IR434 Half Unit
European Defence and Security
This information is for the 2015/16 session.
Teacher responsible
Dr Spyridon Economides COW 2.07
Availability
This course is available on the MSc in EU Politics, MSc in EU Politics (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in European Studies: Ideas, Ideologies and Identities, MSc in International Affairs (LSE and Peking University), MSc in International Relations, MSc in International Relations (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in International Relations (Research) and MSc in International Relations Theory. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.
All students are required to obtain permission from the Teacher Responsible by completing the Student Statement box on the online application form linked to course selection on LSE4You. Admission is not guaranteed.
Course content
This course examines the role of defence and security issues in European integration. It traces the evolution and nature of decision-making with respect to European defence initiatives, and examines the structures and institutions of EU defence and security. It also seeks to understand the relationship between foreign policy and security/defence policy in the EU especially in the context of transatlantic relations, the relationship with NATO and the EU's wider international profile. The course is divided into two parts. Part one provides a theoretical overview of the role of defence and security issues in European integration. It addresses the question of defence and European identity, the relationship between European defence and the national objectives of Member-States, the link between collective defence and collective security as well as the role of defence in the EU's evolution as a civilian actor in international relations. It also looks at the historical evolution of the plans, structures and institutions of European defence and security. It places this evolution in the context of the early post-Second World War era, the Cold War and German rearmament and the issues of extended deterrence, burden-sharing within NATO and the emergence of a European pillar to Western defence. Part two examines the more contemporary developments in European defence and security and concentrates on the relationship with European Political Cooperation/Common Foreign and Security Policy, moves to institutionalise defence and provisions for crisis management and conflict prevention. Included in the second part are examinations of the EU's recent ESDP mission and the implications of this on the EU's role in the world.
Teaching
10 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the MT. 1 hour and 30 minutes of seminars in the ST.
Students on this course will have a reading week in Week 6, in line with departmental policy.
Formative coursework
Two 2,000-word essays.
Indicative reading
Anne Deighton (Ed), Western European Union: Defence Security Integration; Andrew Cottey, Security in the New Europe; Jolyon Howorth, Security and Defence Policy in the European Union; Simon Duke, The Elusive Quest for European Security; From EDC to CFSP; Paul Gebhard, The United States and European Security; Heather Grabbe, The Sharp Edges of Europe; Francois Heisbourg et al, European Defence: Making it Work; Sean Kay, Nato and the Future of European Security; G Rees Wyn, The Western European Union at the Crossroads; Stanley Sloan, The United States and European Defence; Panos Tsakaloyannis, The European Union as a Security Community (1996).
Assessment
Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.
Key facts
Department: International Relations
Total students 2014/15: 36
Average class size 2014/15: 11
Controlled access 2014/15: Yes
Value: Half Unit