Document Type

Graduate Syllabus

Date

Fall 2006

School

Diplomacy

Course Number

DIPL 6402

Course Description

The course addresses the following main objectives: The course takes a thorough look at contemporary Europe as a partner, ally or, alternatively, potential competitor to so-called US hegemony. Building on the assumption that Europe is still more than ‘EU-Europe’, students will deal with the following questions: Where do European-American relations stand almost five years after September 11, 2006 and fifteen years after the end of the Cold War era? Will the West prevail in the face of globalization and energy scarcity on the one hand, and transnational threats, such as terrorism or proliferation on the other? The course will discuss prospects for a common European foreign and security policy and will analyze the challenge of further EU enlargement Under which conditions might Turkey become a member state of the European Union? How will Russia define its future relations with the West given its enormous energy resources? Where are the new geo-political and geo-strategic borders of Europe? Can it over-reach? What are the domestic implications? Will there be a ‘two-speed’ Europe that favors further political integration of a‘core’ over ‘widening’ Europe’ s frontiers? What are the implications of ‘out-of-area’ peacekeeping contributions by the European Union (EU), as in Congo for its inter-operability with other regional and international organizations? On the other hand, what are the implications for Europeans and American alike, of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ‘going global where the threat is’, whether through peacekeeping in Afghanistan, flying aid to Kashmir after an earthquake, or supporting the African Union logistically in Sudan? To which extent differ European interest vis-a-vis the Middle East from American interest? Students will focus their final paper on either a case study or a grounded-theory study addressing a (theoretical) phenomenon covering a policy or polity issue in the context of Europe. Students will address these complex questions of contemporary relevance based on thorough study and reflection of the polity dimensions of the European integration process.

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