Main teaching modules

Module 1 Crisis Mechanisms of the European Union
Prof. Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham, UK
   

This lecture offers a broad overview of the EU’s crisis management capabilities in the post-Lisbon era, focusing on civilian and military capabilities and the global environment in which they are, and might be, brought to bear. The lecture identifies crucial new opportunities created by the Lisbon treaty, but also points to the remaining strategic deficit that the EU has in relation to its crisis management activities.

Seminar: The EU and the Arab Spring: Short-term failure, long-term success?

In this seminar we will consider the question whether the EU’s failure to adopt a pro-active common position on the Arab Spring, especially in relation to the situation in Libya, has harmed its long-term opportunities to engage with the region, or whether the EU will nonetheless play a crucial role in the long-term economic and democratic development of states in the Middle East and North Africa.

Roundtable: The EU as a Crisis Manager: Hard vs. Soft Security

Roundtable participants will offer their views on the EU’s relative capabilities to deal with hard and soft security issues. On the basis of that, they will also engage with the broader contribution the EU can make to international security—playing to its own strengths and collaborating with other international actors to compensate for its weaknesses.

 
Module 2. Organizational Overlap and Crisis Management

Dr. David Galbreath, University of Bath, UK

Lecture: "Organizational overlap and Crisis Management"

The lecture looks at the converging functions of Europe's security institutions in general and more specifically in relation to crisis management. The focus will be on the EU, OSCE, NATO and Council of Europe. The lecture is designed to discuss the theoretical and empirical opportunities and constraints of organizational overlap.

Seminar: "Community, Cooperation or Concert?"

The seminar is based on a scenario game that asks groups to build a new security institution for crisis management. The groups will take the place of national governments.

Roundtable: "Between Treaty and Summit: What Lisbon means for crisis management in EU and NATO"

Building on Prof Wolff's roundtable, this roundtable will make the argument that the division of labour between the EU and NATO says more about the institutions themselves than the potential crises they face.