B1605 - THE EU AS A GLOBAL ACTOR

Academic Year 2022/2023

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in International Relations (cod. 9084)

    Also valid for Second cycle degree programme (LM) in International Relations (cod. 9084)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students should be able to: • Analyze and interpret the role played by the European Union in different foreign policy areas and towards different geographic areas • Evaluate the main challenges and opportunities of the EU's role in world politics • Compare the EU with other international actors

Course contents

The course analyses the EU's role in world politics. The analysis will be conducted in two main parts. The first part (week 1-6), organized in lectures, will be focused on the key turning points in the historical evolution of EU foreign policy, conceptualizing and theorizing the EU as a global actor, the foreign policy architecture and policy-making, and the main foreign policy areas (CFSP, CSDP, enlargement, trade, development, and humanitarian aid). The second part (week 7-10), organized in seminars, will address specific case studies of EU foreign policy, such as EU foreign policy towards Turkey, the Western Balkan countries, ENP partners, major powers, and multilateral organizations.


Classes and readings:


PART I: PROCESS, THEORIES, AND ACTORS


Weeks 1-2 (8 hours):
- Introduction to the course
- The Nature of the EU as a Global Actor
- European Integration and Foreign Policy
- Theorizing EU foreign policy


Mandatory readings:
- Keukeleire, S. and Delreux, T. (2022), The Foreign Policy of the EU, Bloomsbury Academic, chapters 1, 2, 13
- Duchêne, D. (1972), ‘Europe's Role in World Peace', in R. Mayne, ed. Europe Tomorrow: Sixteen Europeans Look Ahead, Collins, pp. 32-47
- Bull, H. (1982), 'Civilian power Europe: a contradiction in terms?', in Journal of Common Market Studies, 21(2): 149-164
- Manners, I. (2002), 'Normative power Europe: a contradiction in terms?', in Journal of Common Market Studies, 40(2): 235-258
- Kagan, R. (2002), 'Power and Weakness', in Policy Review, June/July: 3-28


Weeks 3-4 (8 hours):
- EU Foreign Policy System: Actors, policy-making, and principles

Mandatory readings:
- Keukeleire, S. and Delreux, T. (2022), The Foreign Policy of the EU, Bloomsbury Academic, chapters 3, 4 and 5


Weeks 5-6 (8 hours):
- The Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy
- Enlargement, trade, development, and humanitarian aid
- The external dimension of internal policies
- The concept of external Europeanization


Mandatory readings:
- Keukeleire, S. and Delreux, T. (2022), The Foreign Policy of the EU, Bloomsbury Academic, chapters 6, 7, 8, 9
- Olsen, J.P. (2002), ‘The Many Faces of Europeanization’, in Journal of Common Market Studies, 40(5): 921-952
- Schimmelfennig, F. (2012), ‘Eu External Governance and Europeanization Beyond the Eu’, in D. Levi-Faur ed., The Oxford Handbook of Governance, Oxford University Press


PART II: CASE STUDIES


Week 7 (4 hours):

- EU foreign policy towards Turkey and the Western Balkans (2 case studies)

Mandatory readings:
- Young, R. (2021), The European Union and Global Politics, Red Globe Press, chapter 7
- Smeets, S. and D. Beach (2020), 'When success is an orphan: informal institutional governance and the EU-Turkey deal', West European Politics, 43(1): 129-158
- Baracani, E. and Calimli, M. (2016), 'Evaluating Effectiveness in EU Democracy Promotion: The Case of Turkey', Rivista Italiana di Politiche Pubbliche, 3/2016: 427-455
- Baracani, E. and Morgan, P. (2014), 'The Cyprus Conflict and the Failure of Its Europeanization', in F. Andreatta e E. Castelli (eds.) Solutions and Failures in Identity-based Conflicts. The Autonomy of Trentino-South Tyrol in Comparative Perspective, Fondazione Bruno Kessler Press, 137-156
- Belloni, R. (2019), The Rise and Fall of Peacebuilding in the Balkans, Palgrave, chapter 1
- Baracani, E. (2020), 'Evaluating EU Actorness as a State-Builder in ‘Contested’ Kosovo', Geopolitics, 25(2): 362-386


Week 8 (4 hours):

- EU foreign policy towards the neighbourhood (2 case studies)

Mandatory readings:
- Keukeleire, S. and Delreux, T. (2022), The Foreign Policy of the EU, Bloomsbury Academic, chapter 10
- Young, R. (2021), The European Union and Global Politics, Red Globe Press, chapters 10 and 11
- Schumacher, T. et al. (2017), The Routledge Handbook on the European Neighbourhood Policy, chapters 2 and 3


Week 9 (4 hours):

- EU foreign policy towards major powers (2 case studies)

Mandatory readings:
- Keukeleire, S. and Delreux, T. (2022), The Foreign Policy of the EU, Bloomsbury Academic, chapter 11
- Casier, T. (2020), ‘Not on Speaking Terms, but Business as Usual: The Ambiguous Coexistence of Conflict and Cooperation in EU-Russia Relations’, East European Politics, 36(4): 529-543,
- Geeraerts, G. (2019), ‘The EU-China partnership: balancing between divergence and convergence’, Asia Europe Journal, 17: 281–294


Week 10 (4 hours):

- The EU and multilateral organizations (2 case studies)

Mandatory readings:
- Keukeleire, S. and Delreux, T. (2022), The Foreign Policy of the EU, Bloomsbury Academic, chapter 12

Readings/Bibliography

- A detailed list of mandatory readings, for each lecture, is provided in the course contents
- All the readings are the same for attending and non-attending students

Teaching methods

- Traditional lectures and seminars
- Students are encouraged to attend every session regularly and to participate at seminar activities
- During each class, active participation will be encouraged
- Students are expected to participate constructively with questions and comments to highlight important aspects of the topics at stake

Assessment methods

For attending students:

- Attending students are expected to be present at least for 14/20 classes (70%) and to take part into seminar activities
- Detailed information on the seminar activities will be provided at the beginning of the course
- The course grade is based on participation (10%), presentation in the framework of the seminar activity (30%), written exam on the first part of the program (60%)
- The written exam consists of 1 long answer question (exam duration 1 hour)

For non-attending students, and attending students who refuse the grade of the written exam:

- The course grade is based on a single written exam on both parts of the program
- The exam consists of 2 long answer questions (exam duration 2 hours)

ERASMUS STUDENTS: it is not possible to take this course as non-attending students

Teaching tools

- The instructor's power point presentations will be available at the end of each week on virtuale.unibo.it
- Instructions on the readings and on the seminar activities will be provided at the beginning of the course

Office hours

See the website of Elena Baracani

SDGs

No poverty Reduced inequalities Climate Action Peace, justice and strong institutions

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.