Instructor: Dr. Conor O’Dwyer
This course will address core questions of European integration from the origins of the EU to its current economic crisis. The unifying theme is the question: How alike politically do countries have to be for economic integration to work? More specifically, we will ask: Are there fundamental tensions between economic integration and political integration? If so, how might they be managed? Does the EU have a “democratic deficit” or, on the contrary, has it strengthened democracy among its members, especially in the new members from postcommunist Eastern Europe? What were/are the challenges of integrating postcommunist countries into the EU? Last, what does the ongoing economic crisis reveal about the project of creating a single currency, the Euro? In addressing these questions, the class will take an interdisciplinary approach with an emphasis on the politics of economic policy.