Admission requirements
Students admitted to the Public Administration Master, regardless of track affiliation. GofS-students enrolment via study coordinator(s).
Description
People have become increasingly critical of European Union (EU) policies and often appear to favor local policy solutions in response to the challenges of globalization. How do you experience EU policy? Does it help address the broader societal problems you encounter? If not, how can this be changed?
This course aims to provide an in-depth understanding of EU policymaking as a process that begins with legislation and continues through transposition and implementation, stages that often generate feedback and opportunities for adjustment of formal policies. Policy is understood as the concrete manifestation of political ambitions, goals, and instruments, all of which may evolve over time. By examining the various stages of policy development, the course addresses legislative policy (as adopted by the main EU lawmakers, often following extensive debate), transposed policy (the manner in which a member state incorporates EU legislation into its domestic legal order), and implemented policy (the application of these rules within the national legal framework).
In doing so, the course seeks to “open the black box” of EU policymaking by drawing on contemporary theoretical and empirical research on how the EU functions at the European, national, and subnational levels. It demonstrates how these insights and research findings enhance our understanding of EU policymaking. Moreover, as is inherent in politics, the outcomes of legislative decision making, transposition, and implementation can be shaped by power, preferences, norms, and ideas. Differences in these factors, and depending on the analytical perspective used, can help to understand how choices during the policy process are made.
Course objectives
You will have an advanced understanding of the European multilevel policy process, with particular emphasis on the roles of political actors at the EU level and their connections to national, regional, and local governments involved in policy implementation, as well as the theories and analytical frameworks developed in this field.
You will be able to critically analyze policymaking and policy implementation within the European multilevel governance context.
You will be able to apply key concepts in EU multilevel governance and policymaking to the analysis of concrete policy questions and problems.
Timetable
On the right side of programme front page of the Studyguide you will find links to the website and timetables, MyStudymap, uSis and Brightspace.
Mode of instruction
Class discussion on literature and guidance from the lecturers once per week.
Assessment method
Your final grade is composed of the following elements: (1) group grade for the podcast assignment, which accounts for 40% of the final grade. (2) oral exam, which assess your understanding of, and ability to critical evaluate, the key arguments and insights from the required readings and class discussions. This component accounts for 60% of the final grade.
Please note that partial grades obtained in previous academic years cannot be carried over to the current course. Likewise, grades earned in this course cannot be transferred to a subsequent year.
The following rules apply to grading and participation:
Weekly presence: You are expected to attend the classes regularly, as they support your engagement with the course and preparation of the required material for the oral exam.
Podcast grade: This grade reflects the quality of the podcast by a group of students, as specified in the syllabus. To pass the course, the grade for the podcast must be at least 5.5.
Final grade: To pass the course, the grade for oral exam must be at least 5.5.
Resit postcast or examination: Students who do not pass the podcast assignment or oral examination have one additional opportunity to retake it. The deadline for this opportunity is scheduled within four weeks after the date of submission or initial examination.
Reading list
To be announced in the syllabus and the Brightspace page of this course.
Registration
Please note, registration for block 2 electives will be organised by the OSC in a different way from the regular course registration for semester 1. More information about this will follow in the second half of September.
Leiden University uses Brightspace as its online learning management system. After enrolment for the course in MyStudymap you will be automatically enrolled in the Brightspace environment of this course.
Contact
Remarks
New Elective in Block 4:
If you are interested in gaining a deeper understanding of how the European Union functions, this is an excellent opportunity. Beginning April 10, the elective EU Policymaking and Implementation will be offered on Fridays from 11:15 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
The course is taught by Bernard Steunenberg, Professor Emeritus and a widely published scholar on European Union governance, and Tom de Bruijn, former Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the EU in Brussels and former Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation in the third Rutte cabinet. Drawing on both academic expertise and high-level policy experience, they will examine how EU policies are formulated through negotiations in Brussels, as well as how these policies are transposed and implemented within member states, often at the subnational level.
The course requires active participation during class sessions. In addition, students will work in groups to produce a short podcast on a topic related to the European Union.
Further information is available in the study guide and on Brightspace. Enrollment is mandatory for participation.