The European Union (EU) is the most ambitious supranational project of the 20th and 21st centuries. Originating in 1950, the EU seemed to offer a vision of peace and stability around economic, social and political union. Celebrating a number of important achievements, such as the introduction of free movement throughout the EU and the launch of a common currency, the EU has faced a number of existential challenges that draw into question the viability and future promise of the Union. Thus, the failure of the Constitutional Treaty in 2005, the advent of the European Sovereign Debt Crisis and the arrival of the so called “Refugee Crisis” at the shores of Europe have forced the EU to decide whether membership is really about more than mutual economic gain.
These challenges are accentuated by an increasingly contentious geopolitical environment, shaped by wavering American commitments to the EU’s security and the rise of China on the global stage. At home, the EU faces the resurgence of a new form of populism that turns member states inward and the exit of one of its most important members from the Union.
To what extent do the promises of borderless internal trade, policy convergence and commitments to ever-closer union persist? Can the EU cope with the crises threatening its values and commitments? This course explores these questions through a series of lectures and participatory sessions that encourage students both to understand the current predicament of the EU and to think like an EU policymaker. Students will be given the tools to decide for themselves whether the EU really is either bureaucratic behemoth or real-world utopia.
Learning outcomes
- An understanding of the history and function of the EU’s institutions;
- An appreciation of the challenges encountered by the EU in the 21st century as well as an understanding of their causes and consequences;
- An understanding of the geopolitical position of the EU as well as its priorities and strategies;
- An appreciation of the policy options available to EU and member state policymakers in response to the challenges encountered.
