Poli 120h: politics of european integration midterm examination

  Overview: During the first half of this course, we examined the history of the integration process, as well as the institutional structure of the EU. As part of this process, we studied not only the structure and functions of European institutions, but also their effects on political processes at the national level. The relationship between politics at the European and the national levels form the basis of your midterm examination. Prompt: Although the concept of the ‘democratic deficit’ is widely cited, there is a great deal of debate over whether it actually exists. Does the EU suffer from a ‘democratic deficit’? If so, where? If not, why not? Requirements: To address this question, your paper should use course readings and lecture materials to do the following: 1. Define the “democratic deficit”. 2. Compare/contrast assessments of the “democratic deficit” as detailed in course readings. 3. Evaluate these arguments, using your understanding of the European Union (e.g., political institutions, public opinion, party politics, and interest aggregation). 4. Use the above to construct your argument as to whether (and where) a “democratic deficit” exists in the EU. The essay should be 6-8 pages in length, use 12-point font and standard margins, and contain a bibliography. There is a handout on the course website “Writing a Good Social Science Paper” which details the appropriate format for this assignment. Papers which lack an identifiable thesis statement within the introduction, fail to integrate course readings effectively and/or rely on lecture slides will be penalized. Please keep in mind that while you can use current events material to supplement your discussion of course readings, you DO NOT need outside materials for this assignment. Due Date: An electronic copy of your midterm must be submitted to turnitin.com via TED no later than 11:59pm on 9 November 2018. We will grade whatever you have submitted at the time of the deadline, so please make sure you have uploaded the correct copy of your midterm because once the deadline hits, we cannot clear the submission. Barring a documented emergency, no late papers will be accepted. Additionally, we will not entertain ANY late requests which we are not made aware on the day the paper is due. Please be advised that barring notification of a Turnitin.com outage verified by ACMS, an inability to submit the midterm before the due date due to a) failing to hit submit, b) slow internet connection/upload, c) not recognizing that the submission did not go through, etc., is not considered an emergency which would justify an extension, so please plan accordingly. Good Luck!