47353 - Foreign Politics of European Countries

Learning outcomes

The course deals with the foundations and the dynamics of the four major European countries' foreign policy: Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy.  Students should:  gain knowledge of the guidelines of the foreign policy actors since the XIX century; understand the internal factors which determined each country's foreign policy; identify the crucial passages in the evolution of the  foreign policy of the countries under investigation and explain the different impact they had on the respective foreign policy; understand the rationale of the decisions by the foreign policy actors in front of the challenges of the international arena.

Course contents

The course deals with the foundations and the dynamics of the foreign policy of four major European countries: Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy and, more rapidly, European Union.  The focus is on the post-45 period. However, in order to understand the guidelines of the foreign policy's decision-makers, the course devotes particular attention to the conditions and development and national and state building. Different conditions and different developments have in fact an impact on foreign policy. This approach leads to consider the domestic context more relevant than the external one. Consequently, particular attention will be devoted to the political internal debate over the more salient issues and crises, and to the relationship between public opinion and decision-makers.  While the various approaches of the foreign policy analysis will be discussed, the constructivist one will have a preferred status in the analysis. Political culture, ideas, and role identity and perception will be key concepts of the course. After the first week students have to read and report in class the readings . 

Readings/Bibliography

Reading texts for students regularly attending will be assigned weekly.  

Texts for students NOT attending regularly are the following ones:

 a) general  

A. Panebianco, Guerrieri democratici il Mulino 1997  ( cap. 6, 8-11)  

Wendt, Alexander, 'Collective Identity Formation and the International State', American Political Science Review,  (1994) 88: 384-396 

Marcussen, M., et al.,  'Constructing Europe?' Journal of European Public Policy,  (1999) 6 :614-33   

 b) Italy    

 C. Santoro La politica estera di una media potenza, il Mulino 1991  (cap. 2 e 3)    

G. Mammarella, e P. Cacace, La politica estera italiana Laterza ,  edizione 2010. (cap. 5-9)  

O. Croci,  'Not a Zero-Sum Game: Atlanticism and Europeanism in Italian Foreign Policy' The International Spectator, (2008) 43: 137 – 155.    

P. Ignazi, G. Giacomello, e F. Coticchia,  Italiy's Military Operations Abroad. Just Don't Call It War, Palgrave, 2011 (cap. 1).     

 

 c) Germany  

 S.Erb,  German Foreign Policy. Navigating in a new era,  Lynne Rienner 2003  (cap. 1-6)     

  H.W. Maull, 'Germany and the Use of Force: Still a Civilian Power?' Survival, (2000) 42: 56-80.      

   

  d) Great Britain  

P.Mangold, Success and Failure in British foreign policy: evaluating the record, 1990-2000. Palgrave 2001 (cap 1-6)      

C Phillips, W.Wallace, ' Reassessing the special relationship'. International Affairs, (2009) 85: 263-284    

J. Smith 'Missed Opportunity? New Labour's European Policy' International Affairs, 200, 81: 703-721    

Wallace, William, ' Foreign policy and national identity in the United Kingdom' International Affairs, (1991) 67: 65–80.     

 

e) France

   Øivind Bratberg 'Ideas, tradition and norm entrepreneurs: retracing guiding principles of foreign policy in Blair and Chirac's speeches on Iraq' Review of International Studies (2011), 37, 327–348

F. Bozo 'Winners' and Losers': France, the United States, and the End of the Cold War'  Diplomatic History,  (2009) 33: 927-956.  

 

f) UE

Ben Tonra,  'Democratic foundation of EU narratives and the myth of EU exceptionalism' Journal of European Public Policy (2011) 8: 1190-1207

 

 

Teaching methods

The course has a seminar format. All students have to read the papers that will be distributed for each class. Each class will be introduced by a the report presented by a student on the paper(s) assigned.  Then, a general discussion will follow

Assessment methods

Students who attended at least 4/5 of the classes will take, at the end of the course, a short oral exam on the readings of the course.
All the others will take a written exam (4 or 5 questions) on the reading list for non-attending students. Duration of the written exam: 2 hours. Foreign students could write their essays, and the final exam, in French and English, but Italian would be welcomed.

Teaching tools

papers, chapters and other materials

Office hours

See the website of Piero Ignazi