Lectures 3 ECTS, lectures + seminar 5 ECTS. 

Programme

Mon 3.9

Jean Monnet Professor Pami Aalto. School of Management, International Relations          

Introduction

International Relations approaches on European integration

Thu 6.9

Jean Monnet Professor Pami Aalto. School of Management, International Relations

International Relations approaches on enlargement: the case of eastern and central Europe

Mon 10.9 no lecture

Thu 13.9 Guest lecturer

Dr. Adam Szymanski. Institute of Political Science, University of Warsaw

European Union Enlargement Policy - the current determinations of the process and its prospects

Mon 17.9 (N.B.: Extended lecture: 14-19)

Professor Tapio Raunio. School of Management, Political Science

Political Science approaches on European integration                                                                 

Political Science approaches on enlargement: political systems, parties and parliaments

Thu 20.9.

Dr. Teemu Palosaari. School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Tampere Peace Research Institute (TAPRI)

Peace Research approaches on European integration

Mon 24.9. no lecture

Thu 27.9

Ms. Anna Luoti. School of Language, Translation and Literary Studies, French Language

Linguistic approaches to enlargement: the case of Turkey as seen in France and in Finland

Mon 1.10

Docent Jukka Viljanen. School of Management, Law

Legal approaches to enlargement: the case of human rights

Thu 4.10

Docent Jukka Viljanen. School of Management, Law

Legal approaches to enlargement: the case of human rights

Mon 8.10

Docent Ilari Karppi. School of Management, Regional Studies

Regional Studies approaches to enlargement: the case of regional Europe in the making

Thu 11.10

Professor Jouni Häkli. School of Management, Regional Studies

Regional Studies approaches to European integration

Mon 22.10

Exam, Väinö Linna auditorium (Linna K104)

Mon 5.11

Re-take exam, Linna 5014

This course has been organized with the support of the Jean Monnet programme of the European Union.

Lectures 3 ECTS, lectures + seminar 5 ECTS. 

Programme

Mon 3.9

Jean Monnet Professor Pami Aalto. School of Management, International Relations          

Introduction

International Relations approaches on European integration

Thu 6.9

Jean Monnet Professor Pami Aalto. School of Management, International Relations

International Relations approaches on enlargement: the case of eastern and central Europe

Mon 10.9 no lecture

Thu 13.9 Guest lecturer

Dr. Adam Szymanski. Institute of Political Science, University of Warsaw

European Union Enlargement Policy - the current determinations of the process and its prospects

Mon 17.9 (N.B.: Extended lecture: 14-19)

Professor Tapio Raunio. School of Management, Political Science

Political Science approaches on European integration                                                                 

Political Science approaches on enlargement: political systems, parties and parliaments

Thu 20.9.

Dr. Teemu Palosaari. School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Tampere Peace Research Institute (TAPRI)

Peace Research approaches on European integration

Mon 24.9. no lecture

Thu 27.9

Ms. Anna Luoti. School of Language, Translation and Literary Studies, French Language

Linguistic approaches to enlargement: the case of Turkey as seen in France and in Finland

Mon 1.10

Docent Jukka Viljanen. School of Management, Law

Legal approaches to enlargement: the case of human rights

Thu 4.10

Docent Jukka Viljanen. School of Management, Law

Legal approaches to enlargement: the case of human rights

Mon 8.10

Docent Ilari Karppi. School of Management, Regional Studies

Regional Studies approaches to enlargement: the case of regional Europe in the making

Thu 11.10

Professor Jouni Häkli. School of Management, Regional Studies

Regional Studies approaches to European integration

Mon 22.10

Exam, Väinö Linna auditorium (Linna K104)

Mon 5.11

Re-take exam, Linna 5014

This course has been organized with the support of the Jean Monnet programme of the European Union.

As the European Union (EU) has grown in size and become more powerful, its decisions have come to be ever more significant. This course provides a comprehensive overview of how EU policy-making processes work in theory and in practice. In so doing it takes a close look at the key institutions of the EU – the Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament – and considers how they work together and where the balance of power lies. The role that other actors play in these political games is also analysed, including regional governments, lobbyists, and non-governmental actors (NGOs). Attention is drawn to debates relating to the legitimacy of the EU’s political system and to the democratic deficit that critics claim exists. Finally, it examines the story of the Eurozone – what it is, how it came into being, what went wrong, and whether anything can be done to solve the crisis.

This course is based on lecture-seminars. Attendance at every session is compulsory and students are required to read the appropriate material before every session.

The maximum number of students is 20. Priority is given to students majoring in political science at the University of Tampere. In order to register for the course, you must fill in the registration sheet that is placed on the politics notice board (Pinni A, 4th floor) by the end of Monday, 15th October. Those accepted to the course will receive information (by email) of their acceptance on Wednesday, 17th of October.

Indicative lecture-seminars for the course:

1. Introduction: Studying the EU as a governance system

2. The Commission and Council: Core competences and how they operate in practice

3. The ‘Voice of the People’: The role of the European Parliament in connecting voters to decision-making

4. Policy-making in practice: The role of interest groups in EU politics. Also: The role of the Courts in interpreting EU law

5. Legitimacy and the Democratic Deficit: The case for reform

6. Governing the Euro: The short and troubled life of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)

7. Conclusions

This is a course about governments, interest groups and policy-making which proceeds from a review of the various theories of government-group relations to focus on the politics of health policy. In particular it examines government attempts to change unhealthy lifestyles against the backdrop of the sharp rise in the number of people who are harming and killing themselves as a consequence of the way they live. In the United States and across much of Western Europe there has been a startling increase in diabetes' cases whilst obesity has been described as a problem on the scale of climate change. The empirical part of the course will examine the role of the relevant policy actors - inter alia, ministers, departmental officials, doctors', nurses' and patients' associations - in devising and implementing strategies for tackling the soaring rates of obesity, cancer and alcohol misuse and the attendant costs to the state in terms of lost productivity and welfare payments caused by lifestyle-related conditions. The course is about life and premature death. Thus, bans and price rises may reduce smoking but are there known solutions to the alcohol and obesity epidemics? How can governments act without appearing to be a 'nanny state? How is 'lifestyle policy' formulated and what role in its gestation is played by the relevant policy actors? In short, the course will be of interest to students of policy analysis, the welfare state, pressure groups and the rightful relationship between governments and citizens. Should drunks be allowed to die in the streets as long as they do not block the drains? Case-studies will draw on the experience of the UK, Finland and Germany. The assessment would be project-based and tailored to individual students. Pre-registration will be essential.

Pre-registration via email (david.arter@uta.fi) by 19 October.

Indicative lectures for the course:

1. Drink, Drugs and Rock ‘n Roll: Introduction
2. Psychedelia, psychopaths and Narcocorridos: Drugs and Politics
3. Whisky Galore – No More? The Politics and Policy of the Scottish Drink Problem
4. ‘Ei tippa tapa’: the Road to Middle Beer
5. The ‘Koskenkorva index’ and the ‘Why’ question
6. Copy-cat Cameron follows the Jocks on minimum pricing
7. “It’s a person’s inalienable right to get shit-faced drunk” (Tanya Gold)
8. When Lifestyle becomes a Deathstyle: The Politics of the Obesity Epidemic in the United States
9. Will the US eventually ‘fight the fat’?
10. How is health policy made? The value of theoretical approaches

The strange world of British Politics raises many questions for students of political science. How can a political system based on tradition rather than governed by a formal constitution work so well? How can a modern country appoint rather than elect the second legislative chamber (House of Lords), yet still claim to be a democracy? Why does the need to form a government based on a coalition throw the country into crisis? These are only some of the fascinating issues that will be dealt with in this course. Other topics include devolution, the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, and the future of the British State.

This course in also interested in what the British people think, and in the lessons that we can learn about ‘public opinion’ more generally from this. We consider why the two main parties win so many of the votes at elections, and why people vote for different parties depending on the type of election. We also take a closer look at how to conduct research into public opinion. Participants are given guidance on completing their own public attitudes surveys (opinion polls) and on using a simple statistical computer programme to analyse the data. Students may submit a final report based on their findings as the main piece of assessed work.

This is a seminar-based course. Attendance at seminars is compulsory and students are required to read the material distributed electronically before every session.

The maximum number of students is 20. Priority is given to students majoring in political science at the University of Tampere. In order to register for the course, you must fill in the registration sheet that is placed on the politics notice board (Pinni A, 4th floor) before 5pm on Wednesday, 17th of October. Those accepted to the course will receive information (by email) of their acceptance on Thursday, 18th of October.

Indicative seminars for the course:

1. Introduction: The British State, and how to conduct a (very good) public attitudes survey.

2. Westminster Politics: The ‘Mother of Parliaments’ and No. 10 Downing Street

3. Elections in the UK

4. The novelty of the Coalition Government, and Britain and the EU

5. Computer lab session: A simple introduction to analysing your survey data

6. Devolution and the future of the British State

7. Final Presentations and Conclusions

The course consists of student seminar part (presentation and discussion of course readings, 28.2. and 6.3., 3 ECTS); and a public-private seminar part. In the first part of the public-private seminar public and private actors present and scholars act as discussants (7.3), and in the second part scholars present while public and private actors act as discussants in order to create genuine public-private-academic dialogue (8.3.). Students attend the public-private seminar and prepare a learning diary (2 ECTS), as well as an independent essay (5 ECTS, by the end of the IV period). The aim is to understand the need for and conditions of a dialogue between policy makers (public actors which regulate economic policy), companies and their unions (private actors) and scholars (who assess and envision economic policies), to better understand the politics of European/Eurasian economy and its prospects of long-term sustainability at the face of state debt, slow growth vis-à-vis the BRIC and shrinking share of world GDP in Europe of which several states in wider Eurasia are dependent in terms of markets and investment. For this end the course develops up-to-date theoretical and methodological tools in international political economy.

by 15.2 pami.aalto@uta.fi

pami.aalto@uta.fi by 7th of January

A web-based course

Registration in February 2013 in the following address:

A web-based course

Registration in December 2012 see

This course focuses on the Finnish legislature, the Eduskunta, in comparative perspective. Whilst the empirical material draws heavily on the Finnish case, the course will raise issues with a wider comparative application. The central question is: How democratic an institution is the Eduskunta? Re-stated, what does parliament contribute to democracy? This begs the generic question: How can we assess how democratic a parliament is? According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Working Group document (2006) 'Parliaments and Democracy in the Twenty-First Century' "good democratic practice" involves a legislature that is open and responsive to the citizenry. The relationship between parliament, parliamentarians and citizens will be an important theme in the course. The IPU bias is towards participatory democracy.  Frank Jackson in contrast writes from a functionalist Westminster-influenced standpoint, arguing that in an ideal world "a truly democratic parliament" would meet eight criteria including:  it should provide fair representation for all interests and strands of opinion, it should facilitate stable and effective government and it should hold the executive to account. Jackson also insists that a democratic parliament should retain a direct link between an MP and constituents and it should promote openness in policy-making.  The course will apply Jackson's analytical framework to conduct a 'democratic audit' of the Finnish Parliament, making comparisons throughout with other West European legislatures, particularly those in the Nordic region. The course will proceed on the basis of lectures and seminars and the assessment will be on the basis of class contribution (20%) and course essay (80%). Students will be free to apply the theoretical approaches to case-studies of other national parliaments apart from the Finnish.

Obligatory pre-registration by email to David Arter (firstname.lastname@uta.fi) by 17 December.

INDICATIVE CONTENT

January 10 Introduction

January 11th Following Tiririca: How Representative is the Eduskunta?

January 17th Does the Eduskunta provide for stable and effective government?

January 18th Is holding the Executive to account very unFinnish?

January 24th The Michael Marsh Question: How do Finns do constituency service?

January 25th Is the Eduskunta the ‘Vatican of the North’?

January 31st Is the Eduskunta an ‘Executive poodle’?

February 1st Does Finland need a Democracy Policy?

February 7th Parliaments and Parliamentarians in an Era of Digital Democracy

February 8th Democratic, Representative or Executive lapdog?

Political protest is ubiquitous, whether it takes a spontaneous or organised form, involves a single individual or group action, whether it is tolerated or suppressed. The United States’ constitution guarantees the citizenry the right to ‘assemble, protest and petition’ in its First Amendment; authoritarian systems are obviously less liberal. Protest may be directed against an occupation regime - witness the acts of narguer les Allemands in Paris in the early 1940s or Jan Pallach’s suicide by self-immolation in January 1969 at the Wenceslaus statue in Prague. Protest may involve slogans – Steve Biko’s ‘black is beautiful’ slogan of the Black Consciousness Movement in apartheid South Africa in the 1970s; it may be in the form of graffiti (sous les paves, la plage) or it may involve gestures – Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ ‘Black Power Salute’ at the 1968 Olympics. Protest may claim the street – witness the Occupy Wall Street protest against corporate greed and corruption; it may control the square – the demonstration in Parliament Square in London against increased tuition fees for students or the ‘pots and pans revolution’ in the Alþingi square in Reykjavík fuelled by the banking crisis. Political protest may be expressed through the ballot boxes, as in support for the anti-bail-out parties in the Greek parliamentary elections in May and June 2012, or by abstaining from voting. It may be anti-globalisation, anti-imperialist, anti-nuclear, anti-immigrant, anti-modernisation, anti-austerity or simply anti-establishment in character. This course is about protest politics – protest songs, protest slogans, individual protest, protest parties, protest movements and non-conventional protest action. It considers the variety of forms of protest, various theories of political protest and the significance of protest as a motor of political change. The course will proceed on a lecture/seminar basis and assessment will be by class participation and a written assignment.

Obligatory pre-registration by email to David Arter (firstname.lastname@uta.fi) by 17 December.

Indicative lectures for the course:

1. Introduction: Protest is Ubiquitous
2. Claiming the Walls: Graffiti as Political Protest
3. Narguer les Allemands: Individual Acts of Political Protest
4. Seizing the Streets and Squares: From Tiananmen to Wall Street
5. Feminist Protest: the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp
6. Donald Trump versus Scotland and Wind Turbines: Nimbo Protest
7. The Anti-Nuclear Movement: Strategies and Success
8. Protest Through the Ballot Boxes: A Golden Dawn?
9. Protest Cycling and Cycles of Protest
10. Conclusions

The course consists of student seminar part (presentation and discussion of course readings, 28.2. and 6.3., 3 ECTS); and a public-private seminar part. In the first part of the public-private seminar public and private actors present and scholars act as discussants (7.3), and in the second part scholars present while public and private actors act as discussants in order to create genuine public-private-academic dialogue (8.3.). Students attend the public-private seminar and prepare a learning diary (2 ECTS), as well as an independent essay (5 ECTS, by the end of the IV period). The aim is to understand the need for and conditions of a dialogue between policy makers (public actors which regulate economic policy), companies and their unions (private actors) and scholars (who assess and envision economic policies), to better understand the politics of European/Eurasian economy and its prospects of long-term sustainability at the face of state debt, slow growth vis-à-vis the BRIC and shrinking share of world GDP in Europe of which several states in wider Eurasia are dependent in terms of markets and investment. For this end the course develops up-to-date theoretical and methodological tools in international political economy.

by 15.2 pami.aalto@uta.fi

A web-based course

Registration in February 2013 in the following address:

A web-based course

Registration in December 2012 see

Europe is ageing and increasingly populated by ‘grey panthers’, ‘silver surfers’, seniors, ‘baby boomers’ and ‘matures’. In the last two decades in particular grey-specific political mobilisation has witnessed the emergence of such cohort-based parties as ‘Die Grauen’, ‘Suomen Senioripuolue’, ‘Sveriges pensionärers intresseparti’ and the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party, which was represented in the Scottish Parliament between 2003 and 2007. With the proportion of the grey electorate expanding, the cost of care for the elderly mounting, the economic case for raising the retirement age overwhelming and sensitivity to ageism growing, this course focuses on ‘grey politics’. It addresses inter alia i) the emergence of ‘grey parties’ ii) the cohesion of the grey electorate iii) the grey policy agenda iv) grey views on topical questions and v) the impact of the ‘grey lobby’ on the mainstream parties. Comparisons will be made throughout between the silver surfers and the ‘young Turks’ – the political behaviour of the students that traditionally have comprised the most active element among the youngest electoral age-group. How wide is the gap in how different generations view politics? Do the traditional voter stereotypes (conservative older voter/left-leaning younger voter) stand up to scrutiny? And how do government respond when ‘greys’ can decide the outcome of elections? 

The course will be seminar based with lecture input followed by thematic discussion. Assessment will be by class participation and student assignments.

The 4-week course will be organised around four overarching themes

1. Age and Political Learning

• How and when do people learn their politics?

• Age-related patterns of political socialisation/education/participation

• First-time voting; abstainers; generational differences in electoral behaviour

• When should young people get the vote? Should there be an upper age-limit on voting?

2. Age and Party Politics

• Are there ‘generational parties’ which target and/or derive most of their support from a particular age-group?

• Democrats ’66; Greens; Young Finns; Seniors’ parties

• Political parties and age-group mobilisation: party youth organisations; new campaign techniques, use of social media etc

3. Age and Political Representation

• Are we effectively represented by one age-group?

• Age patterns in candidate recruitment; the age structure of national legislatures; age and political leadership

• -Descriptive representation would require a legislative body that is a mirror-image of the age structure of the population as a whole. Is this feasible/desirable?

 http://www.uta.fi/jkk/pol/kurssiaineistot/POLVOA41_Arter_lecture_3.pdf

4. Age and Policy-Making

• Is there an age-related policy agenda and how do age-groups seek to influence it?

• Child care provision; youth unemployment; university tuition fees; age-related concessions (transport/leisure facilities etc); retirement age;  personal care for the elderly

• ‘Grey panther’ and ‘silver surfer’ lobby groups

Pre-registration to david.arter@uta.fi by 9th of March.