EU Integration of Western Balkans: Patterns and Issues

ended

Motivated by recent developments and dynamics in the EU and WB region, this module through a comparative approach explores the internal and regional dynamic in WB countries’ EU integration path. While there exists a comprehensive academic thinking about the EU’s enlargement policy at its approach to the region, it is crucial and needed to understand and teach the discourse on European integration from the membership aspiring candidates’ perspective. The proposed module aims to combine theoretical and empirical knowledge to offer a comparative approach to the Western Balkan countries’ internal and regional dynamics in their EU integration paths. The goal is to provide a deeper and critical understanding of the patterns and issues dominating the WB countries’ EU integration process from the perspectives of the region itself by looking at each country’s history of integration, challenges, and prospective for EU membership. This module will be implemented within the framework of the Master and Bachelor programs in “Political Science and International Relations” at the Department for Political Science and International Relations, coordinated by the Center for European Studies at EPOKA University and supported by external experts. It integrates innovative and interactive teaching methods, blended learning and open educational resource (OER) material. The WB-EUPath Jean Monnet Module consists of the following activities: Two new and one revised course, a new MOOC, six Graduate Seminars, a 2-day International Conference, Two 1-day Graduate Workshop; One 2-day Study Visit to EU Institutions in Brussels, One textbook on “EU Integration of Western Balkans: Patterns and Issues”; One Practical Guide on “Western Balkans Path to EU”, Three Public Panels, and Three awareness seminars at partner institutions. Each activity is designed with the purpose of contributing to the achievement of the specific objectives of the action and benefiting priority target groups.