European Parliamentary Governments
Assignments
Assignment #1 - Due September
10
Go to the European Union webpage, where
you will find lots of information on the institutions and policies of the
European Union. Search for material on "Agenda 2000" and the "Treaty
of Amsterdam." Also look at some of the general information and thematic
factsheets, for instance on the institutions, policies, and history of the
European Union. In your paper, try to answer the following questions:
- Who is the current President of the European Commission?
- Which country currently holds the presidency in the
Council of the European Union?
- What are some of the most important issues on the
European Union's agenda at the moment?
- What are some of the problems that have to be resolved
before further integration can take place?
- What countries (who aren't already members) have
applied for membership in the EU, and why is there a dispute among current
EU members whether and which of these countries should be allowed to join?
- What are the possible benefits from monetary integration
and creating a single European currency (the Euro)? What are some of the
negative effects?
- What are the positions of the major European countries,
like Britain, France, and Germany on these issues (are there any countries
that are not using the Euro?)?
Try to develop an argument or thesis in your paper which
tries to assess the question of success or failure of European integration.
Make sure to include the proper in-text citations and a list of references,
i.e. all the sources you have been using in writing your assignment!
This is where the Rowman & Littlefield Guide to Writing with Sources
comes in handy!
Length: 5-6 pages, double-spaced typed.
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Assignment #2 - Due September
24
Go to a web site that provides
general information about the United Kingdom, such as Dr. Dave's U.K. Pages (I wish I could claim
credit for this site) or Information about Great Britain.
From there, follow links to "Politics" or "Government" and look for "Political
Parties and Organizations." There you will find links to a number of
the British political parties. Check out the sites for the Labour Party
and the Conservative Party. Which party is currently the governing
party and which one is in opposition? Who are the current leaders of
Labour and the Conservatives? How does each party present itself to
the voters in its views or press releases? What are their policies
and goals? Check out Labour's policies and explain how they differ
from the Conservatives. Pick a few specific policy areas like domestic
or foreign policy and describe the main positions of the two parties on specific
issues. For instance, try to find out what the Labour Party's and the
Conservatives' positions are on such issues as:
- education
- employment
- national health care
- European integration
- the Euro
- the war on terror
Check out some of the other British
political parties and find out how they differ from both Conservatives and
Labour. Write a four to five page paper (double-spaced, typed) on
the Conservative party and the Labour party, describing and comparing their
party programs and policies with each other. Make sure to include
the proper in-text citations and a list of references, i.e. all the sources
you have been using in writing your assignment!
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Assignment #3 - Due October 17
Here are some links with information
about the government of France: Political resources on
France; European
Governments Online - France; The Official Page of the French
President; The Constitution.
The links will get you to sites that provide information about France.
Look for information on the French government and administration.
You should find information in English on the French Constitution of
the Fifth Republic. Read the articles of the constitution that define
the powers of the French President (articles 5-19) and the articles that
specify the functions of the French government, particularly of the Prime
Minister (articles 20-23). Who is currently the President of France?
Who is the current Prime Minister? What parties do they come from?
When were the
most recent French presidential elections? Compare the powers of
the President to the powers of the Prime Minister? Which article defines
the emergency powers of the President and what are these powers? What
extraordinary powers does the French president have that, for instance, the
American president lacks? Write a four to five page paper (double-spaced,
typed) describing the powers of the French president of the Fifth Republic,
comparing and contrasting them with the powers of the French prime minister
and the American president. Make sure to include the proper in-text
citations and a list of references, i.e. all the sources you have been using
in writing your assignment!
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Assignment #4 - Due November 7
[This assignment comes from Professor Hega of Western
Michigan University.] Please go to Dr. Hega's
map page. Take a look at the series of maps that show the development
of the European countries since the Middle Ages. What do the maps tell
you about the emergence of nation-states in Europe? Compare the changing
boundaries of Germany with those of Great Britain, France, Italy and Sweden.
When did each of the five countries become a unified nation-state and
acquire (approximately) its current borders? What picture do Germany
and Italy present from the 15th to the 19th century? What role did Prussia
and Austria play in Germany's unification process? What impact did
the two world wars have on Germany's and Europe's borders? What is
meant by the concept of Germany's "special path" in modern history? To
answer these questions, you may also do some research on the history of these
countries on the Web. You certainly should consult the Kesselman and
Krieger text, especially the first chapter discussing Germany. Write
a four to five page paper on the political development and the changing political
regimes of modern Germany in comparison to one of the other major European
countries. Try to relate Germany's political changes from 1648 to 1990
to major events in European history. Try to develop an argument that
either supports or rejects the thesis about Germany's "special path" of political
development. Make sure to include the proper in-text citations and a
list of references, i.e. all the sources you have been using in writing your
assignment!
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Assignment #5 - Due December 3
Go to the EuroDocs
page on the Web where you will find facsimiles and reproductions of important
historical documents for all the European countries, most of them in English.
Pick one European country that interests you, click on the country's
name and go to the country page. Select two documents from your country's
modern period (18th Century - Present) [Please make sure that the documents
come from the modern period]. Then write a four to five page paper
in which you first explain which documents you picked and why. What
is the significance of the documents you selected for the political history
of the country you are interested in? What type of document are you
analyzing, e.g., a constitution, a declaration, a political pamphlet, an
important law, a peace treaty, a secret protocol, a caricature etc.? What
does each of your two documents say? What are the main points or messages
of each document? Who is the author of each of the documents? What
issues does each of the documents address? What is the historical and
political context in which each of the documents were written? What
were the political effects? What impact did the document have on the
subsequent history of the country? To answer these questions, you might
need to do some additional research on the web and/or in the library. Make
sure to include the proper in-text citations and a list of references, i.e.
all the sources you have been using in writing your assignment!
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