Parliament) and their role in the policy-making process. The second part (weeks 8-10) addresses the EU’s response to recent crises (refugees, COVID-19, and war in Ukraine), particularly the role played by different institutions in managing crises.

The course is taught in the second semester and is designed for undergraduate students who have not necessarily already taken courses about the EU.

PART I: EU Institutions

Weeks 1-2-3:

Introduction to the course

Introduction to the EU as a political system

EU institutional development

EU enlargement and Brexit

The EU as a system of differentiated integration

Mandatory readings:

Hix, S. and B. Hoyland (2011) The Political System of the European Union (3rd edition), Red Globe Press, chapter 1

Hodson D. and J. Peterson, eds. (2017) Institutions of the European Union (4th edition), Oxford University Press, chapter 2

Nugent N. (2017) The Government and Politics of the European Union (8th edition), Palgrave, chapter 5

Schimmelfennig, F., Leuffen, D, and B. Rittberger, 2015, ‘The European Union as a system of differentiated integration: interdependence, politicization and differentiation’, Journal of European Public Policy, 22(6), pp. 764-782

Schimmelfennig, F. (2018), 'Brexit: differentiated disintegration in the European Union', Journal of European Public Policy, 25(8), pp. 1154-1173

Week 4:

The European Commission

Mandatory readings:

Hodson, D. and J. Peterson, eds. (2017) Institutions of the European Union (4th edition), Oxford University Press, chapters 5 and 10

Peterson, J. (2017) 'Juncker's political European Commission and an EU in Crisis', Journal of Common Market Studies, 55(2), pp. 349-367

Müller, H. and I. Tömmel (2022) ‘Strategic Leadership: Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission’, in Women and Leadership in the European Union, ed. H. Müller and I. Tömmel, Oxford University Press

Baracani, E. and H. Kassim (2024) ‘The “Geopolitical Commission”: An End of Term Review’, Journal of Common Market Studies, 62(Annual Review), pp. 41-51

Week 5:

The Council of the European Union

Mandatory readings:

Hodson D. and J. Peterson, eds. (2017) Institutions of the European Union (4th edition), Oxford University Press, chapters 4 and 14

Week 6:

The European Council

Mandatory readings:

Hodson D. and J. Peterson, eds. (2017) Institutions of the European Union (4th edition), Oxford University Press, chapter 3

Tömmel I. (2017) 'The Standing President of the European Council: Intergovernmental or Supranational Leadership', Journal of European Integration, 39(2), pp. 175-189

Müller, H. and I. Tömmel (2024) ‘Between Cooperation and Rivalry: The Leadership of Charles Michel as President of the European Council’, Journal of Common Market Studies, 62(Annual Review), pp. 41-51.

Week 7:

The European Parliament

Mandatory readings:

Hodson D. and J. Peterson, eds. (2017) Institutions of the European Union (4th edition), Oxford University Press, chapter 6

Dinan, D. (2015) 'Governance and Institutions: The Year of the Spitzenkandidaten', Journal of Common Market Studies, 53(AR), pp. 93-107

PART II: EU’s Response to Crises

Week 8:

Introduction to EU crises

The Refugee Crisis and New Institutional Leadership

Mandatory readings:

Webber, D. (2018), European Disintegration? The Politics of Crisis in the European Union, Red Globe Publisher, chapter 5

Smeets, S. and D. Beach (2020) 'When success is an orphan: informal institutional governance and the EU-Turkey deal', West European Politics, 43(1), pp. 129-158

Baracani, E. and V. Sarotto (2022) 'The European Commission's role in EU-Turkey migration: political leadership through strategic framing', West European Politics

Week 9:

The COVID-19 Crisis and the pluri-institutional approach

Mandatory readings:

Kassim, H. (2022) ‘The European Commission and the COVID-19 pandemic: a pluri-institutional approach’, Journal of European Public Policy, DOI: 10.1080/13501763.2022.2140821

Camisao, I. and P. Vila Maior (2024) 'A Convincing Narrative to Control the Crisis Response? The role of the President of the European Commission During the COVID-19 Pandemic', Journal of Common Market Studies, 1-18.

Week 10:

The Russian aggression of Ukraine and ideational leadership

Mandatory readings:

Webber, D. (2018), European Disintegration? The Politics of Crisis in the European Union, Red Globe Publisher, chapter 4

Howorth, J. (2017), 'Stability on the Borders’: The Ukraine Crisis and the EU ’s Constrained Policy Towards the Eastern Neighbourhood', Journal of Common Market Studies, 55(1), pp. 121–136

Baracani, E. (2023) 'Ideational agenda-setting leadership: President von der Leyen and the EU response to the invasion of Ukraine', West European Politics, open access



Readings/Bibliography

- A detailed list of mandatory readings, for each lecture, is provided in the course contents

- All the readings are the same for attending and non-attending students

Teaching methods

- Traditional lectures and seminar activity

- During each class, students' participation will be encouraged

Assessment methods

Requirement to be considered attending students:

Be present at least for 21/30 classes (70% of presence in class)

Attending students are kindly requested to be enrolled as participants of the course on virtuale.unibo.it to facilitate the collection of presences in class

For attending students, the course grade is based on the following:

1) The written exam on the program's first part.This exam takes place at the end of the course in a pre-appello

2) The written exam on the program's second part. This exam can be taken in all the official exam sessions until September 2025 (included)

Each written exam consists of 1 long answer question that requires a response of about 40-60 lines (exam duration 1 hour)

For non-attending students and attending students refusing the grade of the first written exam

The course grade is based on a single written exam on both program parts. The exam consists of 2 long answer questions that require an answer each of about 40-60 lines (exam duration 2 hours)

 

ERASMUS STUDENTS

It is not possible to take this course as non-attending students


Teaching tools

- The instructor's PowerPoint presentations will be available at the end of each week on virtuale.unibo.it

Office hours

See the website of Elena Baracani

SDGs

Good health and well-being Gender equality Climate Action Peace, justice and strong institutions

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.