This programme analyses European politics explicitly in the context of both International Relations (IR) and International Political Economy (IPE). It is designed for students keen to understand past and present international relations of Europe, and the EU, amidst times of crisis and in a constantly changing world.
The combination of IR, IPE and the EU makes this programme distinct from many others. The economic crisis in Europe, Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic provide an opportunity to explore how the EU is shaped internally and can respond externally to growing political, economic and societal challenges. This course examines the EU, its significance in and for the world system, its relationships with key developed and emerging countries and regions, and the various ways in which it engages with the international milieu on issues of global significance.
Core modules
Europe and the World
The changing international geopolitical context has intensified focus on the European Union’s foreign, security and defence policies. The EU, in response to challenges within its own borders, in its wider region and beyond, published its Global Strategy for European Foreign and Security Policy in 2016. The British referendum result and Brexit also challenged the EU’s identity as a strategic actor in international affairs.
This module explores the evolution of the EU as a foreign, security and defence actor and the debates about its evolving identity. It does so through first, assessing the utility of conceptual and theoretical schools of thought in explaining and helping us to understand how integration has evolved in foreign and security policy, and second, in critically engaging in the debates relating to the EU’s identity as a global power and actor in the 21st century. The module applies the theoretical debates to practical examples of the EU’s capabilities in relation to its immediate neighbourhood, including issues of enlargement to the Western Balkans, the EU’s neighbourhood policy to the east and south, and the EU’s fitful relationships with Turkey and Russia. It also explores the way in which the EU can influence key global issues such as the environment, trade and cybersecurity and shape relations with key regional actors from Latin America and Africa.
Optional modules
Optional modules can vary from year to year. Example optional modules may include:
- Justice and Equality
- Theories and Issues in International Political Economy
- Secrecy and Spies: British Intelligence in the Modern World
