B5582 - EUROPEAN UNION AS A GLOBAL ACTOR

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

This course analyses the European Union as a global actor, structured into two main parts. The first part (weeks 1–6), delivered through lectures, focuses on key turning points in the historical evolution of EU foreign policy. It covers conceptual frameworks for understanding the EU as a global actor, the foreign policy architecture and decision-making processes, and major policy areas including the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), enlargement, trade, development, and humanitarian aid.

The second part (weeks 7–10), organised as seminars, explores specific case studies of EU foreign policy, including the EU’s response to the Russian war against Ukraine, its relations with Turkey, Western Balkan countries, Eastern and Southern neighbours, major powers, and multilateral organisations.

This course is offered in the second semester and is intended for graduate students who have already completed foundational courses on the EU.

 

Classes and Readings

PART I: PROCESS, CONCEPTS, 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; Conceptualising and Analysing 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?’, Journal of Common Market Studies, 21(2): 149–164

• Manners, I. (2002), ‘Normative Power Europe: A Contradiction in Terms?’, Journal of Common Market Studies, 40(2): 235–258

• Kagan, R. (2002), ‘Power and Weakness’, Policy Review, June/July: 3–28

• Olsen, J.P. (2002), ‘The Many Faces of Europeanization’, Journal of Common Market Studies, 40(5): 921–952

Weeks 3–4 (8 hours): The EU Foreign Policy System: Actors and Policy-Making

Mandatory readings:

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

• Baracani, E. and Santini, L. (2023), ‘The European Parliament’s Political Leadership: The Case Study of EU Foreign Policy towards Turkey’, Journal of Common Market Studies, 16(5): 1377–1393 (open access)

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

Mandatory readings:

• Keukeleire, S. and Delreux, T. (2022), The Foreign Policy of the EU, Bloomsbury Academic, chapters 6, 7, 8, 9

• The Strategic Compass

 

PART II: CASE STUDIES

Week 7 (4 hours): The EU Response to the Russian Aggression against Ukraine

Mandatory readings:

• Baracani, E. (2023), ‘Ideational Agenda-Setting Leadership: President von der Leyen and the EU Response to the Invasion of Ukraine’, West European Politics (open access)

• Orenstein, M.A. (2023), ‘The European Union’s Transformation after Russia’s Attack on Ukraine’, Journal of European Integration, 45(3): 333–342

• Meissner, K. & Graziani, C. (2023), ‘The Transformation and Design of EU Restrictive Measures against Russia’, Journal of European Integration, 45(3): 377–394

• Anghel, V. & Džankić, J. (2023), ‘Wartime EU: Consequences of the Russia–Ukraine War on the Enlargement Process’, Journal of European Integration, 45(3): 487–501

Week 8 (4 hours): EU Foreign Policy towards Turkey and the Western Balkans

Mandatory readings:

• Young, R. (2021), The European Union and Global Politics, Red Globe Press, chapter 7

• Smeets, S. and Beach, D. (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. Castelli (eds.), Solutions and Failures in Identity-based Conflicts: The Autonomy of Trentino-South Tyrol in Comparative Perspective, Fondazione Bruno Kessler Press, pp. 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 9 (4 hours): EU Relations with Eastern and Southern Neighbours; EU Relations with Major Powers

Mandatory readings:

• Keukeleire, S. and Delreux, T. (2022), The Foreign Policy of the EU, Bloomsbury Academic, chapters 10, 11

• 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

• 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

• Hennessy, A. (2023), ‘The Impact of Russia’s War against Ukraine on Sino-European Relations’, Journal of European Integration, 45(3): 559–575

Week 10 (2 hours): EU Relations with Multilateral Organizations

Mandatory readings:

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

 

Readings/Bibliography

- All the readings are the same for attending and non-attending students

- A detailed list of mandatory readings, for each lecture, is provided in the course contents

- The main textbook is: Keukeleire, S. and Delreux, T. (2022), The Foreign Policy of the EU, Bloomsbury Academic

Teaching methods

- First part: traditional lectures

- Second part: seminar activity

- During each class, students' participation will be encouraged

Assessment methods

Requirements to be considered attending students:

1. Attend at least 14 out of 20 classes (70% attendance)

2. Participate in a group presentation on topics from the second part of the program

Attending students are kindly requested to enroll as participants of the course on virtuale.unibo.it to facilitate attendance tracking.

For attending students, the final course grade is based on:

1. A written exam covering the first part of the program.
   This exam takes place at the end of the course during a pre-appello session and in all subsequent sessions until September (inclusive).
   Please note that this exam can only be taken once; however, students may attend multiple sessions and withdraw before the exam ends.
   If a student neither withdraws nor accepts the grade, they will be required to take the exam as a non-attending student (see below).
   The exam consists of one long-answer question and lasts 1 hour.

2. Up to 2 additional points for class participation and the group presentation on the second part of the program.

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

• The final course grade is based on a single written exam covering both parts of the program.

• The exam consists of two long-answer questions and lasts 2 hours.

EXCHANGE STUDENTS:
This course is open exclusively to exchange students enrolled in Master’s level degree programs.

Teaching tools

The instructor’s PowerPoint presentations will be made available at the end of each week on virtuale.unibo.it.

Group presentations will be scheduled during the first part of the course, once the final list of attending students is confirmed.

Students with DSA or temporary or permanent disabilities are advised to contact the relevant University office well in advance (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it ). It is the office’s responsibility to propose any necessary accommodations to the students concerned. However, such adaptations must be submitted to the instructor for approval at least 15 days prior, who will assess their suitability in relation to the course’s educational objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Elena Baracani