POSC 620: The EU: Contemporary Issues and Controversies
This course offers a deep look into contemporary issues and debates in EU politics. The particular subject matter changes from semester to semester; contemporary issues include the future of the common currency, immigration and asylum, relationships between particular member-states and the broader Union, and EU foreign policy challenges. Regardless of its specific focus, this course considers the historical background of the debate, the positions of different member-states and policy players, and the likely future of the issue. The course requires active engagement with contemporary media coverage, think tank analyses, and scholarly literature.
POSC 640 Policy Analysis and the European Union
This course offers an intensive immersion into the methods and concepts of policy analysis, with emphasis on applications involving European affairs. It introduces students to various techniques in policy forecasting, monitoring, and evaluation while discussing their potential application to policy decision-making, policy advocacy, and policy implementation. Students apply those techniques in case-based projects.
Depending on their policy track of specialization, students will either enroll in POSC 641 or POSC 642:
POSC 643 The Transatlantic Relationship and the Challenges of Globalization
This course analyzes the connections between North America and Europe. It examines the transatlantic trade and investment relationship, the transatlantic security relationship, US/EU approaches to specific global challenges and governance regimes, and the ways that developments in other world regions affect transatlantic dynamics. Students pursue transatlantic topics of interest within the policy track of specialization.
In the spring semester, students undertake specialized public policy studies, exploring in greater detail issues and policies raised in the core curriculum in the fall. All students declare a policy track of specialization in (a) economic and social policy or (b) foreign policy and internal security. Policy-making and application is integrated into all spring semester courses. All students complete the following coursework:
POSC 641 Topics in Economic and Social Policy
In-depth exploration of specialized topics in EU economic and social policy. The topics for each semester will vary and may include the single market, economic and monetary union, competition policy, social policy, agricultural policy, regional policy, environmental policy, energy policy, and research and development policy.
POSC 642 Topics in Foreign Policy and Internal Security
In-depth exploration of specialized topics in EU foreign policy and internal security. The topics for each semester will vary and may include European foreign policy, European security and defense policy, police and judicial cooperation, immigration and asylum, and efforts to combat organized crime.
