Admission requirements
Honours FGGA students
Description
In this course Honours Students will delve deeper into the workings of negotiating within the European Union. Through several classes the students will be prepared and trained for a EU Council meeting of the Common Foreign and Security Policy on dealing with Mis- and Disinformation.
The course will support the students in developing their knowledge on the topic, while at the same time understanding the policy making of the European Union, the negotiations that take place within it (and how negotiating within the EU is unique). It will also provide classes on public speaking, presenting, argumentation techniques and other relevant skills in preparation of the simulation.
Students will understand the functioning of major EU institutions, their power and role in policy making process and put their knowledge into practice. Through the topic of Mis- and Disinformation students will explore the complexity of policy making on the EU and international level, as the internet and the information spread there is not constraint by the boundaries of the nation states. As a result of this practical experience students will become better problem-solvers and will have the chance to hone not only their negotiation skills, but also their inter-personal and inter-cultural skills and establish stimulating networks among an international and transnational cohort of learners.
Course objectives
At the end of this course students will:
Understand the role of the EU in tackling major policy issues from a European, transatlantic and global perspective
Understand the set-up and functioning of the EU’s major institutions and their role in the policy-making process
Have a good knowledge of the mechanisms and procedures that guide the legislative process
Identify and support the position of a given persona (alter ego) in the legislative process
Further transfer academic insights and research on relevant literature into real-life scenario and for real-life problem solving
Develop own negotiation strategies, by identifying and engaging with relevant stakeholders under time constrains
Develop collaborative, inter-personal and inter-cultural skills by working with large and diverse groups of students towards a common goal
Self-evaluate, reflect, and contribute to group debrief sessions after the Model EU simulation
Timetable
Session 1 09/09/2024 19.00 – 22.00: Introductions and the functioning of the European Union
Session 2 16/09/2024 19.00 – 22.00: Argumentation, a practical skill
Session 3 30/09/2024 19.00 – 22.00: Mis- and Disinformation, a deep dive into the topic
Session 4 28/10/2024 19.00 – 22.00: Presentation, a practical skill
Session 5 20/11/2024 19.00 – 22.00: Speech writing, a practical skill
Session 6 09/12/2024 19.00 – 22.00: Negotiation in the European Union
Session 7 16/12/2024 19.00 – 22.00: Preparing for the final simulation
16 & 17 Januari 2025 10.00 – 17.00: Model EU – Policy making on mis- and disinformation
Mode of instruction
Total study load: 140 hours
Contact hours: 21 hours
The course will be delivered through a mix of lectures, practitioner sessions, thematic workshops.
In January students will participate in a 4-day simulation in Antwerp.
Assessment method
Negotiation Strategy (30%)
Position Paper and Participation in the Model EU (50%)
Debrief & Self-reflection Assignment (20%)
Details for submitting papers (deadlines) will be posted on Brightspace.
Grading: no compensation possible. All partial grade should be sufficient
Reading list
This reading list will be further updated in the Course Syllabus. However, the bellowed mentioned readings will be used at a minimum.
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]).
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]
Session 2:
https://youtu.be/GzB-Tkcd-X8?si=McDYhZUOF0tmfMSt
https://youtu.be/MXE9H9JOdmA?si=nEmHP9V5ZLQWb5uT
https://youtu.be/01WZ-VRJ4ro?si=kBYmD-h8GlksNiF3
https://stlcc.edu/student-support/academic-success-and-tutoring/writing-center/writing-resources/pathos-logos-and-ethos.aspx
Session 3:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b04v59gz
https://commission.europa.eu/topics/strategic-communication-and-tackling-disinformation_en
Explore the following website: https://euvsdisinfo.eu
https://allea.org/peritia-how-to-deal-with-a-populist-backlash-against-experts/
Article on conspiracy theories will follow
Session 4:
No readings, syllabus will indicate if this changes
Session 5:
No readings, syllabus will indicate if this changes
Session 6:
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].
Session 7:
No readings, syllabus will indicate if this changes
Registration
FGGA Honours coordinator/administration will take care of selection and enrollment.
Please note: students are not required to register through uSis for this class. Your registration will be done centrally after successful completion of the Class.
Contact
Teacher:
Hans van den Berg; hans@youngdiplomat.org
Honours Coordinator: Annette Righolt; a.j.e.righolt@fgga.leidenuniv.nl