SYLLABUS PS 324 European Politics - Fall 2021 - UO Blogs
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SYLLABUS
PS 324 European Politics
Fall 2021
Time and Location: TBD
Professor: James Conran
Email: conran@uoregon.edu
Office: PLC 911
Office Hours: TBD
This course surveys the contemporary politics of Europe. The central focus will be mostly
on western Europe, with particular attention to Great Britain, France, and Germany, though
others, including the formerly Communist countries of central and eastern Europe will also
be covered in less detail. We will also pay considerable attention to the European Union,
which plays an increasingly central role in shaping the politics of European nation-states.
Some of the substantive themes we will cover include: political cultures (e.g. ideologies),
political institutions (e.g. electoral systems), political behavior (e.g. voting), political parties
and public policy (especially social and economic policies such as the welfare state).
Learning goals
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• describe the most important characteristics of the political systems of several Euro-
pean countries.
• summarize a range of views about the challenges and opportunities facing contem-
porary European democracies.
• apply a range of social science theories and concepts to European political and eco-
nomic developments and the public discourses (media reports, politicians’ speeches
etc.) around them.
Assessment
• Reading quizzes and participation (15%): It is essential that you come to each
class meeting having carefully read all the assigned texts. To incentivize you to
do so, a short closed-book reading quiz will be held at the beginning of each class. The
quizzes are designed to be easy for those who have done the reading but difficult for
those who have not. There is partial credit for participation in quizzes but students who
arrive after the quiz is administered will receive a score of 0. Unless an unforeseeable
disaster befalls you, I will excuse absences only if you email more than 24 hours ahead
1PS 342 Fall 2021 Syllabus
of time. Extra credits will also be awarded to students who engage constructively in
the class, for example by asking or answering questions in class, attending office hours
etc.
• Mid-term paper (25%): This essay in response to a prompt will be between 1,500
and 1,800 words (equivalent to about 6 double-spaced pages) and is due by the end of
Week 5.
• Final paper (40%): The final paper (in response to a prompt) will be between 2,000
and 2,500 words (8-10 double-spaced pages) and is due on Friday of Week 10 by 5pm.
• Final exam (20%): a reasonably straightforward exam basically checking some of
your factual knowledge of material from the class as a whole.
Required purchases
• iClicker: In order to participate in the reading quizzes (as well as other in-class
activities) you will need to purchase an iClicker (available new or used at the Duck
Store). Once you have purchased your iClicker, you need to register it for the class
on Canvas.
• Textbook: There is one required book for this course - European Democracies
(9th edition) by Markus Crepaz, available at the UO bookstore. BE SURE
TO BUY THE CORRECT EDITION!!! All the other readings are available in
electronic form on the course Canvas site.
Expectations
• This course requires that you complete the assigned readings before each class.
(Of course this also implies you need to attend class). More generally, the success
of the class will depend on your deep engagement with the readings and your active
engagement in class.
• Laptops, phones, and other electronic devices should be turned off and
put away during lecture unless I ask you to take them out. Research and personal
experience alike suggest this is the best way to foster discussion and mutual engagement
in class. There are also significant advantages to taking notes by hand. If for any reason
you would like an exemption from this policy, please email me to arrange a meeting to
discuss.
• Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this course. As a general rule, you should
never take credit for words or ideas that are not your own, and you should give your
readers enough information to evaluate the source and quality of your ideas and evi-
dence. Ignorance is no defense - it is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the
University Student Conduct Code: conduct.uoregon.edu. You can also approach the
2PS 342 Fall 2021 Syllabus
professor or GE for guidance. Anyone suspected of dishonest behavior will be reported
to the Director of Student Judicial Affairs for appropriate action.
• Communication: One of your responsibilities in this class is to 1) make sure Canvas
announcements are routed to your UO email and 2) check your UO email daily to keep
up with class information. During weekdays, instructors will generally aim to reply to
emails received within 24 hours. If you have not received a response after 24 hours,
feel free to email a reminder.
Course Outline
This schedule is subject to change – keep track of course announcements. Readings other
than Crepaz (2017) will be made available via Canvas.
WEEK 1
1 Introduction (Wed., Oct. 2)
Readings
• Markus Crepaz. European democracies. Routledge, 2017, ch. 1
• Patrik Ourednı́k. Europeana: A Brief History of the Twentieth Century. Dalkey Archive
Press, Normal Ill., April 2005
WEEK 2
PART I: STRUCTURES
2 The European Union: guest lecture with Prof. Craig
Parsons (Mon., Oct. 7)
Readings
• Markus Crepaz. European democracies. Routledge, 2017, ch. 10.
3PS 342 Fall 2021 Syllabus
3 Historical legacies and political culture (Wed., Oct.
9)
Readings
• Claus Leggewie. 2008. “A Tour of the Battleground: The Seven Circles of Pan-
European Memory.” Socieal Research 75 (1).
• Markus Crepaz. European democracies. Routledge, 2017, ch. 9: 167-181.
WEEK 3
4 Ideologies (Mon., Oct. 14)
Readings
• Markus Crepaz. European democracies. Routledge, 2017, Ch. 2, pp. 23-46.
• Tony Judt. What is living and what is dead in social democracy? New York Review
of Books, 56(20):86, 2009
• Carlo Invernizzi-Accetti and Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins. Can Christian democracy save
America from Trump? The Guardian, April 2018
5 Institutions (Wed., Oct. 16)
Readings
• Markus Crepaz. European democracies. Routledge, 2017, Ch. 3, pp. 54-81. You can
skim the sections on the Swiss and Irish electoral systems (pp. 62-66).
• UCL. What is the UK Constitution?, August 2018
WEEK 4
PART II: ACTORS
6 Parties and party systems (Mon., Oct. 21)
Readings
• Markus Crepaz. European democracies. Routledge, 2017, Ch. 2: read pp. 19-23 and
46-50, review notes on rest of chapter.
4PS 342 Fall 2021 Syllabus
• Peter Mair. Ruling the void: The hollowing of western democracy. New Left Review,
42:25–51, 2006
7 Politicians: parliaments and cabinets, presidents and
prime ministers (Wed., Oct. 23)
Readings
• Markus Crepaz. European democracies. Routledge, 2017, ch. 4. You can skip the
section on “oversized cabinets” (pp. 93-95).
Week 5
8 Judges and bureaucrats (Mon., Oct. 28)
Readings
• Markus Crepaz. European democracies. Routledge, 2017, ch. 5. You can skip
section on Switzerland pp. 116-118.
• The Economist. Why Emmanuel Macron wants to abolish ENA, France’s most elite
college - Charlemagne, 2019
9 Voters (Wed., Oct. 30)
Readings
• Oddbjørn Knutsen. Structural determinants of party choice: The changing impact of
socio-structure variables on party choice in comparative perspective. In Party gover-
nance and party democracy, pages 175–203. Springer, 2013
MID-TERM ESSAY DUE BY, Friday, November 1, 11.59pm
Week 6
5PS 342 Fall 2021 Syllabus
10 Interest groups and social movements (Mon., Nov.
4)
Readings
• Markus Crepaz. European democracies. Routledge, 2017, ch. 7.
• Mette Anthonsen, Johannes Lindvall, and Ulrich Schmidt-Hansen. Social democrats,
unions and corporatism: Denmark and Sweden compared. Party Politics, 17(1):118–
134, 2011
PART III: POLITICAL ECONOMY
11 British (neo-)liberalism (Wed., Nov. 6)
Readings
• BBC, “What is Thatcherism?” April 20, 2013.
• Kevin Albertson and Paul Stepney. 1979 and all that: a 40-year reassessment of Mar-
garet Thatcher’s legacy on her own terms. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 2019
• David Edgerton. Brexit is a necessary crisis – it reveals Britain’s true place in the
world. The Guardian, 2019
• Kevin O’Rourke. Britain wakes up to the reality of free trade, 2017
Week 7
12 French statism (Mon., Nov. 11)
Readings
• The Economist, “The French Model: Vive la Différence!” May 7, 2009, 8p.
• The Economist, “So Much to Do, So Little Time,” France Special Report, November
17, 2012, 6p.
• Didier Fassin. Macron’s War. London Review of Books, pages 23–24, July 2019
6PS 342 Fall 2021 Syllabus
Podcast
• Rough Translation: Liberté, égalité and French Fries, 2019.
13 German corporatism (Wed., Nov. 13)
Readings
• Gosta Esping-Andersen. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. 1990: ch. 2 [read
pp. 35-41 for this class.]
• John R. Bowman. Capitalisms compared: Welfare, work, and business. CQ Press, 2013,
pp. 20-27.
• Adam Tooze. Which is worse? London Review of Books, pages 19–22, July 2019
Podcast
• Greg Rosalsky. What Are the Secrets of the German Economy — and Should We Steal
Them?, 2017. Freakonomics podcast.
Week 8
14 Nordic social democracy(Mon., Nov. 18)
Readings
• Gosta Esping-Andersen. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. 1990: read the
remainder of the chapter, pp. 41-54. Don’t worry too much about the details of
the tables.
• Jonas Pontusson. Once Again a Model. What’s Left of the Left, pages 89–115, 2011
15 The political economy of the Eurozone (Wed., Nov.
20)
Readings
• Ronald Tiersky and Erik Jones. Europe today: a twenty-first century introduction.
Rowman & Littlefield, 2014, ch. 11, pp. 343-367.
Week 9
7PS 342 Fall 2021 Syllabus
PART IV: ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
16 Immigration, religion and national identity (Mon.,
Nov. 25)
Readings
• Markus Crepaz. European democracies. Routledge, 2017, ch. 8.
• Joan W. Scott. Symptomatic politics: The banning of Islamic head scarves in French
public schools. French Politics, Culture & Society, 23(3):106–127, 2005
Podcast
• This american life: Americans In Paris, July 2000. Listen to “Act Three: Notes From
A Native Daughter” (16 minutes long).
17 NO CLASS (Thanksgiving) (Wed., Nov. 27)
Week 10
18 Post-Communist Europe (Mon., Dec. 2)
Readings
• Milan Kundera. 1984. The Tragedy of Central Europe.
• Ivan Krastev and Stephen Holmes. How liberalism became ‘the god that failed’ in
eastern Europe. The Guardian, October 2019
• Kim Lane Scheppele. 2014. Hungary and the End of Politics.
19 Conclusions: the future of Europe (Wed., Dec. 4)
Readings
• Markus Crepaz. European democracies. Routledge, 2017, ch. 12 and 15
8PS 342 Fall 2021 Syllabus
FINAL ESSAY DUE BY, Friday, December 6 at 6pm
FINAL EXAM: TUESDAY, DEC. 10th at 10.15am
9PS 342 Fall 2021 Syllabus
Course policies
Accessibility
Please notify me if there are aspects of this course that result in disability related barriers to
your participation. For more information or assistance, you are also encouraged to contact
the Accessible Education Center (AEC), 164 Oregon Hall, 346-1155; website: http://aec.
uoregon.edu. If you have already been in contact with the AEC and have a notification
letter, please provide me with a statement from AEC during the first week of class so that
we can make appropriate arrangements. University policy requires that students present a
notification letter from AEC to receive testing accommodations (see http://aec.uoregon.
edu/students/current.html).
Inclusion
All students are welcome in this class. The University is a place where people from dif-
ferent cultures and experiences learn together by taking each others’ ideas, questions and
perspectives seriously. Everyone in this class is entitled to - and obliged to contribute to a
respectful learning environment. Understanding and respecting the plurality of perspectives
in our community is critical if our classroom, and our University, is to be what we want
it to be: a place of open-minded inquiry where each individual’s intellectual and moral de-
velopment enriches the development of the community as a whole. In practice that means
students are expected to listen attentively when others are speaking, and avoid per-
sonal attacks. At the same time, all should feel comfortable expressing their views,
political or otherwise, as long as they do so in an appropriate manner.
Discrimination and harasment reporting
I am a student-directed employee. For information about my reporting obligations as an
employee, please see Employee Reporting Obligations. Students experiencing any form
of prohibited discrimination or harassment, including sex or gender based violence, may
seek information on safe.uoregon.edu, respect.uoregon.edu, titleix.uoregon.edu, or
aaeo.uoregon.edu or contact the non-confidential Title IX office (541-346-8136), AAEO
office (541-346-3123), or Dean of Students offices (541-346-3216), or call the 24-7 hotline
541-346-SAFE for help. I am also a mandatory reporter of child abuse. Please find more
information at Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect.
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