The subject of this study was an attempt to discover whether and to what extent core-periphery theory can be used to describe international economic relations in the process of creating a global knowledge-based economy. To this aim the most important core-periphery theory theses were selected and tested empirically. The following results were obtained: (1) Over time the profitability of leading products falls and their production is transferred to the periphery – thesis supported. (2) This brings benefits not only to the investors but also to the societies of core nations; it counteracts a fall in living standards among groups affected by unemployment or real wage decreases and indirectly promotes political stability in core nations – thesis supported. (3) Capitalism in the core is of a financial nature – based on speculation – thesis supported. (4) Financial speculation in the core leads to political destabilisation of the periphery – thesis supported. (5) The greater participation of periphery nations in the international economic system, the greater losses they suffer – thesis unsupported. (6) the greater benefits to the core nations – thesis unsupported.

This paper provides an introduction to the symposium on teaching European Studies. It draws out a number of common themes explored in the papers and places these within the context of wider debates relating to both the teaching and learning of European Studies.

This article analyses the impact of the use of synchronous e-learning tools on educators, in terms of achieving their teaching goals, taking as a case study the webinar series on current European Union affairs of the Institute of European Studies in Brussels. There is currently a gap in researching the use of technology-enhanced learning in social sciences, and this article aims at filling this gap by evaluating the pedagogical experience of teaching European Studies, a complex interdisciplinary field, through web-based seminars (webinars).

In recent years there has been a growing effort to trace the developments of political science in different countries through the analysis of articles published in academic journals. Building on existing literature on the history of the discipline, this contribution provides an attempt to produce a quantitatively informed description of political science publishing in Portugal from 2000 to 2012. Results show that the yearly output in national journals increased notably, mainly driven by international relations and comparative politics. A strong majority of articles are authored by researchers from domestic institutions. Nevertheless, the period under analysis witnessed an expanding scope beyond the domestic case and an increasing comparative focus.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the need of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) to provide services for its members to assist them in the provision of teaching and learning supports for their students. Moreover, this article outlines what the newly established ECPR standing group, Teaching and Learning Politics, can do to support ECPR members in their teaching role. It begins by discussing the perceived need for advancing political science education in Europe. The article continues by describing previous activities of the ECPR and of the European Political Science Network in promoting the teaching and learning of politics. It provides a comparison of the ‘teaching and learning’ support activities in Europe and the United States. Finally, the article introduces the newly established standing group of the ECPR, Teaching and Learning Politics, and outlines its activities and plans to support political science teachers, in particular beginner teachers, in Europe.

Opposing the increasing importance of quantitative data in society is the observation that many students in the social sciences have a fear of quantitative methods. To ensure math-averse students acquire the necessary quantitative skills, we propose a curriculum-based approach whereby a Learning Trajectory of Quantitative Methods (LTQM) is integrated in the non-methodological courses of the programme. A structured integration of such methods can ensure repeated exposure to applications of such methods in a context of their interests. Moreover, the use of a learning trajectory enables students to encounter ‘learning activities’ with gradual increasing complexity providing stepping stones rather than stumbling blocks. This article describes the LTQM and discusses both lecturer and student experiences with the proposed innovation thereby providing an in-depth assessment of the benefits and challenges with the integration of a curriculum-wide learning trajectory.

Political science in European universities is often seen as having traditional signature pedagogy but pockets of innovation have become increasingly common. This article will outline and reflect upon two projects at University College Cork, which were designed to increase student engagement and create an active learning environment. The projects brought students directly into contact with the national political arena and, in particular, with contemporary debates on political reform, which have dominated political discourse in Ireland since the economic crash of late 2008. The projects presented students with (1) the opportunity to make an oral and/or written submission to a committee of the national parliament, which held a public session at the University and (2) publish a peer-reviewed article in an online undergraduate research journal and participate in an academic conference. The projects were designed with active and participatory learning at their core and feedback from participating students and staff indicated that these goals were achieved. The level of student engagement, however, in terms of the participating numbers was lower than expected, which brings some caution about students’ perceived enthusiasm for active forms of learning.

There is an often-noted gap between political scientists and policymakers. This article examines the related but less investigated gap between political scientists and the engaged public. Reasons for the gap are explored by making inferences about public preferences through an examination of New York Times non-fiction bestsellers on politics from 1985 to 2009. The analysis suggests that although non-fiction readers have an interest in a wide range of political issues, political scientists often fail to reach the engaged public for several reasons, such as due to the public’s increasing consumption of books of a partisan or ideological nature versus the norm of objectivity in academic research. On the basis of an examination of bestsellers on politics, this study explores the nature of the engaged public – political science divide and considers ways of potentially bridging the gap.

This article asks whether student peer advisors can contribute to curriculum ‘internationalisation’ through their role in promoting and supporting student mobility. We conducted a single case study of Erasmus student mobility at Loughborough University between 2010–2012, and our experiment offers a perspective on the possible futures of European Studies, where the decline of foreign language learning may find compensation in the internationalisation of the curriculum via the opportunity for study mobility abroad.

This article explores the work of the UK Political Studies Association Teaching and Learning Specialist Group in promoting the development of teaching and learning. It was prompted by the invitation to take part in a panel on ‘Advancing Political Science Education in Europe’ at the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) 6th General Conference held in Reykjavik in August 2011. It begins with a brief overview of scholarship relating to political studies teaching, before turning to consider the activities of the Teaching and Learning Group. The article sets the work of the Group within the context of other bodies that promote learning and teaching such as the Higher Education Academy, before presenting some concluding observations on the potential for future collaboration at a European level.

This article reviews the work of the American Political Science Association in support of teaching and learning within the discipline. It draws from a variety of sources in which this agenda is elaborated, with three goals in mind: to characterise the wide variety of activities the Association has in place, to touch on the history of those efforts, and to put these activities into the broader context of the role of a learned society.

This article addresses and observes the crisis of Western democracy through the lens of the weakness of parties and party government, especially at the European Union (EU) level. Social stratification changes, global trends and ultimately the sustained economic crisis have placed political parties atthe national and the EU level under enormous strain. Moreover, demands posed by the crisis on national governments by the EU have generated conflicting interests of different member states. The resulting development of Horizontal Euroscepticism has made intergovernmental decision making, which has represented the backbone of the EU legitimacy up to now, extremely problematic and has posed the need for rethinking democracy in multi-level Europe, ultimately by strengthening supranational democracy through the creation of a form of party government at the EU level as well.

Over the past decade, the use of web-based learning has increased, as has reliance on internet-based communication tools and learning environments. On the basis of a short study at Canterbury Christ Church University, this article will look at student use of Blackboard and the potential use of Facebook in higher education.

This article summarises a part of the findings of a larger explorative research that investigates the way in which various representations of national political science(s)/studies tradition and community are negotiated and transformed through interaction, with a focus on the impact of international mobility on political science canon-building. Through a case study on Romania and mostly discourse analysis tools, it examines in particular the competing discourses on (1) what is considered prestigious and scientifically desirable for a national political science community, and (2) what a national political science tradition should be about in relation with the rest of the scholarly world.

Skills and employability are increasingly viewed as crucial issues in curriculum design and teaching, while simultaneously perceived as potentially detrimental to academic standards. This article comparatively analyses the current European employability agenda and how it was implemented in Britain and the Netherlands. In addition, this article critically reflects on the challenges and opportunities of integrating such an agenda into an EU study curriculum, by drawing on practical examples from the universities of Maastricht and Newcastle.