EU447 Half Unit
Democracy, Ideology and the European State
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Prof Jonathan White
Availability
This course is available on the MA in Modern History, MSc in Culture and Conflict in a Global Europe, MSc in Culture and Conflict in a Global Europe (LSE & Columbia), MSc in Culture and Conflict in a Global Europe (LSE & Sciences Po), MSc in Political Economy of Europe in the World, MSc in Political Economy of Europe in the World (LSE and Fudan), MSc in Political Economy of Europe in the World (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in Political Science (Conflict Studies and Comparative Politics) and MSc in Political Sociology. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
To apply for a place, ALL students should submit a statement via LSE for You outlining your specific reasons for applying, how it will benefit your academic/career goals, and how you meet any necessary pre-requisites (maximum 200 words).
The first round of offers will be made from 12-noon on Friday 26 September. The final deadline for applications is 12-noon of Friday of Autumn Term week 2.
For queries contact: ei@lse.ac.uk
This course has a limited number of places (it is controlled access) and demand is typically very high. Priority is given to students from the European Institute, so students from outside this department may not get a place.
Course content
This course investigates various ways in which the State's authority to act has been underpinned in Europe, both ideologically and institutionally, in the modern period. It looks at how the State has been used to give expression to the democratic principle, and the ways this has been undermined or rejected. The module aims to provide students with a deep analytical understanding of the changing role of the State in European society. There will be three parts: A) Theorising the political; B) Democracy in post-War Europe; and C) Contemporary European trends. The course will conclude with an overview on possible trajectories to come, under the heading 'post-ideological, post-democratic and post-statal? - Europe today and beyond'.
Teaching
20 hours of seminars in the Autumn Term.
2 hours of seminars in the Spring Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn Term.
A review session will be held at the start of the Spring Term to prepare for the e-exam.
Formative assessment
Presentation
Essay (1500 words)
Indicative reading
- Quentin Skinner (1989) 'The State', in Ball and Hanson (eds.) Political Innovation and Conceptual Change (Cambridge UP)
- Peter Wagner (2008) Modernity as Experience and Interpretation (Polity)
- James Tully (2002) 'The Unfreedom of the Moderns', Modern Law Review 63
- Margaret Canovan (2005) The People (Polity)
- Michael Freeden (1996) Ideologies and Political Theory (Oxford UP)
- Claus Offe (1996) Modernity and the State: East and West (Polity)
- Chantal Mouffe (2005) On the Political (Verso)
- Nina Eliasoph (1998) Avoiding Politics (Cambridge UP)
- Peter Mair (2006), 'Ruling the Void? The Hollowing of Western Democracy', New Left Review 42
- Jonathan White (2022), 'The De-institutionalisation of Power beyond the State', European Journal of International Relations 28
- Jonathan White (2019), Politics of Last Resort: Governing by Emergency in the European Union (Oxford UP).
Assessment
Exam (100%), duration: 120 Minutes in the Spring exam period
The summative assessment will take the form of an e-exam in the Spring Term. E-exams are assessments run under invigilated exam conditions on campus. Students will complete the assessment using software downloaded to their personal laptops.
Key facts
Department: European Institute
Course Study Period: Autumn Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 12
Average class size 2024/25: 12
Controlled access 2024/25: YesCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Team working
- Problem solving
- Communication