Rule of Law and the State of Democracy in the Western Balkans

This course welcomes MA students from different national and disciplinary backgrounds, including students who train to become teachers and want to deepen their understanding of the functioning of the European Union.

The seminar offers students the opportunity to improve their understanding of academic and political discussions on the concept of rule of law and democracy and to foster their knowledge on political conditions in the region of the Western Balkans. They engage in the analysis of attitudes, behaviours and policies of political actors. These can be individuals, judges, civil society groups who work to defend of the rule of law or, on the contrary, politicians, parties, entrepreneurs or other individuals or groups that act against it and contribute to its decline. By doing that, the course also looks into the EU’s enlargement conditionality and the impact that this has on the region and vice versa.

The course includes an excursion to UC Louvain with a joint bloc seminar and site visits to Brussels. This collaboration takes place in the framework of the Circle U. alliance.