Political Representation of Interests in the EU

Brief description

  • Political interest representation in the EU and its member states as an essential manifestation of political participation in democracies on the basis of concrete examples in the European multi-level system, in particular at the level of the member states (examples Germany and Austria).
  • Approaches and methods of planning projects of political interest representation with special consideration of the practical approach to lobbying (goals and milestones, stakeholder analysis, positioning, measures and formats)
  • Simulation of typical formats of political interest representation as well as testing of argumentation on the basis of self-developed positionings in the context of a symposium
  • Reflection on the importance of political lobbying for the legitimacy and functioning of parliamentary democracy, especially against the background of the current discussion on the regulation of lobbying (lobby register, restrictions on party donations and sponsoring as well as revolving door regulations)

Mode of delivery

face to face

Type

compulsory

Recommended or required reading and other learning resources/tools

Klüver, Heike (2013): Lobbying in the European Union. Interest Groups, Lobbying Coalitions and Policy Change, Oxford: University Press.
Lösche, Peter (2007): Verbände und Lobbyismus in Deutschland, Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
Michaelis, Marcel (2018): Regulierung des Lobbyismus. Eine verfassungsrechtliche und rechtspolitische Analyse, Berlin u.a.: Peter Lang.
Speth, Rudolf/Zimmer, Annette (Hrsg., 2015): Lobby Work. Interessenvertretung als Politikgestaltung, Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
Current literature will be announced by the lecturer at the beginning of the semester.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Blocked form, lecture, group work, discussion, role play/simulation, guest lectures, analysis of case studies, project plan development

Assessment methods and criteria

Group presentation (50%) and home assignment (50%)

Prerequisites and co-requisites

None

Infos

Degree programme

Europäische Wirtschaftspolitik

Cycle

International Programme

ECTS Credits

5.00

Language of instruction

German

Curriculum

Full-Time

Academic year

2025

Semester

3 WS

Incoming

No

Learning outcome

After successful completion of the module, students can:

  • describe essential elements of political interest representation and classify these elements as characteristics of different concepts of political participation
  • assess the effects of interest representation on the legitimacy and functioning of parliamentary democracy
  • develop own, justified requirements for the regulation of political interest representation in the EU and its member states
  • work out essential components of a project plan of interest representation in a European determined policy field
  • plan the practical procedure in the political representation of interests in the EU and its member states on the basis of a concrete example.

Course code

0899-23-01-VZ-DE-M3.2