The class aims to give students the basic knowledge and analytical tools to understand and make informed projections about the integration process of the European Union and the relations of the European Union and with the rest of the world. It also aims at understanding how foreign policy decisions are negotiated and implemented in the EU, and how the EU projects its actorness at the international level through foreign, security and defence policy concepts and initiatives. Among the topics that will be discussed:
The European Union’s external relations / foreign policy in a historical perspective: this module will explain how the European Community first, and then the European Union gradually developed the concepts and institutions that form the basis of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).
The EU foreign and security since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty: this module will focus on the innovations introduced by the Lisbon Treaty in the field of foreign, security and defence policy, including, among others, a double-hatted High Representative/Vice President of the European Commission, the European External Action Service and the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in the defense field. Convergences and divergences among EU member states
From the European Security Strategy (ESS) to the EU Global Strategy (EUGS): this module will address the evolution of the strategic approach of the European Union to its foreign and security policy, as well as the convergences and divergences among EU member states.
The objective of this class it to analyze US-EU relationships in a comprehensive way: historical and philosophical background; political and institutional relations, economics. After the end of the Cold war, the two partners have had a more complicated relation.
This will allow students to understand the reciprocal influence between the US and the EU and discuss the future of Transatlantic Relationships.
The relationship between the United States and the EU is a rather ambiguous one. On the one hand, both sides claim to attach great importance to closer co-operation and to a strengthening of their relationship, but on the other hand they are involved in what appears to be petty disputes, threats, retaliation measures, counter-retaliations etc.
Yet, it remains that the US and the EU are each other’s largest trading partners: The US-EU trade flows amounts to more than 250$ annually. The EU is the US’s largest export market, accounting for over 20% of total US exports; more than half of the sales of American overseas affiliates ($818 billion) take place in the EU.
The class will also compare the EU and US’ institutional frameworks.
The European Union is the second largest economy in the world. It has made its voice heard in trade, commercial and development matters for decades. Since the Treaty of Maastricht, the EU has also become increasingly capable and active in areas related to security, environmental protection, and human rights.
This class aims to give students the basic knowledge and analytical tools to understand and make informed projections about the integration process of the European Union, about how the EU works, and about the relations of the European Union with the rest of the world.
The first part of the class will look at the EU’s international role in a historical prospective, taking time to explain how the block evolved from a European Community of Coal and Steel to a European Union with its own foreign and defense policies.
The second part explores how the EU works.
The third part of the class looks at the EU relations with the rest of the world.
Why are some European governments more stable than others? How do institutions affect a state's approach to solving different problems? This course will introduce the student to the governments, politics and major current issues that concern the people of Europe.
Part I provides a historical background about Europe as a whole.
Part II examines the governmental structures, political traditions, and national concerns of many European governments.
Part III compares the foreign policy of a number of European countries.
Building on the findings of the Jean Monnet network titled “The State of Women”, this class will comparatively discuss the state of gender parity and role of women leaders in the European Union and the United States, across 10 ten areas which constitute the fabric of society: gender parity in: parliaments, governments, Courts, military, diplomacy, academia, business, religion, media and sports. Contrary to a certain narrative, the class will show how gender parity and women leadership are considerably more advanced in the European Union than they are in the United States, and that is thanks to the role of the European Commission and of the European Court of Justice in securing equality between women and men, one of the European Union's founding values.
A study carried out by a team of economists at Bocconi University in Milan – ‘Gender Interactions within the family firm’ - shows how companies with a female CEO and with a board prevalently made up of women gain in profits by as much as 18%, thus proving how vital it is to have women in leadership roles in business. Is there a similar correlation when women hold leadership positions in other fields? What are the specific features that characterize women leadership? and what about the difficulties that women leaders have to face?
This is an experimental class where we will discuss the life and public role of women leaders in order to learn from their strength but also from their mistakes. Almost every week we will discuss with a woman leader or an expert either in class or via video conferencing.
In doing so we will deal with topics such as women leadership, communication, advocacy, negotiating techniques, building trust, networking, dress code, managing work-family balance, cultural barriers etc in international and often multinational and multicultural arena.
