History and Politics of European Integration
A.Y. 2024/2025
Learning objectives
The course aims to equip students with a basic understanding of the process of European integration at a historical and institutional level (in the sense of an intergovernmental negotiation process) and with the tools necessary to understand the expansive, multifaceted interest shown by European societies since the 1950s in forming a European "Union."
In keeping with the multitiered governance that characterises the European system, the course will reconstruct the history of European integration, focusing on the crucial moments and a plurality of actors: governments (European and non-European), civil society movements, political parties and economic stakeholders which have promoted, blocked or otherwise influenced the integration process.
This will enable students to critically assess the binary tension currently at play in the European Union between national interests and supranational tendencies.
In keeping with the multitiered governance that characterises the European system, the course will reconstruct the history of European integration, focusing on the crucial moments and a plurality of actors: governments (European and non-European), civil society movements, political parties and economic stakeholders which have promoted, blocked or otherwise influenced the integration process.
This will enable students to critically assess the binary tension currently at play in the European Union between national interests and supranational tendencies.
Expected learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course, students will have acquired a global overview of the European integration process; they will understand the discourse between the Community/Union and developing countries from a historical decolonisation perspective and in terms of the mutual influence between North and South; they will be able to critically assess the relationship between "Europe" and key players in the international system - first and foremost the United States of America - without overlooking other global powers that have subsequently expressed a positive, negative or ambiguous interest in establishing economic and political ties with the Union. Students will also be well-versed in the technical language used to describe the integration process and its development without falling victim to the rhetoric that - in Europe in particular - can prevent the issue from being assessed objectively.
Lesson period: Second trimester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second trimester
Course syllabus
1945 - 1969. The first part will help students understand the international context in which the European integration process originated and developed, from the post-WWII period onwards. Particular attention will be given to the relations between Europe and the United States in the period immediately following the end of WWII, up to the consolidation of the first attempts at economic integration during the 1950s and 1960s.
1969 - 1992. The second part of the course will be dedicated to the reconstruction following the difficult period brought about by the actions of the French President Charles de Gaulle. In particular, it will focus on the process of economic integration, the first attempts at the coordination of the Nine's foreign policy, the complex creation of a common monetary policy, and the reform of the Single European Act until the signing of the Maastricht Treaty. Great attention will be given to the analysis of the European context in the international historical-political framework of the 1970s and 1980s until the end of the Cold War.
1992 - 2020. The third part will explore the role of the Europe Union in the international scenario from the post cold war to the present. In particular, it will examine the evolution of the European enlargement process, the attempt to define a common foreign and security policy and the 'constitutionalisation' of the Union in the period 1999-2004. Finally, it will analyze the current debate on the perspectives, limitations and opportunities of the European construction process.
1969 - 1992. The second part of the course will be dedicated to the reconstruction following the difficult period brought about by the actions of the French President Charles de Gaulle. In particular, it will focus on the process of economic integration, the first attempts at the coordination of the Nine's foreign policy, the complex creation of a common monetary policy, and the reform of the Single European Act until the signing of the Maastricht Treaty. Great attention will be given to the analysis of the European context in the international historical-political framework of the 1970s and 1980s until the end of the Cold War.
1992 - 2020. The third part will explore the role of the Europe Union in the international scenario from the post cold war to the present. In particular, it will examine the evolution of the European enlargement process, the attempt to define a common foreign and security policy and the 'constitutionalisation' of the Union in the period 1999-2004. Finally, it will analyze the current debate on the perspectives, limitations and opportunities of the European construction process.
Prerequisites for admission
Contemporary History
History of international relations (recommended)
History of international relations (recommended)
Teaching methods
The duration of the course is 60 hours. The course will mainly consist of lectures (2 hours each). There will be additional seminar events with invited experts/scholars. Students will be guided through the process of studying the most recent historiography, in a rigorous analysis of the primary sources. Lectures will include class discussions following presentations and viewing of multimedia material and digital archives. Class participation is strongly encouraged.
Teaching Resources
Mark Gilbert, Storia politica dell'integrazione europea, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2008, or Antonio Varsori, Storia della costruzione europea. Dal 1947 a oggi, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2023
Federico Romero, Storia della guerra fredda. L'ultimo conflitto per l'Europa, Einaudi, 2009
Piero S. Graglia, L'Unione Europea, Il Mulino, 2011
Federico Romero, Storia della guerra fredda. L'ultimo conflitto per l'Europa, Einaudi, 2009
Piero S. Graglia, L'Unione Europea, Il Mulino, 2011
Assessment methods and Criteria
Final assessment will consist of an oral exam regarding the most relevant episodes and turning points in the History of European Integration during the 20th Century and the beginning of the 21st, and will focus on topics covered in the course. Students are also expected to be able to exercise critical thinking and to use appropriate terminology.
SPS/06 - HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professor:
Graglia Piero
Shifts:
Turno
Professor:
Graglia PieroProfessor(s)
Reception:
Office hours: on MONDAYS from 12,30 PM to 3,30 PM
office hours are in presence or via Microsoft Teams platform.