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Business & Politics in the E.U.: Courses

The program consists of approximately 30 hours of formal classroom lectures, plus approximately 50 hours spent on field trips. Three semester credits are awarded. Students are responsible for reading and analyzing assigned problems and cases after the related topics have been explained. Attendance at all classes and visits is mandatory. To meet requirements for 3 credits, students must complete a term paper together with a mid-term exam in Paris and a final exam in Berlin.

Transcripts are issued by Richmond, the American International University in London. Students must write to the Registrar of the University if they would like transcripts sent to the U.S. (further details are provided during the program).

Grades No AIFS participant is permitted to take a course without receiving a letter grade. Pass/Fail grade options are not available.

Graduate students may enroll in this program. If they wish to obtain graduate credit, they must make prior arrangements with their home university.

A specialist in European affairs accompanies the group throughout. The program includes visits of interest to students of finance, marketing, economics and political science.

INB 308 (3 credits)
The European Union, Business and Politics

The course is designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to current commercial, financial, political and economic situations in Europe with emphasis on the further development of the European Union, the euro and European integration. It is developed in three sections:

International Trade and Finance in the European Union (EU)
Explores principles of international finance and practical aspects of trading within the European Union and between the EU and other trade blocs. Exchange rates and their control, the European monetary system, the euro and monetary integration, financial institutions and balance of payments issues are explored in a European context. In addition, the recent introduction of the euro as a strong international currency and the case for Britain’s membership in the Euro group are examined.

Marketing in Europe
Principles of international marketing are the focus of this part of the course. An appreciation of cultural differences and their implications for successful marketing is developed through lectures, case studies and visits. European practices and methods in advertising, sales promotion, distribution, retailing, packaging and product design are examined. Demographic features of chief European markets are examined for the concept of the “European consumer.”

European Union Institutions
As background to the above topics, development of decision-making processes, European Union institutions and administrative machinery are discussed. Problems of commercial integration and future EU development are considered, including implications of the Maastricht treaty, the quest for a common foreign and security policy and membership expansion issues. The concept of a “Federal Europe” and the enhancement of powers of the European Parliament are also discussed.

By the end of the course students will have:

  • Understood the origins of the EU, its history and development to the point of enlargement
  • Developed an insight and understanding of the institutions and political organizations of the EU
  • Learned how business and trade are financed and conducted both internally and externally by the organizations of the EU
  • Understood the impact of the social and cultural influences brought about by the enlargement of the EU

Background reading

Students should prepare by reading about the European Union, particularly historical background, Union institutions and creation of the single European market. Any recent texts on the EU can be used. Recommended reading includes:

Hitchcock, William I. - The Struggle for Europe: the turbulent history of a divided continent 1945-2002 (Profile Books 2004), Warleigh, Alex - European Union: the Basics (Routledge 2004), Leonard, Mark - Why Europe will Run the 21st Century (Fourth Estate 2005)

Neil Nugent’s The Government and Politics of the European Union, Duke University Press, latest edition; D. Dinan’s Ever Closer Union? An Introduction to the European Union; J. McCormick’s Understanding the European Union, Oxford University Press (2002); and Neil and Barbezat’s The Economics of the European Union and The Economics of Europe, Oxford University Press, latest editions.

It is suggested that students purchase at least one of the texts to provide a core of background reading.