The course focuses on the relationship between the European Union and its citizens. During the course, the EU is examined a democratic polity, and issues surrounding participation, democracy, efficacy, legitimacy, and citizenship are examined. Various channels for political representation in the European Union are studied, such as elections and referenda, lobbying and interest groups, as well as the role and importance of the different regions in the EU policy processes. A number of theoretical perspectives are introduced, with the aim of providing students with a diverse range of analytical tools for the study of political representation, both normative and empirical. Theories of democracy and legitimacy are presented and will be compared and contrasted with the European reality.
A minimum of 30 credits in social sciences or humanities + English B from Swedish upper secondary school.
Please note additional online resources may supplement/complement the core textbooks.
The University provides students who participate in or who have completed a course with the opportunity to make known their experiences and viewpoints with regards to the course by completing a course evaluation administered by the University. The University will compile and summarize the results of course evaluations as well as informing participants of the results and any decisions relating to measures initiated in response to the course evaluations. The results will be made available to the students (HF 1:14).
