Over the past half-century, the European Union (EU) has become the most advanced example of regional integration and pooling of sovereignty in the world. As it has evolved, the EU has not only taken over many internal legislative and regulatory functions from its constituent member states, it has also started to behave as an international actor in its own right. This course examines the ways in which the peculiar attributes of the EU influence the way it behaves on the international stage, analyzes the specific policies it pursues in different regions of the world, and studies the obstacles it faces due to current challenges in Europe.
We begin with a brief crash course on the EU’s history, institutional development, and current external policy architecture. Then we explore the predicaments the EU faces due to its status as neither a state, nor a traditional international organization. We investigate how the EU can ensure it acts coherently, develops capabilities to enact its preferences, and is viewed as a legitimate international actor by other players in the international arena. The class then turns to specific issue areas of EU external action, to illustrate these dilemmas through various policy areas such as trade, development, cross-border regulatory measures, and military interventions. We end the course by delving deeper into a few case studies to apply the concepts of the course to specific examples. Throughout the course, we survey current challenges facing Europe, and discuss ways that populism, political instability, and other contemporary events may influence the future of the EU as a global actor.
The reading load for the course is quite heavy: around 200 pages per week. There are four books to purchase, the rest of the readings will be posted to Canvas as PDFs. Grading is based on a policy memo (15%), a background memo (15%) tied to an in-class simulation of an EU meeting (10%), a final research paper (30%), a presentation of your final project (10%), and class participation (20%).