Deze informatie is alleen in het Engels beschikbaar.
Topics: European Union, Current Issues, Challenges, Opportunities, Current Affairs
Admission requirements:
This course is an (extracurricular) Honours Class: an elective course within the Honours College programme. Third year students who don’t participate in the Honours College, have the opportunity to apply for a Bachelor Honours Class. Students will be selected based on i.a. their motivation and average grade.
Description:
Europe once ruled the world, but now the continent is under attack from all sides,
including from within. Chinese President Xi Jinping sees the continent as a win-win
region. He has been buying influence in the Western Balkans for years and trying to tear
the European Union apart. Russia feels threatened and President Putin conducts covert
and now also military operations to disrupt NATO. President Trump, meanwhile, made it
easy for the Russians and Chinese by turning away from his closest allies and opening the attack on Europe himself. President Biden was more involved in Europe, but pursued
an America first strategy and was aware that the future is all about the Asian region.
President Trump has completely turned on Europe and the former US allies, the question
is, what is the impact? Prime Minister Johnson thought he would be better off outside the European Union and the Hungarian, and former Polish, leaders are undermining the
democratic rule of law. They all believe that a strong European Union stands in the way
of their ambitions. Political leaders struggle with an answer. The corona crisis, the war in
Ukraine and many other issues have further increased the challenge. Can we win this
battle for Europe? Can Trump destroy the alliances? What will the relationship between
Germany and France bring? Will the EU remain a player in the world, or will the
continent become the playground of world powers?
This course will explore current challenges and opportunities to and within the EU. This
is done through different perspectives but is always focused on current affairs. With
guest lectures from experts in different fields and practical exercises, students will
explore the current challenges and opportunities. The current affairs topics are not
picked yet as these will focus on what is relevant at that point in time.
Course objectives:
Formulate a perspective on threats and opportunities for the European Union.
Develop a policy advice on a current issue in relation to the developments within
or outside the European Union.Analyse the functioning of the European Union.
Analyse current affairs and issues within and outside of the European Union which
have an impact on it.Explain the major milestones and developments within the European Union.
Create a personal perspective on current and ongoing issues within and about
the future of the EU.
Programme and timetable:
The dates and time of these meetings: TBA
Session 1:
Introductions.
The first session will allow for introductions among the students and their backgrounds, furthermore a discussion will take place to ensure everyone is fully up to date with the functioning of the European Union. During the second half of the session attention will be given to the assessment methods and students will be able to form groups for the group assignments. The session will be concluded with a discussion on recent developments and looking forward to the different sessions.
Session 2:
Current affairs.
Russia, Ukraine, Eastern Europe and the European Union. It will be an understatement to say the war in Ukraine has changed the EU’s role on the world stage. But what do these current developments mean for the EU and how can these be strategised to increase the EU’s influence in global politics? Is there such a thing as the Brussels effect? How does the EU relate to the old and new forms of power?
Session 3:
Current affairs.
The rule of law seems to be under threat in the European Union. Member states have different opinions on how to deal with certain dissident members. One recent and interesting development is the use of the EU’s budget to force Hungary and Poland to adhere to the standards of the EU’s “rule of law”.
Guest lectures will delve deeper in the case against the EU commission on how it is using the EU budget. The European Court of Justice rejected the objections of Hungary and Poland to a 2020 regulation that allows the European Union to cut some member state funding based on rule of law performance. And will delve deeper into the consequences of the conditionality regulations of the EU for member states.
Session 4:
Current affairs.
During this session we will zoom in on the current developments in the digital sphere. Misinformation, recruitment, hybrid warfare, they all rely on cyberspace. The EU is often praised for how it has battled for the protection of the privacy of its citizens and now for taking up the fight against large companies dominating cyberspace. But what are the opportunities and challenges? What should and can the EU do?
Session 5:
Current affairs.
During this session a guest lecturer will delve deeper into the challenges terrorism and extreme violence poses to the security of the EU but also the nation state. International collaboration is important, but which role can the Union take both in its near abroad and in international cooperation?
Session 6:
Current affairs.
During this session an analysist on current affairs, international relations and global security affairs will delve deeper into their observations about the opportunities and threats to the EU. From a geopolitical point of view the expert will delve deeper into particular examples and take students along in their own career and lessons learned.
Session 7:
Current affairs.
The EU and its near abroad. Expansion and enlargement have been consistent hot topics for the EU and its member states. It is highly debated and a political subject, often subjective rather than objective. But where do the current countries stand? And how important is enlargement for the EU? And how do the enlargement negotiations work?
Session 8:
Current affairs.
Democracy in the EU. The attack on the rule of law and democratic institutions is nothing new, but what lies at the basis of this? Why are so many so successful now? And what can we do to prevent or even avoid a collapse of the EU? During this session students get the chance to redesign the EU based on their lessons learned.
Location:
Wijnhaven in The Hague
Reading list:
To be determined further based on the guest lectures:
Session 1:
Corbett, R, J. Peterson, and D. Kenealy, D (2012) The EU Institutions, in Kenealy, D. J. Peterson, and R. Corbett (eds) The European Union: How does it work. Oxford, Oxford UP (pp. 47- 72) [only pp. 48-65]
Shackleton, M. (2012) The European Parliament, in Peterson, J. and M. Shackleton (eds) The Institutions of the European Union. Oxford, Oxford UP [Only 124-134, 140-147]).
Session 3:
Bárd, P., and Kazai, V.Z. (2022) Enforcement of a Formal Conception of the Rule of Law as a Potential Way Forward to Address Backsliding: Hungary as a Case Study, Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, 14:165–193. This paper can be found on google drive.
Protecting the Rule of Law in Hungary and Poland: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/protecting-rule-law-hungary-and-poland
European Union’s Top Court Rules Against Hungary and Poland in Rule of Law Showdown: https://worldjusticeproject.org/news/european-union’s-top-court-rules-against-hungary-and-poland-rule-law-showdown
EU report renews Hungary, Poland rule-of-law critiques amid key negotiations: https://www.politico.eu/article/commission-unveil-critical-rule-law-report-against-hungary-poland/
ECJ dismisses Hungary-Poland rule-of-law challenge: https://www.dw.com/en/eu-top-court-dismisses-hungary-poland-rule-of-law-challenge/a-60793974
The final countdown: The EU, Poland, and the rule of law: https://ecfr.eu/article/the-final-countdown-the-eu-poland-and-the-rule-of-law/
Session 7:
Nicolaides, P., Negotiating Effectively for Accession to the European Union: Realistic Expectations, Feasible Targets, Credible Arguments. This paper can be found on google drive.
Lelieveldt, H. and S. Princen (2011). The Politics of the European Union. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: [only 232-238]. This paper can be found on google drive.
Scharpf, F.W. (1999): Governing in Europe. Effective and Democratic?, Oxford: Oxford UP, [Only pp. 43-49].
Young, A. (2010) The Single Market. Deregulation, Reregulation, and Integration, in Wallace, H., M. A. Pollack and A. Young (eds) Policy-Making in the European Union, (6th edition), Oxford, Oxford UP pp. 107-132 [Only pp. 107-115].
Hodson, D. (2015) Policy-Making under Economic and Monetary union: Crisis, Change and Continuity, in Wallace, H., M. A. Pollack and A. Young (eds) Policy-Making in the European Union, (7th edition), Oxford, Oxford UP pp. 166-195 [Only pp. 166-176]
Course load and teaching method:
This course is worth 5 ECTS, which means that the total course load equals 140 hours.
Contact hours: 24
Self-study: 116
24 hours of 8 lectures.
72 hours of self-study on relevant literature.
21 hours on group podcast the Future of Europe, a message to Europeans.
21 hours on individual essay A Policy Brief for the European Union.
2 hours short essay question with 4 questions on the topics discussed during the lectures.
Enrollment for the exam will be done centrally, but you need to confirm your exam in MyStudyMap.
Assessment methods:
- Group project:(60%)
With a group you will choose one of the topics of the class (guest)lectures and develop a proposal for a project to improve or enhance the EU’s impact in this field.
The assignment should contain:
An analysis of the problem itself and within the target country.
A proposal on what can be done to solve or improve the situation.
Concrete proposals on activities or events that can take place to achieve the
desired outcome.Evaluation methods to track the progress and performance of the project.
- Short exam question:(40%)
On the day of the exam at 09.00 AMSTERDAM time students will be send a question. The question should be answered within 24 hours by a short 500 (with a 10% margin) word essay. The answer needs to be logically structured and reference relevant course materials as well as other sources used for the answer.
To pass this course, the student has to earn a sufficient grade for every single assignment. Compensation is not possible.
Brightspace and uSis:
Brightspace will be used in this course. Upon admission students will be enrolled in Brightspace by the teaching administration.
Please note: students are not required to register through uSis for the Bachelor Honours Classes. Your registration will be done centrally.
Application process:
Submitting an application for this course is possible from Monday 27 October up to and including Sunday 16 November 2026 23:59 through the link on the Honours Academy student website.
Note: students don’t have to register for the Bachelor Honours Classes in uSis. The registration is done centrally before the start of the class.
Contact:
Course lecturer: Hans van den Berg: hans@youngdiplomat.org
Coordinator: a.j.e.righolt@fgga.leidenuniv.nl