Has the European Union (EU) turned into a regional government without statehood? How to decode the politics of EU policy-making beyond classic integration theories? What are the roles of conventional political actors (such as voters, parties, and interest groups) in a multi-levelled governance structure? This course intends to provide students with the basic analytical tools to answer these important questions about the EU. In addition to Hix's acclaimed textbook - 'The Political System of the European Union' (2005, 2nd edition, Palgrave), we are going to read several key articles in comparative politics literature of the EU. The course is divided into three parts: (i) decoding the institutional structure of the EU, (ii) tracing the actors in EU politics, and (iii) linking structure and agency in EU policy-making. Following a seminar format, each student is required to conduct in-class presentation based on pre-assigned reading materials.
