Teaching

Course Title: The European Union as an Actor in South Asia

Course Code: EUIR-666 & EUIR-471

Semesters: MSc-4 & BS-8 (Morning & Afternoon)

Course Description

The European Union (EU) embraces both intergovernmental and supranational characteristics. This exceptional nature qualifies it to be known as a unique or sui generis political entity in international relations. As an international actor, it has progressively expanded economic and socio-political presence beyond Europe to almost all parts of the world. As a civilian and normative power, the EU offers socio-economic opportunities and promotes norms around the world. The South Asian countries, including Pakistan, benefit from EU’s significant economic and socio-political engagement in the region. For instance, EU-Pakistan relationship has progressively increased since 2001 reaching the level of GSP+ status for Pakistan since 2014 and Strategic Engagement since 2019. This course focuses on understanding the dynamics, nature and significance of the European Union as an actor in South Asia.

The course is divided into three parts. First part briefly attempts to develop essential understanding of the European Union as an entity focusing on its evolution, institutions and policies. Second part briefly highlights the distinct characteristics of the EU as a civilian and normative power in the context of its attempt to promote norms using economic leverage vis-à-vis third countries. With this background knowledge, third part focuses on EU’s bilateral relationship with the South Asian countries in four areas: trade, development, democracy and human rights, and immigration. Finally, the challenges and potentials for the EU’s regional role in South Asia are examined in detail.

Course Objectives

The course aims to meet the following objectives:

To understand the nature of the European Union as a political entity with focus on factors and evolution of its formation, institutional framework, and key external policies.
To examine the nature of the European Union as an international actor and its sources of power to conduct international relations.
To evaluate the scope and potential of European Union’s bilateral relationship with the South Asian countries.
To analyze the challenges and opportunities for European Union’s regional-level engagement in South Asia.

Course Outcomes

Completion of the course will enable the students to have:

Comprehended the distinct nature of the European Union, particularly in comparison with states and typical international organizations.
Identified the scope, opportunities and challenges of European Union’s bilateral and regional relationship with South Asia countries.
Developed intellectual capacity to carry out higher studies and research in European Union studies, particularly international politics of the European Union.

Course Breakdown

Week 1
Introduction

Course Rationale and Objectives
European Union- A Brief Introduction

Readings

Michelle Cini, European Union Politics (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), 1-9.

Week 2
Theoretical Perspectives on the European Union

Theoretical Characterization of the EU as a Polity
Theoretical Foundations of the European Integration

Readings

John McCormick, European Union Politics (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), 11-41.

Week 3-4
Evolution of the European Union

Evolution of the European Community (1950-1985)
Formation of the European Union (1986-1993)
Reform Treaties ( Treaty of Amsterdam, 1997 onwards)

Readings

Andreas Staab, The European Union Explained (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2011), 3-30.

Week 5
Institutions of the European Union

The European Commission
The European Council
The Council of Ministers
The European Parliament
The European Court of Justice

Readings

European Commission, The European Union Explained: How the EU Works? (Luxembourg: Publication Office of the European Union, 2014), 3-22.

Week 6-8
The European Union as a Global Actor

Nature of the EU Roles in International Politics
Critical Assessment of the EU’s Global Role
EU’s Trade and Common Commercial Policy (CCP)
EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)

Readings

Ole Elgström and Michael Smith, eds., The European Union’s Roles in International Politics (New York: Routledge, 2006), 1-7.
John McCormick, European Union Politics (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), 409-24.
Michelle Cini, European Union Politics (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), 225-51.

Week 9
The European Union as an Actor in South Asia

Scope of EU Engagement with South Asia
Instruments of EU Engagement with South Asia

Readings

Jayaraj Amin, “European Union- South Asia Development Co-operation with special reference to India,” Australian and New Zealand Journal of European Studies 3 (2011): 50-63.
Jean-Luc Racine, “The European Union and the India-Pakistan Relationship,” in The European Union and South Asia, ed. Rajendra K. Jain (New Delhi, K W Publishers, 2015).

Week 10
European Union-India Strategic Partnership

Achievements
Issues
Opportunities

Readings

“India and the EU,” Delegation of the European Union to India and Bhutan, https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/india/670/india-and-eu_en
Pascaline Winand, “A Partnership between Two Large Elephants? Opportunities and Challenges in India-EU Relations,” In Philipp Gieg et al., eds., EU-India Relations: The Strategic Partnership in the Light of the European Union Global Strategy (Switzerland: Springer, 2021), 113-139.

Week 11
European Union-Pakistan Strategic Engagement

Achievements
Issues
Opportunities

Readings

“Pakistan and the EU,” Delegation of the European Union to Pakistan, https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/pakistan/1327/pakistan-and-eu_en
Jakub Zaja˛czkowski and Siegfried O. Wolf, “EU-Pakistan Relations: European Perspectives at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century,” In Siegfried O. Wolf et al., eds., The Merits of Regional Cooperation: The Case of South Asia (Switzerland: Springer, 2014), 131-152.
Muhammad Riaz Shad, “Interests and Norms in EU’s Policy towards Pakistan After 9/11,” Journal of European Studies 33 (2017): 28-48.

Week 12
European Union State Building Role in Afghanistan

Areas of Intervention
Challenges
Way Forward

Readings

“EU-Afghanistan Relations,” European Union External Action Service, https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/pakistan/1327/pakistan-and-eu_en
Toon Dirkx, State-building in the Shadow of War: EU Capabilities in the Fields of Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding in Afghanistan (WOSCAP, 2017).
Andrew Watkins and Timor Sharan, Europe’s Engagement in Afghanistan Post-2021: Uncertainty, Pragmatism, and Continued Partnership (Policy Brief) (Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 2020)

Week 13
European Union Engagement with other South Asian States

GSP+ for Sri Lanka
EBA for Bangladesh and Nepal
Development Cooperation with Bhutan and Maldives

Readings

Deshika Elapata, EU-Sri Lanka relations: A bond between trade and human rights (Working Paper 23) (SADF, 2020).
Silvia Mayr, EU-South Asia trade perspectives: State of play (POLICY BRIEF 9, 2020), 20-25.
“Nepal and the EU,” Delegation of the European Union to Nepal, https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/nepal_en/1590/Nepal%20and%20the%20EU
“Bhutan and EU,” European Union External Action Service, https://eeas.europa.eu/diplomatic-network/bhutan/2062/bhutan-and-eu_en
“Maldives and the EU,” European Union External Action Service, https://eeas.europa.eu/diplomatic-network/maldives/2295/maldives-and-eu_en

Week 14-15
Regional Integration in South Asia- Role of the European Union

Debate on Adopting European Integration Model in South Asia
EU’s Role in Promoting Regional Integration in South Asia

Readings

Thumira Gunasena, “The Applicability of Adopting European Union’s Integration Model in South Asia: A Comparative Analysis of European Union and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation,” International Journal of Social Sciences V (2016): 19-43
Thomas Renard, “Strategic Bilateralism or Effective Multilateralism? The EU, the SCO and SAARC,” in The Palgrave Handbook of EU–Asia Relations, eds. Thomas Christiansen et al. (Hampshire, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), 359-376.

Assessment Instruments

Midterm Examination: 50 Marks
End term Examination: 50 Marks

Research Paper
Research supervision would be offered to overall 5-10 students of MSc and BS final semesters in each semester under the following criteria:

Topics should be related to the European Union studies
Students should have keen interest in doing research
Research papers of good quality would be further improved after the defense for publication in research journals.

Dr. Muhammad Riaz Shad
Associate Professor in IR
Jean Monnet Chair