DIPL 6403 EU External Relations

The purpose of this course is to explore the changing role and influence of the European Union (EU) as an international actor on the global stage. The focus is on the EU\u27s external relations with non-member states and non-state actors and its emerging role in world affairs. Since the EU is less than a unitary state actor and more than a conventional international organization, particular attention will be given to the elements of its international “actorness”, decision-making processes, specific policy instruments and impact through an examination of such selected policy areas as security and defense, trade, the environment, development and humanitarian assistance. 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 in world politics; to be cognizant of the role of EU members and non-Union members in the development and exercise of the EU external authority; to become familiar with academic and political debates about the workings of EU institutions and decision-making processes through the EU articulates and exerts its external authority; to comprehend the problems facing the Union at the beginning of the twenty-first century, especially the implications of enlargement for its international role in the future