Europe in the World – BA specialization
Europe in the World bachelor's specialization provides an inter-disciplinary understanding of the functioning of the European Union (EU) and its role as a global actor. It focuses on the internal and external aspects of European integration from the political, economic and social perspectives. In the challenging times we are living now, the increasing Euroscepticism on the continent is to a large extent caused by the lack of knowledge about the purpose, structure and benefits of the EU as well as of the policies it delivers. This specialization will give students the possibility to discuss, contest and understand the issues which they find complex or controversial about Europe.
The specialization module is divided into three general courses – offering a broad knowledge about the challenges the EU is facing today, and five issue-focused courses - dealing with concrete policies or problems of the European integration. In the first general course “Current problems of the EU” students will discuss the issues of Brexit, migration crisis and the problem of economic cohesion in the EU. The course “Europe’s role and place in the 21st Global Politics” will focus on the EU capability to act as an international actor in the areas of development and humanitarian aid; economic and political cooperation as well as in solving various world conflicts. Students will assess the international significance of European integration, the impact of global developments on Europe, and the changing role of the EU in the new world order. The course “Multi-level governance in Europe” focuses on the challenge of communication and cooperation between the different levels of governments in Europe being Brussels, national capitals, regions and cities. It explains how competences, duties and benefits are shared between these levels and what problems emerge from this multi-level dynamics.
The course “Ethnic groups of the EU” looks at the challenges of multi-culturalism in Europe and the questions of secession/separatism/xenophobia that many EU countries are facing now. Here, students will discuss the Catalan, Scottish or Flemish cases, but will also analyze problems of ethnic and religious minority integration in light of the current EU migration crisis. This topic is closely related to the “European identity” course which focuses on the question of what it means to be a “European”. It will discuss the notions of EU citizenship, Charter of Fundamental Rights, national sovereignty and multi-level identity. “EU defense policy” and “EU foreign policy” courses deal with the two strategic areas where national governments still enjoy exclusive competences. These courses will analyze how the EU Common Foreign and Defense Policy (CFDP) have evolved over time and to what extent they are truly “EU policies”. Finally, during the“EU enlargement – Past and future” course students will get to know the process of EU enlargement including the criteria, conditions and prospects of EU membership for countries like Turkey or Ukraine, who aspire to become future members of the EU.