STV4350B – European Union: Government, Politics and Policies
Course description
Course content
Starting from the observation that the European Union possesses many of the attributes of modern political systems, the aim of the course is to enable students to apply general theories of political science in order to explain how the EU works. For each of the main processes in the EU political system – executive, legislative and judicial politics, public opinion, interest groups and democracy, as well as regulative, expenditure, monetary and interior policies, the course will equip students with key political science tools and a solid grasp of relevant theories thereby enabling a rigorous and sophisticated analysis of politics in the European Union.
Learning outcome
Knowledge:
- Understanding of relevant political science theories for analysing key aspects of government, politics, and policies in modern political systems
- Overview of the developments in the EU in all key aspects of its political system
- Familiarity with the scholarly debate in all main areas of government, politics and policies in the European Union
Skills:
- Ability to identify and apply relevant general theories from political science to analyse any aspect of the political system of the EU
- Ability to identify relevant primary and secondary sources of empirics in order to conduct independent research on any aspect of the political system of the EU
- Ability to identify competing theoretical claims regarding any aspect of politics in the EU and evaluate them in light empirical evidence
Competences:
- Develop the ability to produce theoretically informed empirical analysis
- Develop written and oral presentation skills
- Ability to consume, summarise, and evaluate academic research
Admission
Students admitted to other Master programs may also be qualified to apply for the course. Please contact the Department of Political Science.
Prerequisites
Formal prerequisite knowledge
Bachelor's degree in Political Science or European Studies.
Recommended previous knowledge
Bachelor's degree in Political Science or European Studies.
Teaching
10 lectures will be given. The lectures are held intensively for a period of 5 weeks, with the exam in the sixth week.
This course will be taught at the University of Oslo, Blindern campus. Other locations in Oslo may be used. Fronter will normally be used.
The course is part of the regular course offerings at the Faculty of Social Science. Teaching is mainly held during the daytime. Detailed course-information is found on the Webpage for the current semester.
Examination
Weekly assignments.
Students will be evaluated on the basis of the weekly assignments. There will not be a final school exam. All assignments must be handed in on time in order to pass the course. Each assignment will be based on a published article and a dataset. The task will be to replicate the study and extend it by using the techniques demonstrated in the lectures. The students need to submit a fully functional script and a textfile of 500–1000 words which describes the purpose of the study, the method(s) and the results. The deadline for the assignments will be before the first lecture of the following week.
Language of examination
It is generally possible to submit your response in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
Explanations and appeals
Resit an examination
Withdrawal from an examination
It is possible to take the exam up to 3 times. If you withdraw from the exam after the deadline or during the exam, this will be counted as an examination attempt.
Special examination arrangements
Application form, deadline and requirements for special examination arrangements.
Evaluation
This course is evaluated half way through every semester and every four year the course undergoes a thorough evaluation.
An external auditor regularly evaluates the academic quality of the course and he/she makes a written report every year.