Fall 1998 Instructor: Dr. Richard Deeg
T-Th, 2:40-4:00 436 Gladfelter Hall
Barton 101 tel: 204-7123
rdeeg@vm.temple.edu
office hours: T-Th, 10:30-11:30, or by appt
Course Description and Objectives:
In the aftermath of World War II West European nations had to reconstruct their economic and political systems. Each nation faced the tasks of providing a political system capable of preserving social stability, producing economic growth, and guaranteeing democracy. Accomplishing these tasks was made difficult by divisions between social classes, ethnic/national groups, and workers and business. The course begins with a country-by-country examination of post-war political development and institutions in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden.
The middle part of the course examines several key political issue areas/topics in Europe and draws on specific facts from various countries to illustrate points. In this part of the course we want to understand and analyze some of the most central and pressing contemporary political issues/movements/problems, etc in Europe.
The third part of the course focuses on the sweeping, indeed revolutionary, events of the last decade that encompass Europe as a whole. Accordingly, in this part of the course we examine the European integration process (i.e. European Union) and its growing impact on domestic politics in European nations. We will also explore the collapse of communism and subsequent efforts to (re-)construct democracy and capitalism in East Europe.
Prerequisites: PS 52 Foreign Governments and Politics, or permission of the instructor.
Course Requirements:
There will be one mid-term exam, worth 15% of your final grade.
The final examination will be worth 20% of your grade.
Each student will be required to write two papers of about 5 pages in length. In these essays you will be asked to respond to a question or issue based upon the course readings and discussions. You will have the option of rewriting a paper in order to improve the paper and thus your grade. But you will only have this option if you submit the paper by the original deadline; i.e. late papers will receive a grade penalty and may not be rewritten. There is no guarantee that a rewritten paper will receive a better grade (if the rewrite is worse, you will get the better grade!).
Each of these papers will count for 30% of your grade.
All students will be expected to attend all classes, do all the assigned readings BEFORE class, and participate in discussions.
Classroom participation will count for 15% of your grade. This will include several in-class small group activities.
Assignments turned in late will be strongly penalized.
Required Texts:
Steiner, Jürg. 1998. European Democracies, 4th Edition. New York: Longman.
Other assigned readings will be available at the Paley reserve desk.
Recommended Texts:
- Mark Kesselman, Joel Krieger, et al. 1997. European Politics in Transition. 3rd ed. Lexington: D.C. Heath and Co. (This book will be on reserve).
- Richard Rose, 1996. What is Europe? A Dynamic Perspective. HarperCollins.
- David M. Wood and Birol Yesilada, 1996. The Emerging European Union. Longman.
The last two books are available in the library.
Throughout the course students are strongly encouraged to read the "Europe"
section of the weekly newsmagazine The Economist for the flavor
of contemporary events in Europe (at least check it out once, you might
just like it). You can get summaries (for free) at The Economist's
website (www.economist.com) and they will even e-mail you a weekly news
summary if you like.
WEEK ONE:
Course Introduction.
WEEK TWO: Legacies of the Interwar Period.
- Frank B. Tipton and Robert Aldrich. 1987. An Economic and Social History of Europe, 1890-1939. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins U. Press. pp. 266-303.
- Maier, Charles. "The Two Postwar Eras and the Conditions for Stability
in Twentieth Century Europe."
WEEK THREE: Great Britain and Germany.
- you may refer to Frank Wilson, European Politics Today - on reserve - for background info on the various countries
- Margaret Thatcher, The Downing Street Years. selections TBA
WEEK FOUR: France and Italy.
- readings TBA
WEEK FIVE: Sweden and catch-up.
- reading TBA
WEEK SIX: Political Parties:
- Steiner, chapter 1.
- begin parliamentary politics simulation
WEEK SEVEN: Parliamentary Elections and Parliaments
- Steiner, chapters 2 and 3.
WEEK EIGHT: The State and the Economy.
- Steiner, chapter 6
- additional reading TBA
WEEK NINE: New Social Movements and Citizen Politics.
- Steiner, chapter 7.
- Russell Dalton, 1996. Citizen Politics. chaps 1 and 12
Highly recommended:
Suzanne Berger. 1979. "Politics and Anti-Politics in Western Europe in the Seventies." Daedelus 108(1): 27-50.
WEEK TEN: Nationalism, Right-Wing Extremism, and Ethnic Conflict.
- Steiner, Chapters 11 and 12.
- Hans-Georg Betz. 1994. Radical Right-Wing Populism in Western Europe. New York: St. Martin's. pp. 1-35.
- Jane Kramer. Neo-Nazis: A Chaos in the Head
WEEK ELEVEN: History of the European Union.
- Steiner, chapter 13.
- Essays on European Integration by Monnet, Thatcher, and Delors in
Nelson and Stubb 25pp
WEEK TWELVE: Politics and Policies of the EU.
- Steiner, chapter 14
- additional reading TBA
- essays by Genscher and Codevile in Current Controversies (13pp)
WEEK THIRTEEN: Rise and Fall of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe.
- Steiner, chapter 9.
- Vaclav Havel - "Power of the Powerless." (70 pp.)
- Timothy Garton Ash - "Prague: Inside the Magic Lantern." (50 pp.)
November 26 - Turkey Day - No Class.
WEEK FOURTEEN: Democracy and Markets in CEEC.
- Steiner, chapter 10.
- PRO/CONTRA, essays by Clausen and Lehane on Capitalism in EE in Current
Controversies (15pp)
WEEK FIFTEEN: Review
Thurday, Dec. 10 Last Class Day.
below is old syllabus:
(2/24-2/28) France under the Socialists: Problems of a Strong State.
K and K: pages TBA.
Pierre Manent and Howard Machin. "Two Views of the Mitterand Presidency."
Government and Opposition. 23(2): 186-209.
WEEK EIGHT (3/17-3/21) West Germany in the 80s and 90s: New Social Movements and Right-Wing Extremism.
K and K: pages TBA
Stephen Padgett and William Paterson. "The Rise and Fall of the West German Left." New Left Review. March/April 1991. pp. 46-77.
WEEK NINE (3/24-3/28) Italy: Continuity and Crisis of Party Democracy.
K and K: pages TBA
WEEK TEN (3/31-4/4) Sweden: Social Democracy in Practice.
- K and K: pages TBA
- Paul Pierson, "The New Politics of the Welfare State," World Politics, 48 (January 196):143-179.
Recommended:
Claus Offe, "Competitive Party Democracy and the Keynesian Welfare State."
pp. 179- 203 in Contradictions of the Welfare State.
WEEK ELEVEN (4/7-4/11) European Integration.
- K and K: chapter on European Union.
WEEK TWELVE (4/14-4/18) Into the Euro-Future.
- Stanley Hoffmann and Robert Keohane. "Institutional Change in Europe in the 1980s." In The European Union. Nelson and Stubb (eds) 20p
- chap 9 (CAP), 10 (Regional, Social, Industrial), 10 (external economic
relations), OR 11 (foreign/security policy) in Wood and Yesilada
WEEK THIRTEEN (4/21-4/25) Revolution in East Europe.
- K and K: chapter by David Ost
WEEK FOURTEEN (4/28-5/2) Integrating New Democracies into Europe.
- Jane Kramer. Unsettling Europe. Read "The Invadrare."
WEEK FIFTEEN (5/5) Review Session.
Final Exam Period. May 7 - 13.