Dear Students,
It is a great pleasure to welcome you to this new edition of European Union Political History.
We are in a troubled period of history. After having been through a bunch of difficult years due to an unending Pandemic situation, since February 24 of 2022 we are at war with Putin (not against Russia). You may say that we are not phisically fighting in Ukraine, but you have to recognize that we are suffering quite directly the consequences of the Russian invasion through important economic difficulties due to the shortage of cheap oil and gas which has resulted in a terrible inflation. Without counting the fear that the conflict could escalate if unpredictable Putin decides to use nuclear weapons. Are we approaching World War III?
The big advantage of History is that it help us to understand where we are in the present moment. The difficulties due to the Covid 19 situation and the Ukranian War are relative, if we look at them from an historical perspective. The real problem is that we Europeans for a very long time, concretely for almost 80 years (since 1945), we have been used to live comfortable lifes, and we thought that through science and technology we controlled completely the World. In fact technology is not only a solution, as the bad use of it is causing us many notorious and worrying disturbances, as described by visionary Dave Eggers in The Circle (2013) and The Every (2021), two dystopian novels about the techonological dictatorship we are in. Not to be missed. We will get to that along the course.
I start this course with this reflection to stress how important is to look back into History to understand our Present. And this, of course, is valid as well for understanding the European Union. Apparently the EU is not a very sexy topic. A bunch of States that get together because of economic interests, that are selfish and show Little solidarity towards a common Project. The EU is boring because so far it has no soul !!!
The EU totally lacks of an exciting common narrative, at least until now, because with the Ucranian War for the first time since 1945 we are beginning to understand how important is to be protected by our weird association of States against foreign dangers. But my point is that in any case, understanding what the EU means, and why it works like it does, in such a weird way, is a quite difficult thing if we just look at what is happening in present times. If we do not consider its origins and its further developments the EU is completely ununderstandable. So lets look at its History. And this is what we are going to do.
The EU starts in 1992 with the Treaty of the European Union, familiarly called the Maastricht Treaty. But the history of European integration, gets back at when we started the Communitarian Method, all the way to the Spring of 1950 with the Schumann Declaration. And the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community is impossible to understand without looking at which was the situation in the World after 1945. And we could not understand why we went through World War II if we don’t look at his origins. And so on. This why we will try to understand how Europe started since the Fall of the Western Roman empire, when appeared the first European nations, integrated by the Barbarian people that created the Germanic Kingdoms. And from there we will go all the way to the successive crisis of the Brexit, the Covid Pandemic or the Ucranian War, that is being an opportunity for Europe to set and independent foreign policy, and not simply follow as it has been the case since 1945, the US’s. Do we have to say: "Thank you Putin"? Because he is awaking us... Wait and see. Shall we remember that Russia in the past was a European strong ally? France the UK and the US wen t to World War I to help Zarist Russia. Though by the end of 1917 it had become Communist Russia.
Time is going by and the War in Ukraine is at a dead point. If Trump gets reelected he may decide to stop helping Zelenski and Putin could win the war. The problem is that a victory of Putin would mean that Russian Neozarism and its autoritarian model will prevail. And this is not good news at all for Europe, because it will remain the last stronghold of democracy in the world… It used to be the USA, but if Trump wins we will be the last left to defend it. Remember how he tried to promote a “coup détat” in order to prevent Biden from becoming President, with the attack on the Capitol of January 6, 2020. In a democratic State governed through the Rule of Law system Donald Trump should be in jail. For attempting against the US Constitution, or if he gets convicted in any of the more than 90 ongoing judicial proceedings pending against him. So as you can imagine, if he is reelected president, the American Democracy is clearly in danger. And that means that Europe would have to make a huge effort to preserve the Western model of the Rule of Law. Because we will be left alone.
But the first step for defending Europe and its civilization is to help you, students, to understand how important is the European Union in this 21st century. You may not realise it, but let me remember you that we live in the safest spot on earth. And that means that we have to defend our liberty and our culture against disturbing models where individuals are not as respected and protected as in our old continent.
For getting acquainted with the history of European integration we will have to work intensively the Materials that are at your disposal. I will suggest that for mastering them you will have to work every week the texts and the exercises that accompany them in every Teaching Guide, and ,strongly participate in presential a classes. Every week you will have to put in HANDWRITING the exercises in a NOTEBOOK ON PAPER. Screens ARE NOT ALLOWED for this purpose.
The idea is that we will take advantage of interacting phisically in an effective way explaining and debating over the corresponding Week’s topic. By the way I will advise you to print in paper these materials, because it will enable you to include clarifying notes in it.
Concerning the Evaluation, you will have some presential test along the course with multiple choice question, some dates (we are dealing with political history) and some concepts and questions. All the marks resulting from theses tests will represent 60% of your final Mark in June.
The big novelty in this course edition is that the remaining 40% will be, on the one hand, (30%) the result of the evaluation of the two compulsery readings you have to get through, that will take place in the dates set in your Materials in the "Aula Virtual". But we will explain how it goes in the classroom. The remaining 10% will depend on your effective presential assistance to class and your witty interventions in class. Your class notebook on paper will be essential for this part of the evaluation. BEWARE: Without presenting the class notebook you will not be allowed to attend the exams.
I am extremely concerned about the efficiency of Education. My conviction is that the world is a mess because more and more people are completely uneducated. This is why in your Materials you have an Education Appendix with some interesting texts intended to make you think about what should be the aim of Education. And that would lead you to ask yourself: what the hell are you doing in a University classroom.
Because I am convinced that we should face the learning process in the most efficient way. And this is the reason why it is so important to read and write, and why most of the exams will require that you fully understand the Materials. Memory is a useful tool, but is not enough. The basic aim is that you understand. As French Pilot and Writer Antoine de Saint Éxupéry says in his book Flight to Arras (1942), “Knowing is not demonstrating or explaining. It is accessing a vision” (Connaître, ce n’est point démontrer, ni expliquer. C’est accéder à la vision).
A final consideration: teaching is a tremendous effort that is worthless if professors and students are not commited to it. And this is why I will ask you to assist regularly to presential clases. At least if you want to get evaluated all along the course. Of course, for those who cannot follow the clases there is a final exam set by the university in a certain date. It would be based exclusively on your materials and your class notebook, and your whole mark would depend on that test that you should attend with your personal classnotebook. .
But if you have the possibility of attending class regularly please remember that the Socratic Method is, by far, the best way to learn. And on top of that: it is fun!!!
Lets play together this great tune of our common history as Europeans.
Good luck!
