Link zum Vorlesungsverzeichnis

ACHTUNG: Das Seminar kann vorraussichtlich erst Mitte Mai beginnen. Das Startdatum und die Nachholtermine (eventuell Blockseminare) für die ausgefallenen Seminare werden noch bekanntgegeben.

What does it mean to be a member of the European Union? This question has received increased attention in recent years, first with the Brexit process, thereafter with the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Both EU membership and the association of third countries have become central topics on the European agenda, as has the question of expanding the EU’s competencies. ‘Differentiation’ has historically been an important tool for dealing with such issues. Understanding European integration as differentiated is as such important both for understanding how the EU works in the present-day, but also how it might develop in the future.

In this course, we will explore how the EU can be understood as a differentiated political system, both in relation to its member states and non-EU countries. We will look into differentiation in various forms, including variation in the extent to which states participate in EU policies and in the level of integration across policy areas, and we will explore the drivers of such differentiation. We will also discuss the consequences of differentiation for European democracy.