“Parliaments of Europe: foreign policy and democracy promotion” LUISS School of Government Rome, 14-24 July 2015

Summer School "Parliamentary Democracy in Europe"

(Jean Monnet Module n. 529931 –LLP -2012 – IT – AJM – MO)

4th Edition
“Parliaments of Europe: foreign policy and democracy promotion”
LUISS School of Government

Rome, 14-24 July 2015

Application deadline 4 May 2015
Globalization, the intensification of international relations, and ongoing regional integration processes have called Parliaments in Europe, that is national parliaments and the European Parliament, to adjust their traditional functions, organization and role to deal with these phenomena. Moreover, these parliaments have increasingly strengthened their oversight role on foreign policy and to promote democracy at an international level.

Parliaments have been usually marginalized in foreign policy, a traditionally exclusive domain of the executive branch. Yet, since the end of WWII and the beginning of the European integration process – and even more so since the fall of the Berlin wall – national parliaments and the European Parliament have start to play an important role in the international scene, which is acknowledged by Treaties, constitutions and legislation.

Such a role can be direct, when parliaments take part in the international or supranational decision-making through ad hoc bodies set up within regional organizations or when they operate as real actors in foreign policy, for example in order to expedite crisis resolutions. The European and national parliaments can also play an indirect role through the oversight and scrutiny of the executive, for instance regarding the conclusion of international agreements and the protection of fundamental rights.

While, especially in Europe, this new international dimension of parliamentary activity is deemed to enhance the democratic legitimacy of intergovernmental procedures, at the same time it poses a series of challenges. It must be ascertained, for example, whether parliaments are really effective in this field compared with courts and executives; whether there is an added value deriving from parliamentary 'diplomacy' and interparliamentary institutions; if and to what extent parliaments can interfere with foreign policy.

This summer school untangles these issues and provides its participants with a map of the current state of democracy on a global scale, under the perspective of the parliaments of Europe, by looking at their powers, functions, and inter-institutional relations in the field of foreign policy and democracy promotion.

Participants will be provided with knowledge and expertise that will allow them to understand and interpret the complex and fascinating role of these institutions. The need to combine theory with practice in understanding the future of Europe's democracy and the role of the European Union as a global actor is reflected in the Faculty, which includes world-class academics and experienced officials from European and national institutions.

This Summer School has been awarded as a Jean Monnet module co-financed by the European Commission in 2013, 2014, 2015.

This intensive summer course is organised in cooperation with:

LUISS Centre for Parliamentary Studies, that undertakes multidisciplinary research initiatives concerning the organisation and activities of the Italian Senate and Chamber of Deputies, Regional Parliaments and the European Parliament.
CEUR Foundation, set up in 1990 by a group of Professors, entrepreneurs and professionals and it is an institution aimed at educating and promoting culture by offering young people attending the university the best conditions to successfully build their own future.
International Political Science Association (IPSA), established in 1949 under the aegis of UNESCO, IPSA fosters the development of political science and public policy by supporting academic networks linking East and West, North and South. Its strategic aim is to create a global political science community allowing everybody to participate.
PADEMIA is a Europe-wide network of 56 academic institutions from 31 countries to promote research and teaching in reaction to growing European demands to study parliamentary democracy in Europe. PADEMIA seeks to enhance discussion among students, junior and senior researchers, also in exchange with stakeholders, on how to deal with the new challenges that parliaments and citizens across Europe are facing today.
SciencesPo - Centre d'études européennes, Founded in 2005, the Centre d'études européennes is one of the nine research centres of Sciences Po. Its scientific project rests on a multidisciplinary and transversal approach to policy and politics. Its principal fields of research unfold into three transversal axes: to understand the European construction and its impact, to grasp the policy/politics articulation, and to invest in methodological questions.
ULB, Université Libre de Bruxelles, The Université libre de Bruxelles has 13 faculties, schools and specialized institutes that cover all the disciplines, closely combining academic input and research. It offers almost 40 undergraduate programmes and 235 graduate programmes. It also partners 20 Doctoral schools, with almost 1,600 PhD in progress. One of the University's main aims is to give its students a solid foundation in critical thinking as well as a taste for research, while at the same time catering to the needs of new publics.
The Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies been set up in the Spring of 2007 as an exciting new interdisciplinary research centre of the humanities and social sciences at the KU Leuven. The aim is to make high-quality, innovative and policy-relevant contributions to the study of globalization, governance processes and multilateralism with a particular focus on the European Union's role in global governance. In 2010, the Centre has been recognized as a KU Leuven Centre of Excellence and has attracted numerous research projects at the Flemish, Belgian, European and international levels, and regularly conducts studies for governments, EU institutions and international organizations.

http://sog.luiss.it/graduate-and-summer-programs/summer-school-parliamentary-democracy-europe