European Studies

Module code: 7AAYM115
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 20 credits
Teaching pattern: One two-hour seminar per week
Assessment:  coursework 
One 4,000 word essay (100%) and one optional 4,000 word unassessed essay

This course focuses on the question of ‘identity’ in history and the social sciences, and it asks how these identities might be related to the symbols, founding myths, and institutions of the European Union. In encouraging an interdisciplinary approach to the subject, this course will also cover the main methodological groundwork needed for the MA in European Studies. We will discuss issues related to essay writing, and we will explore methodological issues related to postgraduate research. 

The full 2011-12 module description is available on the Department of European & International Studies website.

Module code: 7AAYM202
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 20 credits
Teaching pattern: One-hour lecture and one-hour seminar per week
Assessment:  coursework 
Oral presentation (15%) and one 4,000 word essay (85%)

This course provides a comprehensive exploration of the history, institutions and politics of European integration since 1945. It begins by evaluating competing theories of integration that help us to explain the historical development of the EU. It then analyses the institutional framework established for managing this process and how and why it has evolved over time. The course ends by investigating the nature, development and rationale behind key EU policies – including economic and monetary union, foreign and defence policy, and justice and home affairs – as well as briefly considering the wider democratic implications of ever closer union. 


The full 2011-12 module description is available on the Department of European & International Studies website.  

 

Module code: 7AAYM300
Credit level: 7

Module code: 7SSG5061
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 20
Semester:  Semester 1 (autumn) 

This module explores the development of ideas around the form and function of cities, from modern to post-modern, through perspectives ranging from the social-scientific to the marxist and cultural, and opens up a number of emerging strands of theorisation around what it means to experience the contemporary urban environment, and to exercise the right to the city.

Module code: 7AASM032
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 20 credits
Semester:  Semester 2 (spring) 
Teaching pattern: One two-hour seminar per week
Assessment:  coursework 
One 4,000 word essay; one 2,000 word practice essay

This module will explore literary responses (in English translation) by Italian and Spanish writers to conflict and division in their respective societies, from the early 20th Century to the present. Common to the history of both is the experience and legacy of dictatorship and a community driven by highly polarized political ideologies and discourses. Although the markedly different trajectories of Italian Fascism and Francoism mean that over the course of the 20th Century writers in Italy and Spain come to engage with divergent political and social realities, social crisis, division and dysfunction continue to provide points of connection.

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/splas/modules/level7/7aasm032.aspx

Module code: 7AAYM120
Credit level: 7

Economic integration remains at the core of what the EU is and why it exists. Today it constitutes the largest and most integrated single market in the world. But how is it governed? The module sets out to explore the development, structures and policies that characterise economic integration – in particular, the single market, monetary union, economic and fiscal coordination, employment and social policy, and cohesion policy. Drawing on theories of European integration, political economy and comparative politics, it analyses the distinctive ‘modes’ of governance that the EU employs in these different policy fields – from ‘hard’ supranational policy making through to ‘soft’ informal coordination and learning. The course concludes by addressing two fundamental issues. Firstly, what are the democratic implications of economic union without political union, and is this sustainable or desirable? Secondly, what has been the impact of the global financial crisis on economic governance, and how can the EU respond to it? The module therefore seeks to provide a clearer understanding of how and why the EU shapes our lives to a greater extent than ever before.

Teaching staff: Professor Alexander Türk
Module code: 7FFLA015
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 40
Semester:  Full-year 
Teaching pattern: Two-hour seminar.

Indicative/suggested reading: H. Hofmann, A. Türk, The Development of Integrated Administration in the EU and its Consequences, 2007 13(2) European Law Journal 253-271.


Assessment:  written examination/s 
Three-hour exam.

Module description

EU administrative law has always been an integral part of the law of the European Union, but has only recently attracted greater attention by academics. Its significance is not only demonstrated by the large number of acts which are adopted every year in this area at European level (some 3,000), but also by the content of those acts (risk regulation through the approval of the release of genetically modified organisms and approval of medicinal products, market regulation through antitrust decisions imposing considerable fines on undertakings, etc). EU administrative law also involves a wide variety of actors (European Commission, national administrations, EU agencies, networks, private bodies) and forms (traditional legal instruments, but also a wide range of ‘soft’ law).

The aim of this module is to introduce you to the principles of administrative law and policy of the European Union. The module discusses the foundations of EU administrative law, its constitutional framework, its modes of delivery (comitology, agencies, open method of co-ordination, social partner agreements), its procedures (centralised and decentralised), the general principles of law which it has to observe (legal certainty and legitimate expectations, equality, proportionality, the precautionary principle, transparency), and the supervision of EU administrative action (political supervision and judicial review).

Teaching staff: Professor Alan Dashwood
Module code: 7FFLA507
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 20
Semester:  Semester 2 (spring) 
Teaching pattern: 

Two-hour seminar.

Assessment:  written examination/s 
Two-hour exam.

Module description

The EU’s external policies are ever more sophisticated and wide-ranging, and the EU is a very active international actor. This module concentrates on studying the legal foundations of the EU’s external action. It looks at the scope and nature of the EU’s external competences, in particular treaty-making powers and the relationship between international and EU law. It also focuses on a couple of case-studies of major EU external policies, namely the EU’s common commercial policy and its common foreign and security policy. Those case-studies will exemplify the interaction between the many facets that shape the EU’s external relations. The module aims to give you a thorough grounding in what is a very dynamic subject.

Teaching staff: Professor Andrea Biondi
Module code: 7FFLA018
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 40
Semester:  Full-year 
Teaching pattern: Weekly two-hour seminar.

Indicative/suggested reading: Barnard, The Substantive Law of the EU, OUP, 2010.


Assessment:  written examination/s 
Three-hour exam.

Module description

The concept of a common market involves the elimination of all obstacles to intra-community trade in order to merge the national markets into a single market bringing about conditions as close as possible to those of a genuine internal market’ (Schul, 1982). The module, by focusing on the development and application of the principle of free movement, assesses whether those objectives have been fully achieved. The structure is firmly grounded on the four fundamental freedoms: goods, persons, services and capital. Each of the freedoms is thoroughly analysed with reference to the case law of the European Court of Justice and to relevant legislation. ‘Exemplary’ areas such as financial services, food law or the regulation of monopolies are also included. Particular attention is devoted to the debate on whether the same criteria and principles may be applied to the whole of the internal market and to the degree of convergence of the economic freedoms in EU law.

Module code: 7SSWM145
Credit level: 7

The module aims to introduce a range of analytical approaches to the study of security in Europe today and develop a detailed knowledge and understanding of the main issues and developments since the end of the Cold War. It focuses on the response of states and international organisations to the new security challenges and considers the nature of the emerging security order. It analyses the ways in which NATO, the EU and the OSCE have adapted to the post Cold War and post 9/11 security environment, the relationship between them and their respective roles in providing security. The role of the US in Europe and the debate over the future of the transatlantic security partnership will be critically explored. National perspectives on European security issues are also considered through the comparative study of the defence policies of France, Germany, the UK, Russia and a selection of other European states. The module concludes with a number of case-studies on specific issues and regions in order to bring together both the conceptual and empirical themes of the course.

 

 

Aims:

The aims of the module are to:

• Introduce a range of analytical approaches to the study of security in Europe today
• Raise awareness of the academic debate on identities, including the question of 'what is Europe?' Identify the new security challenges and assess the response of European states and international organisations to them
• Critically analyse the ways in which NATO, the EU and the OSCE have adapted to the new security environment and explore the issues concerning the evolving relationship between them and their respective roles in providing security
• Engage critically with debates on the future of the transatlantic security relationshipAssess the significance of different national perspectives by studying the security and defence policies of a number of European states, including France, Germany, the UK and Russia
• Synthesise the conceptual and empirical themes of the course through a number of case-studies on specific security issues and regions
• Reflect on the nature of the emerging European security order

 

Learning Outcomes:

Students who successfully complete this module will be able to:

• Identify and assess the main issues in European security today, both in terms of specific challenges and the policy responses to them
• Critically engage in the debates about the nature and role of identities in Europe, including the contested issue of 'European' identity
• Compare the security needs and policies of individual European states and account for similarities and differences between them
• Understand the rationale for European integration, particularly in the field of security
• Demonstrate a detailed knowledge and understanding of NATO, the EU and the OSCE and the debates concerning their role in European security
• Assess the basis of the transatlantic security relationship and the prospects for the future
• Apply appropriate concepts, theories and vocabulary from the specialist academic literature on European security to their study of the issues raised in the course.

Teaching staff: Professor Christoph Meyer
Module code:  7AAYM116
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 20
Semester:  Semester 2 (spring) 
Teaching pattern: 1 x 1hr lecture and 1 x 1hr seminar weekly
Assessment:  coursework;  presentation/s; 
Briefing paper and presentation (30%); 3,000 word essay (70%)

To what extent has the EU become a unitary actor in foreign affairs with the ability to project a common interest across a range of policy areas? What influence do member states have on common policies and actions as compared to EU institutions? And how does the EU reconcile conflicts between economic, humanitarian and security goals? These are three of the central questions to be tackled by this module. It will provide you with a sound understanding of the legal basis, complexity, range and impact of the EU's foreign policy(ies) in a more globalised world. It will also help you distinguish and competently apply a range of theoretical approaches used to conceptualise the EU as a foreign actor and to analyse its decision-making dynamics. The module aims to advance students understanding of the EU's strengths and weaknesses as it related to other major states, international organisations and other non-governmental actors.

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/europeanstudies/modules/level7/7aaym116.aspx

Module code: 7AAYM114
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 20 credits
Teaching pattern: One two-hour class per week
Assessment:  coursework 
One 4,000 word essay

International Political Economy (IPE) has come to the fore over the past few decades as it in order to address the complex shifts in power that have developed thanks to the processes normally described as globalization. The aim of the course will be to provide students with a good intellectual grounding in International Political Economy as a discipline, particularly in respect of the nature and implications of global economic change - hence the title of the module.


The full 2010-11 module description is available on the Department of European & International Studies website.  

Module code: 7SSWM165
Credit level: 7

Human Rights and Migration adopts a socio-legal approach to questions relating migration and human rights. In doing do, it stresses the significance of political context in the construction of legal frameworks dealing with the politically charged question of the movement of peoples across national boundaries and examines these in relation to the agencies and institutions of the European Union. Each session considers the theoretical issue relating to human rights and migration, how the question is dealt with in international treaties, and what the implications are for migrants.

 

Aims:

The aims of the module are:

• To promote in students an advanced understanding of the relationship between human rights law and the movement of people across national boundaries. The focus throughout will be on the interrelationships both supportive and conflictual between the domestic law within states dealing with migration, EU law and International Law.
• Unpack the international legal framework in relation to contemporary ethical ideas about individual identity, belonging and citizenship. This will involve students moving beyond "black letter" law to a study of the ethical values which underpin it.
• Set out the legal framework governing the refugees and asylum seekers within the European Union as they were originally set up and the transformations which have been taking place in the post Cold War and in the globalizing environment.
• Expose students to cutting edge analyses which examine the political forces influencing the legal changes mentioned in point 3 above
• Explore the ways in which forced migration is being dealt with in national and international law.Make explicit the opportunities which exist in domestic, EU and International law for migrants to seek remedies which will protect their fundamental human rights in the face of hostile political forces. In doing this detailed consideration will be given to recent developments in the case law pertaining to these matters.
• Study the links between human rights law, family law and migration.
• Explore the economic outcomes of migration and how it has affected human rights law.

 

 

Learning Outcomes:

Students who successfully complete this module will be able to:

• Relate concepts of human rights to the movement of peoples across national boundaries as these have been defined in and controlled by law.
• Specify the complex legal framework within which our modern ideas of identity, belonging, and citizenship are located.
• Understand the legal framework relating to refugees and asylum seekers within the European Union and the transformations taking place therein. In doing this students will be able to demonstrate an ability to find their way around a complicated knowledge base which includes law reports, constitutions, legal text books, works in the field of international relations and also reports in the quality press.
• Appreciate the political context surrounding the complex relationship between human rights and migration policies within the European context.
• Engage with some of the thorny ethical issues which are raised by the legal and political disputes surrounding the problems of migration.
• Understand and analyse the issue of forced migration and the protection of refugees under international human rights law.
• Understand the question of rights and how this relates to family life across national boundaries.Assess the impact of economic migration on human rights law
• Demonstrate skill in articulating the complex interrelationships between law, politics and ethics as they pertain to issues to do with migration across national borders. These skills are likely to prove useful to students in their subsequent careers and as citizens.

Module code: 7AAYM207
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 40 credits
Teaching pattern: One two-hour seminar per week over both semesters
Assessment:  coursework 
Two 4,000 word essays

The full 2011-12 module description is available on the Department of European & International Studies website.

Module code: 7SSWM107
Credit level: 7

Aims:

The aims of the module are:

• To promote multidisciplinary understanding of concepts, issues and debates regarding nationalism and security
• To encourage understanding of the interaction between statehood and population groups
• To appreciate the relationship between national political discourse and the peace-conflict axis
• To foster conscious critical reading and discussion of issues of ethnicity, identity, statehood, self-determination and self-protection
• To complement core course work on the social dimension of war, international order nexus of international peace and security

 

Learning Outcomes:

Students who successfully complete this module will have :

• Familiarity with key concepts of nationalism and security
• Understanding of the variety of relationships within and between states and social groups
• Understanding of the relationship of nationalism to various aspects of security
• Command of key concepts such as state, nation, nationalism, ethnicity, self-determination and security.
• Examined the relationship of nationalism to violence, inter-communal strife, and the instruments of state policy.
• Understanding of nationalism as both a challenge and a support of international order in the contemporary world.
• Examined literature on different approaches to nationalism in history and the social sciences
• Knowledge and understanding of nationalism and security in relation to specific empirical cases
• Explored the problems and possible solutions to contemporary issues of nationalism and security

Module code: 7SSAM121
Credit level: 7

This module, taught jointly with Public Policy, aims to equip students with an understanding of the underlying issues in research methods and provide them with sufficient familiarity with specific techniques to enable choices to be made as to appropriate research strategies.  It is organised to encourage students from a variety of backgrounds to grasp the relevance and utility of research for political, social and public policy decision-making and to provide a basic training to a level appropriate to MA dissertation research. Among the topics covered are the philosophy of social science, interviewing, participant observation, documentary and archival research, analysing qualitative data, survey methods, and an introduction to data analysis.

 

Teaching staff: Dr Ramon Pacheco-Pardo
Module code: 7AAYM209
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 20 credits
Semester:  Semester 2 (spring) 
Teaching pattern: One two-hour seminar per week
Assessment:  coursework;  oral examination/s;  presentation/s; 

One oral presentation (15%); 4,000 word essay (85%)

The relationship between the EU and Asia is one of the key drivers of developments in the international system. Whereas in the past relations between these two regions were driven by economics, today political and security calculations are equally central to understand the dynamics of their interactions. This module addresses the relationship between the EU and Asia by looking at their relations at the regional level, as well as by analysing bilateral relations between the EU and key Asian countries. Particular attention will be given to how developments in the international system affect EU-Asia interactions and to how these interactions impact international relations. Special emphasis will also be put on the role of the USA in shaping the EU’s and Asian countries’ respective policies towards each other.

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/europeanstudies/modules/level7/7aaym209.aspx

Module code: 7SSWM119
Credit level: 7

This course examines, compares and contrasts the representation of war in two types of discourse other than the historical and human science idioms which are mainstream in War Studies and considers what 'philosophy' and 'literature' have in common, and how they may be fruitfully contrasted, in their treatment of military affairs. The course will explore the strengths and limitations of elucidating general questions about types of discourse through the close reading of particular 'great' texts. This will include assessing the pairing of Homer's Iliad with Plato's Republic, and two other suitably paired texts, such as a Shakespeare play with Hobbes's 'Leviathan' and Tolstoi's 'War and Peace' with Nietzsche's 'Genealogy of Morals' as models for any philosophical-literary study of war.