ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

 

EU440      Half Unit
The Balkans in Europe: Transition, Democratisation, Integration

This information is for the 2018/19 session.

Teacher responsible

Dr Spyridon Economides COW 2.07

Availability

This course is available on the MPA Dual Degree (ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ and Columbia), MPA Dual Degree (ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ and Hertie), MPA Dual Degree (ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ and NUS), MPA Dual Degree (ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ and Sciences Po), MPA Dual Degree (ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ and Tokyo), MPA in International Development, MPA in Public Policy and Management, MPA in Public and Economic Policy, MPA in Public and Social Policy, MPA in Social Impact, MSc in Conflict Studies, MSc in EU Politics, MSc in EU Politics (ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ and Sciences Po), MSc in Global Europe: Culture and Conflict, MSc in Global Europe: Culture and Conflict (ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ & Sciences Po), MSc in Political Economy of Europe, MSc in Political Economy of Europe (ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ and Sciences Po) and Master of Public Administration. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

Pre-requisites

None

Course content

An examination of South East Europe from a politics, political economy and international relations perspective, with particular emphasis on post-1989 developments. Topics include: The Balkans in Europe and Historical Legacies; the Dissolution of Yugoslavia; The Western  Balkans and economic transition; the EU and the Balkans: regionalism and economic integration; Democratisation, state-building and Europeanisation in the Western Balkans; Conditionality and the mechanics of accession; the SEE2020 strategy and the structural reforms agenda; the Balkans and other external actors.

Teaching

10 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the LT. 1 hour and 30 minutes of seminars in the ST.

Students on this course will have a reading week in Week 6, in line with departmental policy.

Formative coursework

One 1,500 word essay and one group policy document review

Indicative reading

  • M. Todorova, Imagining the Balkans, Oxford University Press, 1997; 
  • M. Glenny, Balkans 1804-1999. Nationalism, War and the Great Powers, Granta Publishers, 1999;
  • S Woodward, Balkan Tragedy, Brookings Institute, 1995;
  • Lavigne M. (1999), The Economics of Transition, 2nd edition;
  • Petrakos G. and Totev S. (eds) (2001), The development of the Balkan region, Aldershot; S. RametThinking about Yugoslavia: Scholarly Debates about the Yugoslav Breakup and the Wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, Cambridge University Press, 2005;
  • Bartlett W. (2007), Europe's Troubled Region: Economic Development, Institutional Reform, and Social Welfare in the Western Balkans, Routledge; 
  • A. Elbasani, European Integration and Transformation in the Western Balkans: Europeanization or business as usual?,  Routledge, 2013;
  • Anastasakis O., Sanfey P. and Watson M. (eds) (2013), Defining a New Reform Agenda: paths to sustainable convergence in South East Europe, South East European Studies at Oxford, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford; EBRD (2013),
  • Stuck in Transition?, Transition Report 2013, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London.

Assessment

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the summer exam period.

Key facts

Department: European Institute

Total students 2017/18: 24

Average class size 2017/18: 12

Controlled access 2017/18: Yes

Value: Half Unit

Personal development skills

  • Problem solving
  • Communication