The goals of this course are threefold. A first key aim is descriptive: namely to get acquainted with the setup of the EU’s politico-administrative system. Which institutional forms of bureaucratic decision-making exist, and what role do these play in the overall system of policy-making? A second key aim is more explanatory, namely to understand how power is distributed within each system, and how this affects the overall institutional balance within the European Union. We do so by looking at the EU administrative system through the lens of institutional design theory. Finally, throughout this course we assess the functioning and setup of these bureaucratic structures against principles of good governance that seek to safeguard democratic decision-making, such as accountability, transparency, and participation.
For this and other courses in this masters’ specialization, it is important not only to learn about power distributions from the books but also to be able to retrieve information on this yourself. In this course we therefore pay specific attention to the EU’s wide array of document registers. We close in on navigating these, as well as reading EU official documents efficiently (such as legislation and Court judgments).
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This course focuses on politico-administrative cooperation in the European Union. Reports on European integration typically center-stage actors such as the EU government leaders, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council, but these represent only the tip of the iceberg. In fact, a very large machinery exists that links the EU institutions to the national administrations which typically implement EU policies – in a whole range of different institutionalized permutations. Some of these have decision-making powers, others merely coordinate. Some are intended as a tool to alert political institutions to take action, others have an independent mandate of their own.
In this course, we look at the nuts and bolts of this large bureaucratic machinery.
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Before participating in this course, the following pre-knowledge is mandatory:
- you must have completed a BA-level programme in political science or public administration, or a pre-master therein;
- including at least one course related to European Union Politics/Governance
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Prerequisite exchange students: one EU course at bachelor level required
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