Regional Studies: Europe

1. JUSTIFICATION
In centuries past, Europe was at the very heart of global political and economic systems –
defining them both in conceptual terms through innovations such as the territorial state,
industrial capitalism and organized religion, as well as by actually dominating large parts of
the world through direct or indirect imperial rule.
Nowadays, though much reduced in its global role after two world wars, Europe still
represents one of the key areas in the global political system – not only because of its states’
power and influence within the system, but also because of the inspiration provided by its
process of economic and political integration in the European Union, which constitutes one
of the most important economic blocks in the world. On the other hand, the economic and
political crises that the European Union is currently facing – as well as the renewed threat
of military aggression on its eastern borders – are putting in doubt what were perhaps
excessively optimistic projections about the future of that same European project.
All of these elements make Europe a mandatory object of study for anybody interested in
the fields of International Relations and International Business – considering, for example,
the new perspectives for the bilateral relationship with Colombia opened by the recent
negotiation of a free trade agreement.
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2. COURSE OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the central political, economic and
historical aspects of European international relations and to the role it currently plays in
global politics, and to provide them with analytic skills to interpret the structures and
dynamics of the region and its interactions with Latin America and Colombia.
3. COURSE PROGRAM
Europe – The Empire that Wasn’t
- Spruyt, Hendrik (1994): The Sovereign State and its Competitors, Chapter 3.
Princeton University Press.
- Tilly, Charles (1989): Cities and States in Europe, 1000-1800, Theory and
Society 18/5, 563-584.
The Evolution of the Early Modern European State System
- Osiander, Andreas (2001): Sovereignty, International Relations, and the
Westphalian Myth, in: International Organization, Vol. 55, No. 2, pp. 251-287.
- Møller, Jørgen (2014): Why Europe Avoided Hegemony: A Historical
Perspective on the Balance of Power, in: International Studies Quarterly 58, pp.
660-670.
Liberalism, Nationalism and Imperialism in 19th Century Europe
- Bukovansky, Mlada (1999): The altered state and the state of nature—the
French Revolution and international politics, in: Review of International Studies,
Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 197-216.
- Buzan, Barry/Lawson, George (2015): Chapter 6, Establishing a CorePeriphery
International Order, in: idem., The Global Transformation: History,
Modernity and the Making of International Relations. Cambridge University
Press.
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World Wars and Totalitarian Modernity in Europe
- Snyder, Jack (2014): Better Now Than Later. The Paradox of 1914 as
Everyone’s Favored Year for War, in: International Security, Vol. 39, N
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Transformative Perspectives on Europe after the Cold War
- Diez, Thomas/Manners, Ian/Whitman, Richard G. (2011): The Changing Nature
of International Institutions in Europe: the Challenge of the European Union, in:
Journal of European Integration, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 117-138.
- Fligstein, Neil et al. (2012): European Integration, Nationalism and European
Identity, in: Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 50, No. S1, pp. 106-122.
Transformation Processes in Central Eastern Europe
- Subotic, Jelena (2011): Europe is a State of Mind: Identity and Europeanization
in the Balkans, in: International Studies Quarterly 55, pp. 309-330.
- Rae, Gavin (2011): On the Periphery: The Uneven Development of the
European Union and the Effects of the Economic Crisis on Central-Eastern
Europe, in: Global Society, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 249-266.
Political Economy and Welfare States in Europe
- Hall, Peter A. (2014): Varieties of Capitalism and the Euro Crisis, in: West
European Politics, Vol. 37, No. 6, 1223-1243.
- Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (2006): Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, in:
Pierson, Christopher/Castles, Francis G. (eds.): The Welfare State Reader, 2nd
ed., Cambridge, pp. 160–174.
Fortress Europe? Migration and Societal Change
- Malik, Kenan (2015): The Failure of Multiculturalism. Community Versus Society
in Europe, in: Foreign Affairs, Vol. 94, No. 2, pp. 21-32.
- Heisbourg, François (2015): The Strategic Implications of the Syrian Refugee
Crisis, in: Survival, Vol. 57, No. 6, pp. 7-20.
Back to the Future? Scenarios for the Future of Europe
- Mearsheimer, John J. (1990): Back to the Future: Instability in Europe after the
Cold War, in: International Security, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 5-56.
- Van Evera, Steven (1990): Primed for Peace: Europe after the Cold War, in:
International Security, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 7-57.
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So close, but yet so far – Europe and Latin America
- García, María (2015): The European Union and Latin America: ‘Transformative
power Europe’ versus the realities of economic interests, in: Cambridge Review
of International Affairs, Vol. 28, No. 4, pp. 621–640.
- Malamud, Andrés/Schmitter, Philippe C. (2007): The Experience of European
Integration and the Potential for Integration in South America, IBEI Working
Paper 2007/6.
4. EVALUATION
Evaluation % of the Total
Grade
In class activities (presentations, Blog, etc.) 30%
First Midterm 20%
Second Midterm 20%
Final Exam 30%
5. GENERAL BIBLIOGRAHY
• Borchardt, K-D. (1995) European Integration: The origins and growth of the
European Union, Luxembourg: Office of Official Publications of the European
Community, 80 p.
• Davies, K. (2007) Understanding European Law, New York, 187p.
• Deway P. (2008). Transnational Cultural Policymaking in the European Union,
Journal of Arts, Management, Law and Society volume 38 (issue 2), p. 99-119.
• Diez-Hochleitner, J. & Martínez Capdevila, C. (2001) Derecho de la Unión
Europea, Textos y Comentarios. Madrid: McGraw-Hill / Ciencias Jurídicas, 1323p.
• Dinan, D. (2005) Ever closer Union: An introduction to European Integration.
Boulder, CO : Lynne Rienner Publishers, 665 p.
• European Commission Colombia Country Strategy Paper 2007 - 2013. Available
at http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/colombia/csp/07_13_en.pdf
• European Commission Latin America Regional Programming Document 2007 –
2013. Available at http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/la/rsp/07_13_en.pdf
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• European Solidarity with the victims of humanitarian crisis: Humanitarian aid in the
European Union. A publication of the European Commission (2001).
• Foederer, A., Maniam B., Leavell, H. (2009), The Euro: The Next Global
Currency?, The Business Review volume 12 (issue 2), p.44-50
• Hartley, T.C. (2003) The Foundations of European Community Law: An
Introduction to the Constitutional and Administrative Law of the European
Community. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 493p.
• Nugent, N. (2006) The Government and Politics of the European Union, New York,
630p.
• Pinder, J. (1995) European Community: The Building of a Union, Oxford : Oxford
University Press, 277 p.
• Richardson, J. (ed.) (2001) European Union: Power and Policy Making. London;
New York: Routledge, 388p.
• Silje Sandnes Log. (2008). What are the consequences of adopting the Euro?,
Séminaire de politique macroéconomique
• Simms, Brendan (2013): Europe. The Struggle for Supremacy, 1453 to the
Present; London.
• The EU in the World: The foreign policy of the European Union. A publication of
the European Commission (2007).
• Tonra, B. & Christiansen, T. (eds) (2004) Rethinking European Union foreign
policy. Manchester University Press, 175 p.
• Weiler, J.H.H. et al. (2004) Integration in an Expanding European Union:
Reassessing the Fundamentals. Oxford : Blackwell Publishing, 418p.