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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2013/2014
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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Social and Political Science : Postgrad (School of Social and Political Studies)

Postgraduate Course: Democratisation and Europeanisation in Central and Eastern Europe (PGSP11286)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Social and Political Science CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Course typeStandard AvailabilityAvailable to all students
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) Credits20
Home subject areaPostgrad (School of Social and Political Studies) Other subject areaNone
Course website None Taught in Gaelic?No
Course descriptionThis course is aimed at providing students with an understanding of democratisation and Europeanisation in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) inside and outside the European Union. Despite special attention to Europe as a subject of research and teaching at PIR, there are no courses which study CEE in its own terms. The proposal suggests filling this niche by examining the drivers and constraints for democratisation in CEE and investigating the role of the EU in this context. The questions to examine include: How do state formation and nation building in CEE correlate with European integration? What is the interplay between post-communist legacies and the trajectories of democratisation in CEE? What are the crucial differences between the EU enlargement and neighbourhood policies?

The course will cover democratisation and Europeanisation in CEE since 1989 till nowadays. This timing will stimulate students to pay special attention to the issue of path-dependency, as well as to follow the news on the latest political changes in the region. The main case studies for the course will be the Czech Republic, Poland, and Ukraine; however, it will occasionally refer to democratisation and Europeanisation in other CEE states, excluding Balkans.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus?No
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
It is expected that students would:

1. deepen their understanding of democratisation in the diverse and fast-changing region of CEE;
2. critically apply theories and concepts from political science and international relations while analysing democratisation in CEE inside and outside the EU;
3. engage with the leading academic debates on the interplay between post-communist legacies and democratisation;
4. sharpen their skills of developing and presenting their arguments individually and in team.
Assessment Information
1. an individual presentation, submitted in writing (15%)
2. one essay of 3,500 words (85%)
Special Arrangements
None
Additional Information
Academic description Not entered
Syllabus Week 1. Europeanization and post-communist legacies
What are the leading theoretical and conceptual frames for analysing Europeanization in CEE? What are post-communist legacies and what is their impact on democratisation in the region? How do similar post-communist legacies correlate with different trajectories of democratisation?

Week 2. Domestic state architectures in CEE
The session covers political systems and institutional settings in CEE. Also, it analyses the interconnection between state formation and nation building during democratisation and European integration.

Week 3 and 4. Territorial organisation and territorial politics

Week 3
How different is territorial organisation of CEE states? What territorial reforms have been carried out in CEE since 1989 and what have been their outcomes?

Week 4
How has the EU influenced territorial politics in CEE? This includes the EU conditionality, pre-accession / accession programmes, and Structural Funds policies.

Week 5. Parties and party systems
This session examines the factors which stimulate and change the formation of party systems in CEE. One of the key questions to investigate: Do parties stimulate or constrain the consolidation of the democratic rule and by what means?

Week 6. Elections and electoral laws
Elections have played a crucial role in democratisation in CEE since 1989. What is their role in the region nowadays? How do electoral rules and their changes influence democratisation?

Week 7. Political culture and voting behaviour
Is political culture in CEE similar or different? What factors have conditioned its changes in the region? What is the correlation between the voting behaviour and the legitimacy of power in CEE?

Week 8. National security in CEE
This will be a half-day simulation game on the case of Transnistria. The aim is to examine how international organisations and individual CEE states outside and inside the EU address the issues of national security.

Weeks 9 and 10. The impact of the EU and the states of Eurasia on democratisation in CEE

Week 9
The session investigates the concepts of the EU enlargement and neighbourhood policies. For new EU member-states this includes the EU conditionality, the respective pre-accession and accession programmes, as well as Structural Funds policies.

Week 10
This session discusses how political, economic and cultural relations with Russia influence democratisation processes in CEE. Energy policy will be a case study here as well.

Week 11. Europeanisation and democratisation
This is a summarizing session, which discusses the interplay between Europeanisation and democratisation, and the role of the EU in consolidating of the democratic rule in CEE.
Transferable skills Not entered
Reading list Outhwaite W. (2009), Europe Beyond East and West. In: Rumford C, ed. Handbook of European Studies. London: Sage, pp. 52-68.

Hughes, J., Sasse, G & Gordon, C. (2004), Europeanization and Regionalization in the EU's. Enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe. The Myth of Conditionality. Palgrave Macmillan.

Haughton, Tim (2007), "When Does the EU Make a Difference? Conditionality and the Accession Process in Central and Eastern Europe", Political Studies Review, 5: 233-246.

Bochsler, Daniel (2010), Territory and Electoral Rules in Post-Communist Democracies. Palgrave Macmillan.

Vachudova, Milada Anna (2005), Europe undivided: democracy, leverage and integration after communism, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

GrzymaLa-Busse, Anna (2002), Redeeming the Communist Past: The Regeneration of Communist Parties in East Central Europe. Cambridge University Press.
Study Abroad Not entered
Study Pattern Not entered
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Valentyna Romanova
Tel: (0131 6)50 6973
Email: V.Romanova@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMrs Gillian Macdonald
Tel: (0131 6)51 3244
Email: gillian.macdonald@ed.ac.uk
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