ATS3275 · The European Union: Challenges, crises and opportunities

Overview

The European Union is a unique historic and political achievement. It helped turn Europe from a zone of war into a zone of peace, and it contributed to the consolidation of democracy in the post-fascist and post-communist eras. Yet it is also a polity beset by crises. Following a decade that reshaped its borders, the EU now faces the twin crises of the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate emergency. You will complete this unit in Prato and gain a deep understanding of the origins of today's European Union and the pathologies driving it forward and pulling it apart. Using inter-disciplinary approaches incorporating science, law and economics you will simulate policy paths out of the EU's 'wicked' problems and leave Prato equipped to understand the forces shaping the EU’s relations with Australia and the world.

Areas of study: International relations Politics

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Within semester assessment: 100%

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

Learning outcomes

1. Explain and analyse the course and dynamics of European integration since the end of the Second World War;
2. Identify and explain the origins of the European Union's current crises in a global context;
3. Identify and appraise the institutional architecture of the European Union and how this shapes responses to current crises;
4. Distinguish between 'European' and 'national' responses to the crises and the inter-play between these two levels of European Union governance;
5. Integrate inter-disciplinary perspectives into analysis of EU policy responses to global crises;
6. Undertake a research analysis of an important aspect of EU policy responses to global crises, utilising primary and secondary-source materials.

Workload

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.