External Relations of the European Union: Common Foreign and Security Policy - Einzelansicht

This course is part of the module Politics in the European Union and extends on the course Entwicklung und Entwicklungspolitik Europas. The external relations of the European Union (EU), broadly defined, include enlargement and neighbourhood policy, trade as well as development policy. At the centre of external relations, narrowly defined, remain foreign policy and issues of security and defence as the key concerns of nation states in the international system. Given that the EU is not a nation state, albeit having assumed some kind of statehood, foreign and security issues provide for important theoretical and empirical puzzles in the process of European integration. Hence, this course provides an introduction to these puzzles by focussing on the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).

The main objective of the course is to familiarise students with the institutional framework and decision making processes in the CFSP. Given that the EU has assumed some kind of statehood without being a nation state, the question of ‘actorness’ is crucial for understanding how the EU responds to contemporary challenges in the international system. In order to analyse institutions and decisions in the context of the CFSP, different theoretical frameworks will be introduced (theories of European integration, international relations theory, governance). Through multiple theories, different facets of the CFSP will be analysed.

Another important objective of the course is to practice academic skills with a view to writing an argumentative paper in English. Hence, students have to complete a number of small assignments throughout the semester. By completing these assignments, parts of the paper will be developed along the course, e.g. defining research question, writing literature review, presenting draft. Regular feedback will be an essential element of the course as these parts will be presented and discussed in class.

The mandatory reading includes

Keukeleire, S. and T. Delreux (2014). The Foreign Policy of the European Union

Howorth, J. (2014). Security and Defence Policy in the European Union

Students are expected to find additional primary and secondary sources for the discussions in class and for presentations in relation to term papers.

A detailed syllabus listing class sessions and the respective literature will be provided in the first session.

In order to pass the course, students will have to complete the assignments and write a term paper on a topic of their choice presenting a theoretical and/or normative argument substantiated with evidence stemming from primary and secondary sources.