THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SCIENCES

POLS30018: EUROPEAN INTEGRATION: POLITICS OF THE EU
FIRST ESSAY LIST
Due: Monday 6 September 2021 at 5:00pm
Essay (2,000 words) - 50%

1. How is the tension between national sovereignty and supranationalism manifested in the EU?
Assess in relation to a member state OR an EU institution.

2. In February 2019, Donald Tusk (former President of the European Council), described the
EU a fi and fo emo a peace p ojec . Do you agree?

3. As the EU faces many crises, scholars need new analytical tools in order to understand
these developments. Discuss.

4. Which theory of European integration do you think is most compelling in understanding

the EU? Use case studies or examples to support your argument.

5. How do member states protect their interests in the EU? Choose two member states to
compare.

6. Critically assess the role of one EU institution in advancing European integration.

7. Has the European Parliament made the EU more democratic?

8. How has membership to the EU transformed nation states to member states?

9. What have been the main challenges posed by EU enlargements since 2004? Discuss how
these enlargements have affected ONE of the new or existing EU member states OR policy
area of your choice.

10. Critically assess one of the following as a motor of European Integration: Germany; Jean
Monnet; France; the United States.

The essay will be assessed against the following criteria:

Your ability to answer the question without going off on a tangent
Your ability to construct and clearly communicate an argument that demonstrates
comprehension of the material;
Your ability to substantiate your argument with adequate evidence and references;
Your ability to engage with the relevant scholarly literature that relates to the question;
Your ability to structure the presentation. This includes a clear introduction that sets out the
issues clearly and makes out key points, a body of the essay that develops the main
argument, and a conclusion that briefly encapsulates the core argument without repeating it
in full;
Your research ability, measured not simply by the number of references cited in the
bibliography but also their relevance to the question and the way they are used and cited
adequately in the body of the essay; and
Correct spelling and grammar.