SMITH S.J. - Drivers of European Defence Cooperation and the Transatlantic Alliance (25h)

This course will identify and analyse the underlying national and multinational drivers of European defence and security. It focuses on the evolution of these issues in Europe (understood geographically, politically and institutionally) from the end of the Cold War right up to, and including, contemporary challenges. It pays particular attention to the spectrum between autonomous national strategies and the overlapping institutions (NATO, the EU and the OSCE) that form the core of the multinational European and transatlantic security architecture. The course will identify key threats and broader security challenges facing Europe and assess the performance of a range of national and multinational actors responsible for mitigating them. It will introduce the students to the various theoretical and conceptual trends in the European defence and security literature and ask the students to critically evaluate their explanatory utility. Finally, this course will identify and analyse the key internal and external drivers of transformation in the European and transatlantic security environment, including material, strategic, geopolitical and operational drivers of change.

Professor: Simon J. SMITH

ECTS Card 2020-2021