The European Political System

Teacher(s)

Duez Denis;

Language

French

Prerequisites

The prerequisite(s) for this Teaching Unit (Unité d’enseignement – UE) for the programmes/courses that offer this Teaching Unit are specified at the end of this sheet.

Learning outcomes

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

On completion of the course, students will have a global understanding of the whole set of 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. They will also have been introduced to the question of legitimacy in the European Union.

Content

The course combines two perspectives. On one hand, the course will identify all types of actors participating in the European political system (European and national ones). 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 public affairs. Selected case studies will be used to illustrate this second perspective of the course.

Teaching methods

The course provides an overview of the theoretical and empirical research (legal, political and socio-political) focusing on the various actors that make up the political system of the European Union. PowerPoint presentations, including the structure of each lecture, tables, charts, images and links to videos or websites presented during the course is available on Moodle.

Learning activities description:

Firstly, each lecture is associated with a list of readings allowing students to go deeper into the subject of the course.

Secondly, students may be invited to attend one or two events (conferences, seminars, debates) in connection with the course. These events will be selected either in the activities organized at Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles or in the many activities organized in Brussels in the field of European affairs.
Thirdly, students are required to keep themselves informed about current affairs in the European Union throughout the course.

Evaluation methods

Written examination.
The examination aims to verify the student's mastery of the notions and concepts studied during the course. The questions presuppose a very good knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. The student could, for example, be asked to comment on a current topic by adequately mobilizing the concepts, theories or typologies presented during the course. One or more questions relate to learning activities (+/- 25% of the final grade).
The use of artificial intelligence in the assessment tests for this course is governed by the rules set out in the university Academic regulations and procedures, which is available on the university's website. Unless explicitly instructed otherwise by the course teacher, the use of AI by students is forbidden in assessment tests.

Bibliography

Le portefeuille de lectures est disponible sur Moodle.

Faculty or entity

> ESPB