EU Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy
Full course description
This course examines the EU’s policies and influence in the countries in its immediate vicinity – the Western Balkans and Turkey subject to the EU’s enlargement policy and Eastern Europe and the Middle East and North Africa belonging to the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The EU’s policies vis-à-vis its neighbouring regions are a test case for the EU’s external power and global reach. Why does the EU pursue specific policies vis-à-vis its neighbouring regions? What are the mechanisms through which the EU can channel its influence on countries along its borders? What are the conditions under which the EU can have impact on policies, institutions and actors beyond its borders? The course introduces students to the scholarly debate on Europeanisation and EU external governance and applies that conceptual knowledge to case studies from the EU’s neighbouring regions. As part of the skills training, students work in groups to put together a communication, press and social media portfolio for one of the enlargement or ENP countries.
Course objectives
At the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Understand the key concepts of Europeanisation and EU external governance and apply them to advanced academic questions concerning the EU’s enlargement and neighbourhood policies while taking into account the empirical realities in the EU’s neighbouring regions;
- Compare and assess the EU’s role in different neighbouring regions such as the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa;
- Evaluate and form a judgement on scholarly arguments, including their implicit assumptions, in debates about the EU’s enlargement and neighbourhood policies;
- Communicate ideas and positions on the EU’s relations with neighbouring countries to European and international professional audiences and the general public using traditional (press) and online (social) media;
- Participate in scholarly and policy debates on the EU’s enlargement and neighbourhood policies, within the international PBL classroom, as well as function in a group setting and work in an international professional environment
Prerequisites
The course builds on the previous course on International Relations and Global Governance. Good knowledge of EU institutions and policies and of International Relations theories is required.
Recommended reading
- Börzel, T. A. & Risse, T. (2012). From Europeanization to Diffusion: Introduction. West European Politics, 35, 1-19.
- Schimmelfennig, S. & Sedelmeier, S. (2020). The Europeanization of Eastern Europe: the external incentives model revisited. Journal of European Public Policy, 27:6, 814-833.
- Börzel, T. A., Dimitrova, A., & Schimmelfennig, F. (2017). European Union enlargement and integration capacity: concepts, findings, and policy implications.
- Journal of European Public Policy, 24, 157-176.
- Lavenex, S. & Schimmelfennig, F. (2009). EU rules beyond EU borders: theorizing external governance in European politics. Journal of European Public Policy, 16,791-812.