Syllabus of the course

Institute of International Relations
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

Syllabus of the course:
The EU Foreign Affairs: experience and contribution of the Visegrad Group countries

Approved at the meeting of the Chair of International Relations and Foreign Policy
(Protocol # 1 of 27/08/2015)

Lecturer: Associate Professor Dr Mironova Margarita

Guest lecturers:

1. Dr Andrzej Szeptycki (Institute of International Relations of the University of Warsaw, Poland)
2. Dr Pavel Pšeja (Department of International Relations and European Studies, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic)
3. Dr Marton Péter (Institute of International Relations, Faculty of Social Sciences, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary)

Course description

Taking into consideration the significant role of the EU both in international and European political agenda the course introduces students to basic theoretical and practical aspects of the EU's external relations with special attention to the experience of the V4 Group countries.

During the first module, we shall analyze the institutional mechanisms of the EU’s external relations and a diverse set of EU external policies ranging from diplomatic, and soft security issues to military transformations and regional policies. Special attention shall be paid to the EU’s relationship with the US and NATO.

In a second step we will focus specifically on the contribution of the Visegrad states to the EU foreign policy implementation: Czech, Polish and Hungarian approaches to the EU regional policy (Balkan policy, European Neighborhood Policy, Eastern Partnership, relations with Ukraine). These topics will be considered in light of the current conflict in Ukraine and other major developments, as they arise throughout the semester.

The course consists of 26 classes (52 academic hours):  17 lectures and 9 seminars.