PSC 340—Politics in Western Europe

This course introduces students to political systems in Western Europe, covering their governments, policies, party systems, shared history, and social movements. Recent developments in Europe are also explored, including the evolving role of the European Union (EU) in domestic politics and the growing connectedness of the Western and Eastern European countries. The course is organized thematically according to the features of Western European political systems. Themes such as electoral systems, political cleavages, referenda, the welfare state, regional integration (the EU), the common currency (the Euro), and nationalism are also discussed.