Political Science 3300
European Politics
Winter 2008
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This is a course on contemporary European politics. It looks at larger and smaller democracies, particularly the ways in which their political systems operate, what is changing and what is constant. The countries we will study are members of the European Union. All are part of an increasingly globalized international economy. We consider how they are responding to the pressures of internationalization, the obligations which they have assumed in becoming EU member-states, and citizens not entirely happy with either apparent losses of sovereignty and autonomy or the increasingly diverse and multicultural complexion of their societies. In doing so, we consider not only the politics of larger and smaller countries but also how they manage their economies, responses to territorial strains, and the ways in which they cope with immigration and multiculturalism.
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