INR 423: European Foreign Policy and Security Issues

This course will examine the issue of European foreign policy through the lens of EU integration. To what extent have EU member states constructed a coherent foreign and security policy? Is the European Union as a whole becoming a credible security actor with the ability not only to defend its common borders, but also to contribute to global security? We will also look on how forward-looking European leaders sought to end the possibility of another war by pooling the production of key military resources. Since then, despite the predominance of European economic, trade, and monetary issues and their global impact, the European Union has always been, explicitly or not, about security integration. There is much debate about whether the EU can even achieve this goal, especially in light of the recent financial crisis, declining defense budgets, division over the Iraq war, disagreement on the recognition of Kosovo, and so on. Nonetheless, some scholars have already labeled Europe a second superpower. Naturally, such developments have a strong bearing on the EU'92s relationship with the rest of the world.