210037 PS BAK5: The EU's Neighbourhood Policy (2025S)

Aims, contents, and methods of the course
In this seminar, we will zoom in on the European Union’s role and activities vis-à-vis its immediate neighbourhood including Eastern Europe, South Caucasus, the Middle East, and North Africa. 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 countries and sub-national actors in these regions. We will also consider the influence of international organisations (e.g., the UN, the WTO), regional organisations (e.g., the OSCE, the Eurasian Economic Union, the African Union), global initiatives (e.g., the Belt and Road Initiative), as well as global and regional powers (e.g., the USA, China, Turkey, Russia).
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, and sectoral bodies in foreign policy-related decision making. We will pay special attention to its ‘European Neighbourhood Policy’ 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 regional cooperation and integration with a concentration on its European Neighbourhood Policy. It 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 regional (and global) actor;
summarise theoretical approaches aimed at conceptualising the EU’s actorness in regional cooperation;
apply prominent theoretical approaches to the study of various empirical phenomena in regional politics, including political, economic, legal, and social matters.