Actors of the European political system

leusl2011  2019-2020  Louvain-la-Neuve

Actors of the European political system
Note from June 29, 2020
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.
5 credits
30.0 h
Q2
Teacher(s)
Duez Denis;
Language
French
Main themes
The course firstly examines institutional actors (as mentioned in the European Treaties), both European (Commission, Parliament, Council of the European Union, Court of Justice, Committee of the Regions, Economic and Social Committee, European Central Bank, European Investment Bank, etc.) and national (national delegations to the Parliament, the Council of the European Union, to the Committee of the Regions, Economic and Social Committee, etc.). Secondly, the course examines non-institutional actors such as political parties, interest groups, trade unions, companies, advocacy groups, "think tanks", experts, media, opinion polling agencies, etc. It will analyse the way they are organized at the European and/or national levels (ex: European Trade Union Confederation, "BusinessEurope", European Environmental Bureau, etc.).
Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

1 On completion of the course, students will have a global understanding of the whole set of collective actors that contribute to the "European political game", as well as of the main type of interactions among them. They will be familiar with the actors' contribution to the dynamic and the development of the EU.
 

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.
Content
The course combines two perspectives. On one hand, the course will identify all types of actors participating in the European political system. The course will present their composition, resources and main instruments for action, their identity and political orientations. The weight of each of these actors in the European political decision-making process will be underlined. On the other hand, the course will engage a more dynamic perspective, centred on the interactions among the actors. It will acknowledge the fundamental diversity of actors and levels of governance of the European "political game".
Teaching methods
Lectures.
Evaluation methods
Written exam. The exam covers all the material discussed during the lectures and presented in the reader.
Other information
Support: reader with obligatory readings and list of recommended readings.
Faculty or entity
EURO


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Master [120] in Translation

Master [120] in European Studies

Master [120] in Political Sciences: International Relations

Master [120] in Public Administration

Master [120] in Interpreting

Master [60] in Political Sciences: General