The European Union in the World

This course focuses on the history, politics, policies and the nature of the European Union, as well as its global role in trade, aid, conflict resolution and democratisation.

The complexity of the European institutions, their protracted evolution, and the policy decision affected by them will be analysed in depth. Discussion of the strength and weakness of the European Union as supranational power in theory and practice is integral to the study of this course. Their evaluation in relation to current scholarly debates in history and political science will be referenced.

The tensions that arise at member state level out of the move towards supranational constitutionalism of the European Union are especially relevant to the modern day and this course, taken together with course 2c1 Modern British Government and Politics and course 3c1 British Constitutional and Political History since 1895, will provide students with an intimate knowledge of these discussions.