ST-408 The European Union and Domestic Impact

While the member states are central in shaping and granting power to the EU, European integration has in turn impacted them in various ways. This phenomenon is called (top-down) Europeanization and has been studied extensively. Against the background of Euroscepticism and Brexit, scholars have more recently started to study the reverse process of de-Europeanization. This course offers an in-depth insight into de-/Europeanization and deals with questions of (1) how the European Union affects domestic policies and politics of its member states and beyond and (2) how EU policies are dismantled at the domestic level.

The course starts with a recapitulation of what the European Union is, how its main institutions work and which role the member states play therein. After having clarified how Europeanization can be defined and which mechanisms of Europeanization have been proposed by scholars, the phenomenon will be studied with a view to member states’ institutions, policies, and political processes. In doing so, we will among others pay attention to EU-level and national agencies. As the impact of the EU on domestic affairs is not restricted to its member states, the course will also shed light on Europeanization in Norway and Ukraine – two countries that are closely linked to the EU. The course is being completed by a look at instances of de-Europeanization. Methodological questions regarding the empirical study of de-/Europeanization will be addressed throughout the course.

• The EU system
• Conceptualisations and theories of Europeanisation
• Europeanisation of public administration – an overview
• EU committee governance
• Europeanisation of policy areas
• Europeanisation in different countries

• be able to demonstrate comprehensive theoretical and empirical knowledge of the EU-system and how the EU impacts domestic polities, policies and politics of both member and non-member states
• be able to analyze and deal critically with Europeanisation and de-Europeanisation as empirical phenomena
• have gained thorough knowledge of empirical examples of Europeanisation and de-Europeanization
• be able to formulate and present own work

Bachelor in political science or public administration

Jarle Trondal