START: 12 April 2021

Lecturer: Dr. Wulf Reiners

Course Nr.: 15304.0113

Date/Time: Mon. 16:00-17:30

Location: online

Investments on digitalisation affect personal, political, societal, environmental and economic processes across the globe and have enormous potential to radically change almost all sectors in the coming decades, from agriculture to industry and finance, from education to health, democracy and human rights. They will also influence the success of the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Digitalisation is understood to constitute one of the most powerful facilitators for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The course is an introduction to digital transformation and its relationship with sustainable development in Europe and other world regions. It provides an overview of the impact, the opportunities, but also the risks of digitalisation in three interdependent thematic fields: the economy, the environment, and the society. A particular focus will be put on the societal and political dimension of digitalisation towards sustainable development, for instance with a view to governance, privacy and security in the digital age, or the effects of social media on democratic practices. The course will take up topical developments related to the UN 2030 agenda for sustainable development, the EU Digital Strategy, the EU General Data Protection Regulation, the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, or social scoring systems. In this way, the seminar combines perspectives from Europe with experiences from other world regions.

Appearance during the first session is mandatory.

START: 14 April 2021

Lecturer: Thilo Zimmermann

Course Nr.: 15304.0116

Date/Time: Wed.16:00-17:30

Location: online

What is European integration? When did European integration start? How did people try to modelize and legitimate European integration? Do economic or political considerations drive European integration? Where should Europe, according to these theories, lead to?

This course provides an introduction into theories of European integration. We will analyse the origins and presumptions of the most important theories, such as federalism, neo-functionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism. The course will highlight the historic background on which these theories have been developed and illustrate the impact of economic and political factors in different theories. It will be demonstrated that different presumption of these theories do also lead to different understandings of what is the scope of European integration. Should Europe become a strong political federation, or a loose economic confederation?

Throughout the course students will also be invited to compare European integration to other processes of regional integration, such as in Latin America, the Arab world, in Africa (African Union), Asia (e.g. ASEAN) and especially the historical evolution of the United States political system.

Finally, the course will give an outlook on current topics in European integration (such as Brexit or the consequences of the Corona pandemic), how do the different theories analyse these challenges?

Appearance during the first session is mandatory.

START: 14 April 2021

Lecturer: Rada Popova

Course Nr: 15304.0114

Date/Time: Wed. 14:00 - 15:30h

Location: online

The course will offer students an insight into the fundamental principles and characteristics of public international law (PIL) and of EU law. In its first part, this course will provide insights into the mechanisms that govern the international legal order, explore the fundamentals of inter-state relations, international treaty law and the role of the subjects of PIL within the international legal order. To illustrate the practical application and enforcement of PIL, some of the most relevant cases before the International Court of Justice will be discussed.

As the course progresses, an insight into the system of EU law will be given. Thereby, the institutional basis, the structure and the basic principles of European Union law will be presented. On the basis of case studies of milestone decisions of the ECJ, the role of EU Law for the national legal systems of Member States, and for the EU as whole will be explained.

Due to the digital format, the course will be structured similarly to a lecture and will be accompanied by materials and student assignments which will replace (physical) participation of the course participants.

Presence during the first session is mandatory!

Course Outline:
I.    The genesis of the international legal order in a historical timeline: The role of State sovereignty in international law

II.    The sources and the hierarchy the sources of public international law

III.    The legal basis of inter-state relations: formation of international treaties and of customary law

IV.    The role of international organisations and their statutes for the international legal order, exemplified by the UN and the UN Charta

V.    The increasing recognition of common concerns: must PIL be adapted vis-à-vis environmental concerns and community interests?

VI.    Examples of relevant cases before the International Court of Justice (ICJ)

VII.    The genesis of modern European legal systems: historical and economic factors

VIII.    Overview on the system of European Union Law: sources, institutions and principles

IX.    The role of European Union law for the legal systems in Member States: case studies of milestone judicial decisions of the European Court of Justice (ECJ)

START:  13 April 2021

Lecturer: Dr. Claudia Hefftler

Course Nr: 15304.0115

Date/Time: Tue. 17:45 - 19:15h

Location: online

The European Union (EU) is a unique project of international cooperation of 27 states in an “ever closer union” that has successfully secured peace and prosperity on the European continent for over 60 years. In the past decade however, European integration has been challenged due to the Euro crisis, increasing Euroscepticism and the Brexit. The Union has come under pressure to prove its added value and legitimacy to the people.

This course will start out with analysing the institutional structure and historical development of the EU. The democratic quality of the EU decision-making process will guide this analysis. What powers does the European Parliament have in the EU decision-making process? How is it elected and how does it contribute to EU legitimacy? Where do the member states guard their interests and how do they answer to their national voters? These are some of the questions we will critically discuss in this course.
The course is designed as an introduction to EU politics.

Due to limited number of participants, it is mandatory to show up at the first session in order to secure your spot.

START: 12 April 2021

Lecturer: Dr. Johannes Müller

Course Nr.: 15304.0111

Date/Time: Mon. 14:00-15:30h

Location: online

European Integration was a result of postwar politics – first promoted after World War I it evolved in several stages after World War II within the context of European recovery and reconstruction after a disastrous continental conflict. Thus, European Integration right from its beginnings rested upon the convergence of idealistic concepts, and vital needs and necessities, combining utopian visions of a politically united continent with hard-bitten national interests. Under the premises of the Cold War, the European project continued on this double track – serving overlapping national interests and offering a vision for a peaceful and democratic future. Today, 30 years after the end of the Cold War, this vision still awaits to become true, while national interests more than quadrupled (as compared to the original members of the EEC).
This course revisits the origins and development of the project “Europe United”, the process that led first to the creation of the European Economic Community and later to the European Union, and the factors that defined the playground of European politics. In doing so, we will keep an eye particularly on the relationship between ideas and needs, between the utopian Europe and the babylonian cacophony of national interests.

Due to limited number of participants, it is mandatory to show up at the first session in order to secure your spot.

START: 13 April 2021

Lecturer: Benjamin Naujoks

Course Nr.: 15304.0112

Date/Time: Tue. 14:00 - 15:30

Location: online

Fin de Siècle, Belle Époque, turn of the century - many of these terms  try to capture the (atmospheric) condensations around 1900. Here is implied that the turn of the century can also be understood as the apex or end of the "long 19th century": as a turn of time. The course takes up this variety of possible interpretations and illuminates the larger context from a cultural-historical perspective. "Europe 1900" thus resembles like a prism: multidimensional strands of development are thus made visible and analyzed in the interwoven contexts before and after 1900 — with a focus on pan-European relevance and taking into account the question of how the European perspective can be integrated in global history.

So, the course aims to break with and question supposedly typical perspectives on and of Europe by openingup new perspectives on Europe and its conception(s) through a deeper understanding of European cultural history — which is ultimately also a (pre-)history of European integration. Using selected examples, these questions will be exemplified above all in social, societal and cultural, and sometimes in political and economic aspects.