Unit information: Britain and the EU: The Politics of Brexit in 2022/23

Unit name	Britain and the EU: The Politics of Brexit
Unit code	POLI30042
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Perez-Solorzano Borragan
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	N/A
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	N/A
Units you may not take alongside this one	N/A
School/department	School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Unit Information

This unit fills in a gap in SPAIS’ undergraduate curriculum by evaluating the process of the UK’s departure from the EU and its outcome. Specifically, the unit introduces students to the complex and unprecedented process of a member state leaving the European Union. It draws on the case study of the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union (Brexit) and its consequences. In this unit Brexit is conceived of as a critical juncture in the development of European integration with far-reaching consequences for the UK and the EU and their future relationship. The unit traces the nature of British exceptionalism in Europe to provide a context to the June 2016 referendum and its outcome. It discusses the process of leaving the EU in detail by focusing on actors, agendas and balance on power. A solution to the internal border in the island of Ireland and the end to free movement of people in the UK will be analysed in detail in order to unpack the complexity of the Brexit negotiations. Drawing on IPE and IR the unit explores scenarios for the future relationship between the UK and the EU. The unit concludes with an analysis of the impact of Brexit for the EU and an assessment of the scholarly contributions theorising Brexit as European disintegration and de-Europeanisation.

The aim of this unit is to develop students’ critical understanding of:

1. British exceptionalism in Europe.
2. Factors, influences, and actors shaping the outcome of the Brexit referendum.
3. Institutional and power dynamics shaping the Brexit negotiation process under Article 50 TEU
4. The complexity of the Brexit negotiations process.
5. The effect of Brexit on the European Union (institutions, policies, international outlook)
6. The scenarios for a future UK-EU relationship post-Brexit
7. Key scholarly debates in the study of Brexit, their uses and limits.

Your learning on this unit

The Weekly Content for the unit is organised as follows:

Week 13 - Introduction to the Unit

Week 14 - British Exceptionalism in the EU

Week 15 - The 2016 Brexit Referendum

Week 16 - Reading Week

Week 17 - Article 50: Purpose, Content and Implementation

Week 18 - Negotiating Brexit: The EU’s Negotiating Position and Strategy

Week 19 - Negotiating Brexit: The British Government's Negotiating Position and Strategy

Week 20 - The Withdrawal Agreement: the Irish Protocol

Week 21 - Essay Writing Workshop

Week 22 - Negotiating the Future Relationship: Old Dynamics and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Week 23 - The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Content and Implementation

Week 24 - Brexit and its Effects

At the end of this unit students will:

1. Have acquired a knowledge of the causes explaining the UK’s exit from the EU
2. Be able to demonstrate an understanding of the process of negotiating Brexit
3. Be able to demonstrate their critical engagement with key debates that link the UK’s exit from the EU with the development of European integration
4. Be able to demonstrate an understanding of the impact of Brexit on the European Union and on the future relationship between the UK and the EU
5. Be able to demonstrate their ability to integrate theoretical and empirical materials
6. Develop their ability to write articulately, concisely and persuasively
7. Develop their ability to deliver articulate, concise, persuasive and well-paced presentations

ILOs 1-5 & 7 are met by seminar participation and engagement with the weekly asynchronous activities

ILOs 1-6 are met by the formative essay plan and summative essay.

How you will learn

Blended learning for this unit is organised as follows:

- A one-hour introductory lecture in week 13. This is available via Re/play on the left-hand side menu. - Ten two-hour weekly seminars. During the seminars the tutor will introduce the week’s topic and students will be able to engage in intellectual discussion by addressing the proposed issues for debate and evaluating key scholarly contributions. To be able to participate actively in seminars, you need to have prepared the weekly reading. - Weekly online asynchronous tasks (1-2 hours) provided and reviewed by Dr Pérez-Solórzano. These will include tasks relevant to each week built around provocations from the academic and practitioner debate as well as the media. These tasks feed into the development the essay question for the unit’s final assessment.

The learning components organised by week will be available on Blackboard. Thus, for each week there will be:

• Guide questions to support your critical reading of each week's required readings. The readings are available via TALIS
• Weekly online asynchronous activities to support your learning. These will be made available at the start of each week and can be completed in your own time.
• Bonus material available to students who wish to dig deeper into the week's topic and debates.

How you will be assessed

Assessment for the Unit

Formative Assessment

• An 800-word summary of the summative essay.

Summative Assessment

• 1 x 3000 word essay (weighting 100%).

All assignments will assess the learning outcomes for the unit.

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT AND DEADLINE

The formative assessment for this unit is a summary of the essay.

Students are offered the opportunity to submit a short summary of their proposed essay topic. This summary of up to 800 words (excluding bibliography) constitutes the formative assessment for this unit.

The deadline is Monday 24 April 2023. This assignment must be submitted via Blackboard.

The essay summary must include:

1. The question informing the essay and its relevance
2. The key argument or arguments shaping the answer to the proposed question
3. The concepts and theory informing the essay
4. The empirical remit of the essay (the Irish border, for example)
5. The proposed essay structure.

Students will receive written feedback on their summary. The feedback will also provide confirmation about the suitability of the essay question. If the proposed essay question is considered unsuitable, students should meet with the unit owner ASAP to agree on an essay question. This is an exercise aimed at supporting students will summative assignment.

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT AND DEADLINE

The summative assessment for this unit is an essay based around a question selected by each student in close consultation with the unit owner. This decides the final mark for this unit. Full details about all requirements and rules regarding essays – including length (3,000 words), formatting, submission, pass marks, extensions, feedback and resubmissions – are in the SPAIS UG Studies handbook, available on Blackboard.

Submission deadline: TBC.

To write a good essay students are advised to observe the following SPAIS principles:

• Answer the question (don’t just describe and summarise);
• explain in the introduction the context of the question, your basic argument and how the essay will proceed step by step;
• signpost the structure throughout the essay, indicating the logical progression from paragraph to paragraph and section to section;
• the essay must contain a mix of theoretical and empirical material and must address the question directly and relevantly;
• respect the word limit (no longer than 3,000 words long).

If there is a need for a reassessment, this will be of the same type as the original assessment.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. POLI30042).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.