6 ECTS credits
150 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 6016691EEW for working students in the 2nd semester at a (E) Master - advanced level.

Semester
2nd semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Possible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Taught in
English
Faculty
Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool
Department
Political Science
Educational team
Luis Simon Navarro (course titular)
Activities and contact hours

26 contact hours Lecture
Course Content

This course focuses on European foreign policy, i.e. the ‘external dimension’ of European politics, exploring the relationship between Europe and the rest of the world. The course looks at three key issues: the broad policies by which the EU has come to define itself as a foreign policy actor, the tools with which it conducts its external affairs, and the EU’s roadmaps, or strategies that vary depending upon country, region or institution.

All three of these components are explored thematically, i.e. by reviewing the major facets of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, the post-Lisbon transformation to a widened set of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy’ (FASP), including security, defence, trade and development relations, the geopolitics of its Neighbourhood policy, including shifting dynamics with Russia, the US, its eastern and southern neighbors in North Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Additional info

Study Material

  • Module Outline (Available and regularly updated on Canvas)
  • Online Compulsory Weekly texts (Most provided by Module Convenor)
  • Additional Compulsory Weekly texts (Obtained by students, in the form of textbooks, scholarly journals and online articles)
  • Further Readings (Provided by Module Convenor on Canvas for specific themes and Lectures)
  • Weekly slides (Provided by the Convenor available on Canvas)
  • Lecture Notes taken by all students during class
  • Weekly Seminar handouts and Power Points provided by the students (available on Canvas)

Recommended Course Texts

Students are strongly encouraged to obtain a minimum of two from the following:

  • C. Hill & M. Smith (eds.) International Relations and the European Union 2nd Edition (Oxford: OUP, 2010)
  • S. Keukeleire and J. MacNaughton, The Foreign Policy of the European Union, 2nd edition (Palgrave 2012)
  • F. Cameron, An Introduction to European Foreign Policy, 2nd edition (Routledge 2012)
  • C. Bretherton& J. Vogler, The European Union as a Global Actor, 2ndEdition (London: Routledge, 2006)
  • R. Youngs, Europe’s Decline and Fall: The Struggle against Global Irrelevance , (London, Profile Books, 2010)
  • S. Biscop and J.J. Andersson (eds) The EU and the European Security Strategy ‘Forging a Global Europe’ Routledge (2008).
  • R. Whitman and S. Wolff (eds.), The European Neighbourhood Policy in Perspective: Context, Implementation and Impact (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010).
  • T. Balzacq,(ed.) The External Dimension of EU Justice and Home Affairs: Governance, Neighbours, Security’, (Palgrave, 2009)
  • C. Meyer, The Quest for a European Strategic Culture: Changing Norms on Security and Defence in the European Union (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan 2006)
  • R. Dannreuther (ed) European Union Foreign and Security Policy, 2nd edition (Routledge, London)
  • D. Mahncke, A. Ambos and C. Reynolds (eds), European Foreign Policy: From Rhetoric to Reality?  (PIE Peter Lang, Brussels, College of Europe Studies, No. 1., 2004, or second edition if available)
  • Walter Carlsnaes, Helene Sjursen & Brian White, Contemporary European Foreign Policy(Sage Publishers, 2004)
Learning Outcomes

Algemene competenties

Having completed the module, students will be able to proficiently and professionally:

  • Demonstrate a strong working knowledge of the conceptual underpinnings of realism, liberalism and constructivism as they pertain to the working practices of EU institutions and the ethos of EU foreign policies.
  • Engage in theoretical discourse on such issues as normative power, the capability/expectations gap, and fortress Europe;
  • Analyze and explain the development of key external economic (trade and development) and political policies of the European Union from EPC to post Lisbon eras, and assess their impact on the rest of the world;
  • Explain the transformation of EU foreign policy instruments, modes and diplomacy from Maastricht to Lisbon;
  • Explain the development and transformation of CFSP and ESDP to FASP and CSDP, critically analyzing the nature of ‘power and presence’ gained by the EU accordingly. 
  • Critically analyze the specific role enlargement and Neighborhood policy has played in expanding the EU’s remit.
  • Explain the growth of ‘new foreign policy’ areas including climate change and energy security and the way in which the EU operates in these areas.
  • Provide a strong overview of bilateral and regional relations between the EU and strategic partners including US, Russia, BRICS, Canada, GCC, Mercosur, ASEAN, etc as well as key security actors like NATO, and major IOs like the UN.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 80% of the final mark.
Other Exam determines 20% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Written Exam with a relative weight of 50 which comprises 50% of the final mark.
  • Briefing Note with a relative weight of 30 which comprises 30% of the final mark.

Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Presentation with a relative weight of 20 which comprises 20% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Assessment

  • Two x  0 Minute Seminar Presentation (1/ per term): 20%
  • 2,500 Word EU Foreign Policy Briefing Note (2nd term): 30%
  • Final 3 hour Written Exam (2nd term): 50%
Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of European Integration: Track 2: European Economy - European External Relations and Security Policy
Master of European Integration: Track 5: European External Relations and Security Policy - Migration and Europe
Master of European Integration: Track 6: European Environmental Governance - European External Relations and Security Policy