The impossible dream of European unity
A B Davidson
8 points * 3 hours per week * First semester * Clayton
Why are Europeans so concerned about the collapse of the Yugoslav Federation? Why is the treatment of Muslims by Serbs, and Serbs by Croats in the name of Christian civilisation so abhorrent to the EC? This subject seeks to conclude with a tentative answer to such questions. It will examine the foundations of contemporary European liberal democracy and the corresponding stress on human rights in the quest for peace and an end to war. This found its contemporary expression in the anti-totalitarian projects of the liberal socialist resistances of World War II. It will examine the debates between the federalist Altiero Spinelli and the functionalist Jean Monnet; those who believed that the people were peace loving and that all that was needed was a strong democracy and strong protection for minorities - against those who believed that confederate states should continue to exist without too much consensus or alteration of the political system. It will then examine what has been achieved: the institutions set up, particularly those of European democracy and those for human rights. It will conclude with the practical realities of racism and terrorism, culminating in the new notion of citizenship which is emerging.
Assessment
Written (3000 words): 50% * Examinations (3 hours): 50%