PVEUPP European Union Public Policy

Faculty of Economics and Administration
Autumn 2006
Extent and Intensity
2/2. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Ing. David Špaček, Ph.D. (lecturer)
John Frederick Wilton, B.A. (Hons), M. Soc Sc, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. JUDr. Ivan Malý, CSc. (alternate examiner)
Guaranteed by
doc. JUDr. Ivan Malý, CSc.
Department of Public Economics – Faculty of Economics and Administration
Contact Person: Lenka Jílková
Timetable
Wed 15:30–17:05 S401
  • Timetable of Seminar Groups:
PVEUPP/1: Wed 17:10–18:45 S401, J. Wilton
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives (in Czech)
Despite definitive debates about whether the European Union (EU) can be equated with the characteristics of a fully fledged state, it is certainly beyond dispute that the EU has acquired for itself at least the policy making attributes of a modern state across an increasingly wide range of policy sectors. As a result it has also gained a considerable degree of power in order to set policy agendas, and formulate, implement and enforce policy decisions. After a brief introduction to the EU institutions and the EU public policy process this course will take students on a journey that conceptualises the EU public policy process into four sections – agenda setting, policy formulation, policy decision-making and policy implementation. In examining these four parts of the policy process different models of analysis will be employed at different levels within the EU and at different stages of the policy process. The final section of the course will examine a range of EU public policy areas, utilising them as case studies within the conceptual frameworks identified in the first part of the course.
Syllabus (in Czech)
  • The course will be taught through a series of 13 weeks of lectures and seminars/workshops. LECTURE PROGRAMME: 1. The development of the European Union and the development of E.U. public policy (20.09.06) 2. Agenda-setting 1: role and purpose, E.U. political process, and the nature of agendas (27.09.06) 3. Agenda-setting 2: fragmentation and the absence of effective policy co-ordination (04.10.06) 4. Policy formulation 1: the policy communities and policy networks model (11.10.06) 5. Policy formulation 2: policy-making uncertainty, expertise and epistemic communities, multiple policy-making "venues" (18.10.06) 6. Policy decision-making 1: institutional analysis (25.10.06) 7. Policy decision-making 2: decision-making in the European Parliament (01.11.06) 8. Policy implementation 1: implementation as a complex and multifaceted process (08.11.06) 9. Policy implementation 2: inter-organisational behaviour and implementation analysis, characterising implementation in the E.U. (15.11.06) 10. Regions and the E.U. public policy process (22.11.06) 11. The E.U. policy process: "Holidays in Euroland" (BBC video) (29.11.06) 12. The "Europeanisation" of public policy (06.12.06) SEMINAR PROGRAMME 1. Has the development of European Union public policy assisted E.U. integration and added to E.U. integration theory? (25.10.06) 2. “All political systems must confront the need to develop and process a range of public policy issues. The starting point in that task is agenda-setting”. How does the European Union differ from, and how is it similar to, other political systems in the task of agenda-setting? (01.11.06) 3. If fragmentation of the institutions of the E.U. is good for a rich diversity in agenda-setting what does it mean for effective public policy co-ordination? (08.11.06) 4. How useful is the policy community and policy networks model in analysing public policy formulation in the European Union? (15.11.06) 5. How does the role of the E.U. parliament differ from that of parliaments in E.U. Member States in respect of public policy decision-making? (22.11.06) 6. What factors most undermine the negotiating position of the E.U. parliament in the public policy decision-making process? (29.11.06) 7. How can we characterise European Union public policy implementation, and what categories of factors contribute to such a characterisation? (06.12.06) 8. What do we mean when we refer to the Europeanisation of E.U. public policy? (13.12.06) 9. What are the links between regions and the E.U. in the public policy making process, and what influence do regions have in that process? (13.12.06)
Assessment methods (in Czech)
COURSE ASSESSMENT: A/ Seminar presentation and written transcript 30 % B/ ESSAY 70 % AD A/ Seminar presentation and written transcript Students will be required to make one formal verbal seminar presentation in English on one of the seminar questions listed above in the Seminar programme. These will take place throughout the course, commencing in week 6 of teaching. Presentations can be made individually or as part of a group. After the presentation students will receive verbal feedback and then be required to write up (in no more than 1000 words/3 sides of A4 paper) the transcript of their final seminar paper and submit it by the deadline. Students will be marked individually on their presented final seminar paper. DEADLINE: Deadline: Friday 15 December 2006 between 10.00. a.m. and 12 noon. AD B/ ESSAY Students will be required to submit an essay in answer to one of the questions shown below. The essay must be of a maximum of 2,000 words/6 sides of A4 paper, be type written, fully properly referenced, and include a full bibliography. (i) Is there an imbalance and a contradiction between the processes of agenda-setting and policy implementation at the two ends of the European Union public policy cycle? (ii) Are we witnessing a "Europeanisation" or a "regionalisation" of European Union public policy making? (iii) Is there a contradiction between the processes of public policy formulation and decision-making in the E.U.? DEADLINE: Deadline: Wednesday 17 January 2007 between 10.00. a.m. and 12 noon.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2007, Autumn 2008.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2006, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/econ/autumn2006/PVEUPP