Comparative Politics of Western Europe



POLITICS OF WESTERN EUROPE

PSC 130 (Sec. 11): Fall 2009

Monday 2:20-3:35 pm, Duquès-Business School 251

Wednesday 3:45-5:00, Funger Hall 223

Professor Kimberly Morgan

Office: Hall of Government, Rm 418

Phone: 994-2809, email: kjmorgan@gwu.edu

Office Hours: Wednesdays, 9 a.m.-noon or by appointment

SUMMARY

This class will introduce you to the study of politics in West European countries, with a focus on five states: Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. We will spend a good deal of time examining one of the most significant aspects of contemporary European politics – the European Union. We also will study some important contemporary public policy issues, including the politics of the welfare state, health care systems, and immigration.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

As a result of completing this course, you should:

1. Have a good foundation in the politics of West European countries and the European Union.

2. Develop a greater understanding of some of the major concepts used in the study of comparative politics.

3. Improve your ability to think analytically about political phenomena.

READING

Required texts

* James Sheehan, Where Have All the Soldiers Gone? The Transformation of Modern Europe (2008).

* Ian Buruma, Murder in Amsterdam, Penguin Press (2006).

* Alex Warleigh-Lack, The European Union: The Basics (2009).

You can purchase these books at the GWU bookstore, and there are also copies available on reserve in Gelman library.

Blackboard

The other required readings are available as pdf files through the e-reserves on the Blackboard system – you can either read them on-line or print them out.

In addition to required reading, you will find other useful information on Blackboard, such as copies of the overheads used in class, helpful websites on European politics, and a copy of the syllabus.

To access Blackboard, you must have a Colonial e-mail account and be registered for this course. To log in, go to and type in your NetID and email password. If you have problems or questions, try going to . Please try to access Blackboard as soon as possible, to make sure that you are in the system and that you understand its various features.

CURRENT EVENTS

One of the goals of the class is to make you a more sophisticated consumer of news on European politics. As a result, we will be talking about current developments in European politics on a regular basis, most often in the first 5-10 minutes of class. You can keep up-to-date through a number of sources: The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and MSNBC offer some coverage of European politics and are available on-line. Some particularly good sources on European politics are: The Guardian (guardian.co.uk), The Economist (some web articles freely available, ), and The Financial Times (), and the global edition of the New York Times (previously The International Herald Tribune) ().

EXAMS

First exam: The first exam will consist of identifications and short essays. The exam will be given on Wednesday, October 21, and will cover the first half of the course.

Second exam: The second exam is a take-home, and will cover the second half of the class. It will consist solely of essays. The exam will be distributed on the last day of class on December 7, and will be due by 5 p.m. December 8, in my office.

THINK PIECES

Twice during the semester, we will break into groups to discuss a question of particular importance to contemporary European politics. To prepare for these discussions, you will need to write a five-page think piece that engages the reading assigned for that particular class. That will then form the basis for the discussion of your group. At the end of the individual group discussions, an appointed spokesperson for the group will report on the group’s main conclusions to the full class. Your grade will depends on the think piece you turn in at the end of that day’s class.

The two days of group discussion are:

-- Wednesday, October 14: “Is the Third Way the Only Way Forward for the European Left?”

-- Monday, November 30: “Does the EU have a democratic deficit and does it matter?”

If you miss these sessions, you will receive a zero for participation in the group, which counts for one-third of the think piece grade (or 5 percent of your entire grade). Detailed specifications about the think pieces (e.g. font size, margins, etc.) are available on blackboard under exams/assignments.

GRADING

Exams:

First exam: 35%

Second exam: 35%

Think pieces

First think piece: 15%

Second think piece: 15%

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

I personally support the GW Code of Academic Integrity. It states: “Academic dishonesty is defined as cheating of any kind, including misrepresenting one's own work, taking credit for the work of others without crediting them and without appropriate authorization, and the fabrication of information.” For the remainder of the code, see:

Plagiarism is a serious offense that will be dealt with accordingly. If you are uncertain about what plagiarism is, you can consult the follow website for discussions about what counts as plagiarism:

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SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES (DSS)

Any student who may need an accommodation based on the potential impact of a disability should contact the Disability Support Services office at 202-994-8250 in the Marvin Center, Suite 242, to establish eligibility and to coordinate reasonable accommodations. For additional information please refer to:

Please speak with me in the first week of class to discuss what kinds of accommodations can be made for you.

UNIVERSITY COUNSELING CENTER (UCC)  202-994-5300

The University Counseling Center (UCC) offers 24/7 assistance and referral to address students' personal, social, career, and study skills problems. Services for students include:

- crisis and emergency mental health consultations

- confidential assessment, counseling services (individual and small group), and referrals



SECURITY

In the case of an emergency, if at all possible, the class should shelter in place. If the building that the class is in is affected, follow the evacuation procedures for the building. After evacuation, seek shelter at a predetermined rendezvous location.

OTHER CLASS POLICIES

University Policy on Religious Holidays:

Students should notify faculty during the first week of the semester of their intention to be absent from class on their day(s) of religious observance.

CLASS SCHEDULE AND READINGS

Historical Foundations of West European Politics

August 31: Introduction; what is Europe? What are its boundaries?

September 2: The construction of the European nation-state

Reading:

-- Tilly, “War and State-Building as Organized Crime,” pp. 169-86.

-- Start reading Sheehan, Where Have All the Soldiers Gone? chps. 1-4.

September 7: NO CLASS, Labor Day.

-- Keep reading Sheehan, Where Have All the Soldiers Gone? chps. 1-4.

September 9: The Rise of Political Liberalism and Democracy in Britain and France

Reading:

-- Berman, “How Democracies Emerge: Lessons from Europe,” Journal of Democracy, pp. 28-39.

-- Anthony H. Birch, “The Development of Liberal Institutions,” chp. 3 in The British System of Government, 10th edition (London: Routledge, 1998), pp. 28-36. NOTE: THIS IS AN E-BOOK AVAILABLE THROUGH GELMAN CATALOGUE.

-- Alistair Cole, “The Making of Modern France,” pp 3-21.

September 14: Germany: the turbulent path to modernity

Reading:

-- Christopher S. Allen, “The Making of the Modern Germany State,” pp. 303-26.

-- Sheehan, Where Have All the Soldiers Gone? Chp. 5.

September 16: War and the Reconstruction of Europe

Reading:

-- Sheehan, Where Have All the Soldiers Gone? chps. 6-8.

-- Mark Mazower. 1998. “Democracy Transformed: Western Europe, 1950-1975,” pp. 286-326.

September 21: Small States in a Global Environment. The Netherlands and Sweden

Reading:

-- Rudy B. Anderweg and Galen A. Irwin, “The country and its constitution,” pp. 1-18.

-- Thomas Rochon, “The Organization of Dutch Society,” pp. 25-67.

-- M. Donald Hancock, “Sweden,” pp. 393-412.

-- David Arter, “A Nordic model of government,” pp. 144-59.

Political Institutions

September 23: Electoral and Party Systems: SMD versus PR; consensus democracy versus majoritarian democracy.

Reading:

-- Arend Lijphart. 2000. “Majoritarian versus Consensual Democracy,” pp. 175-184.

-- Marcus Crepaz and Jurg Steiner, “Parliaments: How They Are Elected and How They Work,” pp. 48-78.

September 28: Dynamics of Parliamentary politics; German election results.

Reading:

-- Gallagher, Laver and Mair, “Parliaments,” pp. 68-95.

-- See links on Blackboard to articles on the German parliamentary election

October 5: The Executive Branch; prime ministers, presidents, and semi-presidentialism.

-- Mark Garnett and Philip Lynch, “The Core Executive,” pp. 105-137.

-- Jonah D. Levy and Cindy Skach, “The Return to a Strong Presidency,” pp. 111-26.

Political Parties

October 7: The function of political parties; party families; the left.

Reading:

-- Tim Bale, “Parties – how the past affects the present, and an uncertain future,” pp. 131-64.

-- Tim Tilton, “The Role of Ideology in Social Democratic Politics,” pp. 409-27.

-- Ingolfur Bl[pic]hdorn, “Reinventing Green Politics: On the Strategic Repositioning of the German Green Party,” German Politics 18, 1 (March 2009): 36-54.

October 12: The Traditional Center/Right: Christian Democrats, Tories, Thatcher’s Revolution.

Reading:

-- Kees van Kersbergen, “The Distinctiveness of Christian Democracy,” pp. 31-47.

-- Christopher Caldwell, “Can David Cameron Redefine Britain’s Tory Party?” New York Times Magazine, July 8, 2009.

October 14: The future of the left: the third way?

Discussion group: Is the Third Way the Only Way Forward for the Left?

Reading:

-- “The Blair/Schroeder Manifesto, Europe: The Third Way/Die Neue Mitte.”

-- William Paterson and James Sloam, “Is the Left Alright? The SPD and the Renewal of European Social Democracy,” German Politics 15, 3 (2006): 233-48.

-- Martin J. Smith, “Tony Blair: The First Prime Minister of the Global Era,” British Politics 2 2007: 420-27.

-- Stuart Hall, “The Great Moving Nowhere Show,” pp. 82-7.

-- Christine Agius, “Sweden’s 2006 Parliamentary Election and After: Contesting or Consolidating the Swedish Model?” Parliamentary Affairs 60, 4 (2007): 585-600.

-- David S. Bell, “French Socialists: Refusing the ‘Third Way,’” Journal of Policy History 15, 1 (2003).

October 19: Radical right-wing parties; review for first exam.

Readings

-- Piero Ignazi, “The Extreme Right: Defining the Object and Assessing the Causes,” pp. 21-37.

-- Matthew Goodwin, “The Extreme Right in Britain: Still an ‘Ugly Duckling,’ But For How Long?” Political Quarterly 78, 2 (April-June 2007): 241-50.

-- Sciolino, Elaine. “Immigration, Black Sheep and Swiss Rage”, in The New York Times October 8, 2007.

October 21: First exam in class.

The Challenges of Diversity in European politics.

October 26: Immigration and diversity

Reading:

-- Christian Joppke, “Transformation of Immigrant Integration,” World Politics 59, 2 (January 2007): 243-73.

-- Stéphanie Giry, “France and Its Muslims.” Foreign Affairs (Sept/Oct. 2006).

-- Steven Erlanger. “After U.S. Breakthrough, Europe Looks in Mirror,” New York Times, November 11, 2008.

-- Start reading Buruma, Murder in Amsterdam.

November 2: Islam in Europe

Reading:

-- Buruma, Murder in Amsterdam.

-- Peter Marshall, “The Mohammed Cartoons,” The Weekly Standard 11, 21 (Feb 13, 2003): 14-15.

-- John L. Esposito, “Finding Common Ground between Muslims and the West,” Arab American News 22, 1049 (March 18-24), 2005: 2.

November 4: Women and Politics

Reading:

-- Pippa Norris, “The Impact of Electoral Reform on Women’s Representation,” Acta Politica 2006.

-- Claudie Baudino, “Parity Reform in France: Promises and Pitfalls,” Review of Policy Research 20, 3 (2003): 385-400.

-- Cooke, Rachel. “Oh babe, just look at us now”, in The Observer Sunday April 22, 2007.

The Politics of the Welfare State

November 9: Origins of the European Economic and Social Model

Reading:

-- Chris Pierson, “On the origins of welfare state 1880-1975,” pp. 99-135.

-- Kees van Kersbergen and Monique Kremer, “Conservatism and the welfare state: intervening to preserve.”

November 11: The Nature and Future of the Welfare State

Reading:

-- Chris Pierson, “Three Challenges,” pp. 201-31.

-- Robert Kuttner, “The Copenhagen Consensus: Reading Adam Smith in Denmark,” Foreign Affairs 87, 2 (March/April 2008): 78-94.

-- Russell Shorto, “Going Dutch,” New York Times Magazine, April 29, 2009.

November 16: Health care politics and policy

Readings: I MAY UPDATE OR CHANGE SOME OF THESE

-- Atul Gawande, “Getting There from Here,” The New Yorker 84, 46 (Jan 26, 2009).

-- Is Britain’s Health Care Service Really That Bad? Time, August 18, 2009.

-- Frequently Asked Questions about healthcare coverage in Germany

-- David Gauthier-Villars, “France Fights Universal Care’s High Cost,” Wall Street Journal (August 7, 2009): A1.

The European Union

November 18: The Evolution of European Integration; European institutions.

Reading:

-- Warleigh-Lack, The European Union: The Basics, chps. 2-3, pp. 12-54.

-- Simon Hix, “Explaining the EU Political System,” pp. 1-23.

November 23: The functioning of the EU

Reading:

-- Warleigh-Lack, The European Union: The Basics, chps. 4-5, pp. 55-91.

-- Karen J. Alter and Sophie Meunier-Aitsahalia, “Judicial Politics in the European Community: European Integration and the Pathbreaking Cassis de Dijon decision,” pp. 397-423.

November 25: Thanksgiving, no class.

November 30: Is the EU creating a Democratic Deficit?

Discussion group: Does the EU have a democratic deficit and does it matter?

Reading

-- Warleigh-Lack, The European Union: The Basics, pp. 92-113.

-- Intereconomics Nov/Dec 2008: special issue on the democratic deficit in the EU.

-- Andreas Follesdal and Simon Hix, “Why There Is a Democratic Deficit in the EU: A Response to Majone and Moravcsik.” Journal of Common Market Studies 44, 3 (2006): 533-62.

December 2: EU Enlargement; the future.

-- Warleigh-Lack, The European Union: The Basics, pp. 114-42.

-- Gideon Rachman, “The Death of Enlargement,” Washington Quarterly 29, 3 (Summer 2006): 51-6.

-- Philip Gordon and Omer Taspinar, “Turkey on the Brink,” Washington Quarterly (Summer 2006): 57-70.

-- Wolfgang Schäuble, “Talking Turkey,” Foreign Affairs 83, 6 (Nov/Dec 2004): 134-8.

December 7: Summary, review. The second exam will be distributed at the end of class, and is due Tuesday December 8 at 5 p.m.

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