History of European Integration

Course Description
This course is designed for students of political science, international relations and humanities who want to gain a deeper knowledge of the European Union and its integration processes. It will offer the students a comprehensive overview of European integration history, European Union institutions, documents and historical decisions which continue to shape events in present day policy-making. Throughout the semester, step by step, we will learn about the post WWII context in which European integration took root, the early Communities and the reasons behind their inception, early years of integration and the crises they faced when great political personalities such as Charles de Gaulle or Margaret Thatcher clashed with ideas of supranational governance.
We will cover the transformation of economic communities into a political and even a normative project in the post-Cold War era and debate the challenges that await the European Union in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008. This of course does not exclude student participation throughout the course, whether in form of team presentations or in-class work with period documents and discussion of their relevance.

Course Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Have a strong foundation for future studies of European issues;
• List the milestones of European integration and based on this knowledge they should be able to explain the specific nature of the European Union integration process;
• Comprehend the European Union institutional structure and understand the specific roles EU institutions play in EU decision-making processes;
• Understand the current discussions of the European crisis in wider politico-historical context.