Special Topics: European Foreign and Security Policy in Times of Crisis

Catalog description

European integration has been one of the most decisive developments since the Second World War. Europe was destroyed and the main question was how to avoid a new war in Europe in the light of the Cold War. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 Europe has experienced a remarkable transformation with significant consequences for the region’s most important intergovernmental organization, the European Union. Externally, the EU has slowly been emerging as a major player on the world scene, while internally the system attempts to strike a balance between continued enlargement and further political integration. A plethora of external security challenges and shifting foreign policy dynamics confronts Europe today: migration, the Russo-Ukrainian war, disinformation and cybersecurity issues, energy security, and climate change. The course aims to provide students with the opportunity to engage in debates and scholarship on the foreign policy and security decisions facing Europe in the 21st century. Accordingly, the course will systematically look at the processes behind EU institutions and national governments in consolidating a common response to international challenges: peacekeeping missions, migrant coordination mechanisms, promotion of democracy and human rights protection, cooperation on climate change and energy security, EU-NATO relations, strategic partnerships with China and India.