ITRN 701 Section 10

Uniting Europe:

Enlarging the European Union

 

Fall 2001

 

Syllabus

 

(This syllabus contains a short outline of the course. Specific details, including reading assignments, will be e-mailed to students on a regular basis, as the course progresses)

 

Instructor: Desmond Dinan (ddinan@gmu.edu)

                    Jean Monnet Professor of Public Policy

                    George Mason University

 

Time: Thursdays, 7.05-9.35

 

Place: Arlington Campus, Room 269

 

Office Hours: By Appointment

 

Overview: The end of the Cold War triggered a profound transformation in Central and Eastern Europe. In order to accelerate the process of democratization and economic modernization, and in recognition of their “European” identity, the newly independent countries of the region applied to join the European Union (EU). The EU began as an organization (the European Community) of six member states; today it consists of fifteen member states. The EU therefore has considerable experience of enlargement. Yet the current enlargement process is unprecedented in a number of respects. First, more countries want to join than are currently members: ten Central and Eastern European countries (and two Mediterranean countries) are negotiating membership; Turkey is a candidate for membership; and a number of republics of the former Yugoslavia and the former Soviet Union would like to apply for membership. Second, all of the applicants or potential applicants, apart from the Mediterranean ones, are former communist countries. Third, their level of economic development is much less than that of the existing member states. As a result, the current enlargement process poses a major administrative, economic, and political challenge not only for the applicant countries, but also for the EU itself. This course will examine the challenges of enlargement for the current member states, prospective member states, and interested third countries (notably the United States and Russia).

 

Topics

  1. Introduction: The Nature of the EU
  2. Enlargements Past
  3. Europe At the End of the Cold War
  4. The Current Enlargement Process
  5. The Mediterranean Dimension
  6. EU Policy Reform
  7. EU Institutional Reform
  8. Country Profiles (existing and prospective member states)
  9. EU Enlargement and NATO enlargement
  10. Implications for Russia and the United States
  11. Conclusion: The future of Europe

 

Core Text:

Baun, Michael, A Wider Europe: The Process and Politics of European Union Enlargement (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2000)

 

Recommended Texts (on reserve in the library):

Avery, Graham, and Cameron, Fraser (editors), The Enlargement of the European Union (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999)

Dinan, Desmond, Ever Closer Union: An Introduction to European Integration, 2nd edition (Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000)

 

Key Websites

European Commission: www.europa.eu.int

Delegation of the European Commission in the United States: www.eurunion.gov

 

Other Course Material:

In addition to the core and recommended texts, articles and information accessible through the library’s databases will be used in the course. Material will also be made available to students through the photocopy shop.

 

Assessment:

Assessment will consist of two reports (to be presented verbally in class as well as in writing to the instructor) on particular aspects of EU enlargement. Specific assignments, and their format and deadlines, will be decided early in the semester.