The EU as a Glob­al Act­or

Course content

This course aims at providing students with advanced knowledge on the EU in the particular field of the external action of the EU. With the Treaty of Lisbon, the EU has gained new tools to reinforce its capacity of action outside of its borders. But how exactly does this work? What does the EU do internationally? How significant an actor is it? Why is this important for BLC students? This course aims at answering these questions by focusing on a selection of policy sectors as well as on institutional and decision-making aspects dealing with the EU’s role as a global actor. At the cross-roads between “classical” EU studies and international relations, the course will offer a choice of theories ranging from integration theories to theories of international relations in order to analyze the EU’s role as a global actor. Such a political framework is very important for business students who need to be aware of the EU’s international policies affecting conditions of business in order to elaborate successful business strategies. Finally, the course aims at combining empirical and analytical knowledge to action oriented information on the EU by using documents produced by expert organizations. In doing so, the course intends to develop the student’s capacity to identify different types of information on the EU, to enhance their critical attitude towards this information mix and to enhance their capacity of analysis by combining these sources so as to identify optimal or sub-optimal conditions for business strategies.