Document Type

Graduate Syllabus

Date

Fall 2009

School

Diplomacy

Course Number

DIPL 6401 AA

Course Description

In 1952, six European countries agreed to set up the European Coal and Steel Community. Six years later, they formed the European Economic Community (EEC). The EEC has now evolved into a 27 member European Union which combines features of a state with those of an intergovernmental organization and is active in a wide range of policy areas including economic and monetary policy, employment and social policy, justice and home affairs and foreign policy. The Union has more inhabitants and a higher GDP than the United States and its presence as a global actor in international trade, financial, development and security institutions can no longer be ignored. The purpose of this course is to explore the development, evolution, institutions, actors, political processes, and policies of the European Union. .Particular attention will be given to the elements of its EU international “actorness”, decision-making processes, specific policy instruments and impact through an examination such selected policy areas as money and finance including the budget, agriculture and fisheries, social matters, the environment, trade, development and humanitarian assistance and external security and defense.

More specifically, the aims of the course are :to enable students

to develop a conceptual, and practical understanding of the European Union as a distinct and unique international actor;

to be cognizant of the role of EU members and non-Union members in the development and exercise of the EU authority;

to become familiar with academic and political debates about the workings of EU institutions and decision-making processes;

to comprehend the problems facing the Union at the beginning of the twenty-first century, especially the issues of constitutionalism and democracy and the implications of enlargement for its international role in the future.

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