Europe, Security Competition

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor

This course provides students with a broad understanding of European security in an era of great power competition. Students will learn about various European threat perceptions, actors and decision-making as they unfold. European security is becoming a space for a fight in which the United States, Russia and China have major stakes. Are Europeans creating strategic autonomy or relying on NATO for their defense? What are the major issues of contention and contradicting visions within Europe on issues of security and defense? The course addresses these questions, delving into European policy. Students will leave the class possessing a comprehensive understanding of the most important contemporary aspects of European security. To this end, the course has two objectives. The first objective is to analyze the actors and mechanisms of European security by exploring the following features: European security’s principal powers and institutions, governing systems, and foreign and defense, immigration, and energy policies. The second objective is to examine the most important current European security issue areas/dossiers by critically analyzing divergences between key European states. Students will learn about these issues in the context of the EU’s role in international politics, with ongoing reference to the U.S. and other EU partners, as well as to conventional and unconventional security challenges stemming from Russia and China.