210133 SE EC: Die EU und Global Governance (2025S)

In this seminar, we will study the European Union’s role and influence in a global context. Applying various theoretical approaches (e.g., International Relations theory, foreign policy analysis, global studies, European studies, critical social theory), we will be looking at how the EU shapes and is shaped by other actors on the world stage, including international organisations (e.g., the UN or the WTO), regional organisations (e.g., the African Union or the OSCE), global and regional powers (e.g., the USA, China, Turkey, or Russia), as well as its immediate neighbourhood in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.
To this end, we will familiarise ourselves with the EU’s history including the legacy of European powers , its institutional structure, as well as legal foundations, and address questions of ontology and epistemology in a critical manner. Furthermore, we will discuss the Union’s internal multi-level governance structure to understand the dynamics between its member states, central institutions, as well as sectoral bodies in foreign policy-related decision making, and analyse its external strategies targeting actors of high politics and civil society alike. Our case studies will touch upon various key policy areas such as security, trade, climate, digital, health, and development.

Learning Outcomes
The course introduces students to central themes and issues in the context of the EU’s powerhood in the global order. It further provides students with the necessary conceptual tools and analytic skills to pursue their own research in the field. At the end of the course, students should be able to:
critically assess the EU as a global actor;
summarise prominent theoretical approaches aimed at conceptualising the EU’s actorness on the world stage;
apply prominent theoretical approaches to the study of various empirical phenomena in global politics, including political, economic, legal, and social matters.