Prospectus

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Europe on the World Stage: the development of the EU’s foreign, security and defence policies

Course
2015-2016

Admission requirements

Admission to the Master International Relations, track European Union Studies.

Description

The course will focus on the efforts to develop European foreign, security and defence policies, in the context of continuing European integration, changing transatlantic relations and increasing instability in Europe’s neighbouring regions, such as Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. What are European interests, what threats do they face and how does the EU respond to these? What are the EU’s ambitions and capacities? Will the EU be able to become a global player in these domains? The course will trace historical developments from Western European Union, the failed efforts to set up an European defence community, European Political Cooperation, the pillar structure of the Treaty of Maastricht to the European Convention, and current efforts at a more integrated approach under the Treaty of Lisbon. In the defence field attention will be paid to the European Defence Agency’s role in combining military requirements, research and technology, procurement and evaluation and the current focus on ‘pooling and sharing’. The complex institutional set up and process of decision making on CFSP and CSDP will be analysed. Case studies of European missions in different crisis areas will be made in conjunction with student papers. The same applies to the role of the major players within the EU and of the US.

Course objectives

The course aims at increasing awareness and understanding of the scope and limitations of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy and its Common Security and Defence Policy Students will learn to analyse specific crises in which the EU is involved, its complex institutional structure and the role of individual countries, including the US.

Timetable

See the website.

Mode of instruction

Seminar.

Course Load

Total course load for the course: 5 EC is 140 hours.

  • Hours spent on attending lectures: 4 hours per week x 6 weeks = 24 hours

  • Time for studying the compulsory literature and preparation for the lectures: 6 hours per week x 6 = 36 hours

  • Preparation for the paper: 80 hours

Assessment method

  • Participation 20%

  • Presentation 20%

  • Paper 60%

Retake paper: resubmit three weeks after the grade has been made known. In order to be eligible for the retake paper, students have to have failed the course.

Blackboard

Yes, see Blackboard.

Reading list

A reading list will be distributed before the start of the course.

Registration

Via uSis.

Contact

Prof.dr. H.A. Schaper