A minimum of 30 credits in social sciences or humanities + English B from Swedish upper secondary school.
No main field.
The main purpose of the course is to develop students' knowledge and understanding about the relationship between the European Union and its citizens. This is done with the help of a number of theoretical perspectives and empirical examples.
The course focuses on the relationship between the European Union and its citizens. During the course, the EU is examined a democratic polity, and issues surrounding participation, democracy, efficacy, legitimacy, and citizenship are examined. Various channels for political representation in the European Union are studied, such as elections and referenda, lobbying and interest groups, as well as the role and importance of the different regions in the EU policy processes. A number of theoretical perspectives are introduced, with the aim of providing students with a diverse range of analytical tools for the study of political representation, both normative and empirical. Theories of democracy and legitimacy are presented and will be compared and contrasted with the European reality.
On completion of the course, the student should:
- Be able to analyse the various channels for political representation in the EU;
- Demonstrate knowledge of the central theoretical perspectives discussed in the course, and be able to apply these to different aspects of European integration;
- Be able to examine critically and evaluate the EU and its various channels of representation through the prisms of legitimacy, representativeness and democracy.
Learning activities for the comprise individual studies, along with lectures and seminars. For most seminars, students are expected to prepare oral and/or written presentations.
Assessment of students' achievements is made via a course portfolio that includes oral presentations, active participation in three seminars, and a written exam at the end of the course. The seminars are used to examine learning objectives 1 and 2, while the written home exam examines learning objective 3.
- Bauböck, Rainer (2017), Democratic inclusion: Rainer Bauböck in dialogue (Manchester: Manchester University Press). (also available open access)
- Rose, Richard (2013), Representing Europeans: A Pragmatic Approach (Oxford: Oxford University Press) [available as e-book]
- Additional readings, videos and other learning material.
Please note additional online resources may supplement/complement the core textbooks.
The University provides students who participate in or who have completed a course with the opportunity to make known their experiences and viewpoints with regards to the course by completing a course evaluation administered by the University. The University will compile and summarize the results of course evaluations as well as informing participants of the results and any decisions relating to measures initiated in response to the course evaluations. The results will be made available to the students (HF 1:14).
If a course ceases to be available or has undergone any major changes, the students are to be offered two opportunities to retake the examination during the year following the change for re-examination, based on the syllabus which applied at registration.
The Language of Instruction is English