EGO403 International and Transnational Organizations and European Politics

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2017
Extent and Intensity
1/1. 8 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
JUDr. Mgr. Ivo Pospíšil, Ph.D. (lecturer)
PhDr. Petr Suchý, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. et Mgr. Petr Vilímek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Vít Hloušek, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Olga Cídlová, DiS.
Supplier department: Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Tue 15:15–16:45 U53
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Through this course, students will be able to analyze important international and transnational organizations with a specific focus on European politics.
Learning outcomes
Students will be able to utilize their analytical skills in this area of research. At the end of this course, students will be able to characterize the most important international organizations and their involvement in European matters, to understand their history, development, missions as well as challenges they face, to outline the role of transnational actors, i.e. non-state organizations that establish cross-national relations, to examine the basic theoretical framework of international organizations, and to interpret the theoretical aspects of international organizations in general and the European Union in particular.
Syllabus
  • Class Schedule
  • Week 1. Introductory Seminar
  • Week 2. Introduction to the Study of International and Transnational Organisations. The Example of European Union: An International Organisation, Supranational Organisation or an Integrating Political System?
  • Week 3. Human Rights Protection within the International Order
  • Week 4. Universal International Organizations and Human Rights Protection
  • Week 5. Regional International Organizations and Human Rights Protection
  • Week 6. Co-operation in East Central Europe through the International Organisations and Agreements - Visegrad Group (V4) and The Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA)
  • Week 7. National Holiday
  • Week 8. NATO in the Cold War
  • Week 9. Transformation of NATO after the Cold War
  • Week 10. Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
  • Week 11. Transnational Organizations in World Politics
  • Week 12. Transnational Organizations in the European Union
  • Week 13. Transnational Organizations in East-Central Europe
Literature
  • Human rights in the "War on terror". Edited by Richard Wilson. 1st publ. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005, xv, 347. ISBN 0521618339. info
  • STONE SWEET, Alec. The judicial construction of Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, 279 s. ISBN 019927553X. info
  • Human rights : international protection, monitoring, enforcement. Edited by Janusz Symonides. Aldershot, Hants, England: Ashgate Pub., 2003, xxi, 421. ISBN 0754623025. info
  • KECK, Margaret E. and Kathryn SIKKINK. Activists beyond borders : advocacy networks in international politics. 1st pub. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998, xii, 227. ISBN 0801484561. info
Teaching methods
The course is taught as lectures and seminars. Students are encouraged to actively participate in the seminars by posing questions of clarification or bringing up problems for discussion. Students are expected to read the required reading(s) for each seminar. Position papers serve to improve the ability of students to summarize an issue and to evaluate it critically. Final papers serve to improve the ability of students to analyze a topic relevant to the course.
Assessment methods
1. Students are expected to read the required reading(s) for each seminar. If there are two or three required readings rather than one, students are expected to read all of them. The optional reading is only for those who have special interest in the topic.
2. Students are encouraged to actively participate in the seminars by posing questions of clarification or bringing up problems for discussion.
3. Students are expected to write six short position papers (300-600 words each) on six different seminar topics. The papers should include a summary of the main points of the required reading(s), a critique of these readings, questions of clarification, and possible questions for discussion.
To enable the organization of the in-class discussion, papers must have three clearly identified sections:
1) A summary section entitled “Summary”;
2) a critique section entitled “Critique”;
3) a section containing questions for discussion entitled “Questions”. Papers that do not have this structure and contain different points scattered throughout the text will be rejected and will not count towards the student’s grade.
The position papers should be sent via e-mail to the lecturer responsible for the respective seminar. The papers should be submitted no later than 1 p. m. of the day before the seminar for which the paper is written.
4. At the end of the semester students should submit a 10-page long final paper on a topic relevant to the course.
5. There will be a final in-class written exam, consisting of five questions based on the required readings and the discussions in class.
Grading
The final grade will be calculated as a composite evaluation consisting of three parts:
1) Evaluation on the six position papers
2) Evaluation on the final paper
3) Evaluation on the final exam
Students will be awarded 6 points for the submission of six position papers of acceptable quality, in compliance with the required structure of position papers, and in the specified deadline. The points are awarded as a bulk evaluation for the submission of all papers; separate papers do not get points. This means that no points at all will be awarded for the submission of less than six position papers. Late submissions and submission of papers that do not meet the minimal requirements of quality and structure are not acceptable. Each final-exam question gets between 0 and 5 points (max. 25 points overall for the final exam). Students will be awarded 14 points for the submission of a final paper of acceptable quality.
The grade will be calculated on the basis of the number of points collected. In order to complete the course, students must collect at least 27 points (60% of the max. points for all parts, i.e. 45 points).
Workload
6 position papers (300-600 words each)
1 final paper (10 pages long)
767 pages of required reading (app. 70 pages per week)
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2017, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2017/EGO403