ASTK12270U The European Union external diplomacy and multilateral environmental governance

The content of this course is predominantly empirical and deals with three main topics: Diplomacy, the EU’s external diplomacy, and multilateral environmental governance.

The course is developed to cover the gaps in the political science master and bachelor programmes, where the mandatory courses do not, to any great extent, entail detailed empirical and historical accounts of the development and functioning of diplomacy, multilateral governance, and EU participation in - and collaboration with - international organisations. The course also seeks to meet the growing demand for courses on environmental politics, sustainable development and International Political Economy.

The course is a 10 ECTS-points course, which is concluded with a free assignment. The main aim of the course is, therefore, to providing the students with the best possible basis for writing free assignments and later possibly bachelor theses, internship reports, and master dissertations on the five themes dealt with through the course. These are: 1) Diplomacy, 2) the EU’s external diplomacy, 3) theoretical tools, 4) multilateral environmental governance, and 5) EU participation in multilateral environmental governance.

The ‘theoretical tools’ examined and employed in the course are: Discursive institutionalism, diplomatic theory of international relations, and frameworks for analysing the EU’s global role and for assessing the EU (or other’s) position in multilateral governance fora. Thus, both theoretical tools tailored to the EU and others, which are more broadly applicable, are used.

Moreover, the students will not only be able to analyse and write about EU participation in multilateral environmental governance. They can also discuss and write about how the EU engages in multilateral governance of other policy areas, and about how other actors are represented and act in multilateral governance.

Detailed description of the course contents

The course runs over 14 weeks with one two-hour class each week. Below is a list of the main questions under investigation in each of the respective weeks.

Theme I: Diplomacy

1 What is diplomacy in theory and practice?

2 What are the forces of change in (the new) diplomacy?

3 What are the different modes of diplomacy? And how do they work?

4 What is a negotiation? And how are the different types of negotiations negotiated?

Theme 2: The EU’s external diplomacy

5 What is the European Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)? How has it evolved?

6 What does the new EU foreign policy architecture look like after the Lisbon Treaty?

Theme 3: Theoretical tools

7 Theoretical frameworks for analysing the EU’s external diplomacy I

8 Theoretical frameworks for analysing the EU’s external diplomacy II

Theme 4: Multilateral environmental governance

9 Multilateral and global governance- what’s the difference? Any implications for diplomacy?

10 What is multilateral environmental governance? How did it develop?

11 What lessons can be learned from 20 years of multilateral environmental negotiations?

Theme 5: EU participation in multilateral environmental governance

12 How did the EU participate in multilateral environmental governance before Lisbon?

13 How has the EU participated in multilateral governance after Lisbon?

14 How has the EU participated in multilateral environmental governance after Lisbon?
 

Competency description

This course enhances the students’ ability to understand the problems in the conduct of: diplomacy, the EU’s external diplomacy and participation in multilateral governance, with an emphasis on multilateral environmental governance – a policy area in which the EU is known as a longstanding global leader.

The course also provides the students with important insights about the development of multilateral environmental governance, focusing on sustainable development rather than climate change, as the sustainable development and green economy agenda has risen up high on the global environmental and developmental agenda, and in particular, on the EU’s foreign policy agenda. Moreover, the focus on sustainable development, rather than climate change, makes it easier for students to choose to write or specialize in the multilateral governance of and EU’s foreign policy on development assistance, which is another policy area in which the EU is widely perceived as a global leader.

Furthermore does the course generally strengthen the students’ ability to reflect on possible solutions to very complex conflicts, this being in various diplomatic relations, in the conduct of the EU’s external diplomacy, or in multilateral governance, though, specifically in fora and negotiations on environmental protection (including sustainable development). The students’ ability to tackle conflicts and negotiations of any kind will also be enhanced through the extensive empirical and theoretical focus in this course on diplomacy and negotiations. These are valuable work skills, not only for those directly concerned with the conduct of diplomacy.

The course is also a good starting point for other projects in the programme and is relevant for students who aim for a career in, for example, diplomacy, the European Union institutions, international organisations, global companies, mass media, or NGOs and lobby firms working on matters relating to environmental protection and sustainable development.

Moreover, this course should be of value to political science students more generally due to the increasing use of seconded national specialists in the EU’s policy-making processes, and of specialists from various resort ministries as representatives in international negotiations.

It should also be highlighted (again) that this course is very empirically oriented and  developed with the special aim to cover the gaps in the political science master and bachelor programmes, where the mandatory courses do not, to any great extent, entail detailed empirical and historical accounts of the development and functioning of diplomacy, multilateral governance, and EU participation in - and collaboration with - international organisations. The focus of this course will mainly be on the United Nations but parallels to other international organisations will be discussed. The course does also seek to meet the increasing demand for candidates who can combine insights on public administration and policy-making with knowledge about environmental protection and sustainable development.

The course is highly compatible with other courses in the programme on diplomacy, EU studies, International Relations, International Political Economy, International Administration, and courses taught at the Faculty of Law on International Law and EU Law.