EUROPEAN SECURITY AND DEFENCE POLICY
Academic Year 2025/2026 - Teacher: DANILO DI MAUROExpected Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
By the end of the course, students will have acquired a solid understanding of the institutional, political, and strategic foundations of the European Union’s foreign, security, and defence policies. They will gain knowledge of basic knowledge of Public Policies and Management, governance, decision-making processes, actors (EU institutions, Member States, NATO, UN), theories of EU integration, and the evolution of the EU as a global actor.
Applied Knowledge and Understanding
Students will be able to apply their acquired knowledge to analyze contemporary international issues involving the EU, including crisis management, defence cooperation, enlargement, integration, and relations with major global powers. They will develop the ability to evaluate case studies and apply theoretical approaches to practical scenarios in foreign and security policy.
Making Judgments (Autonomy of Judgment)
Students will develop critical skills to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the EU’s role in the international system. They will be able to evaluate competing perspectives from academic literature, policy debates, and official documents; identify reliable sources; and assess the implications of emerging global challenges such as hybrid threats, cybersecurity, and external threats.
Communication Skills
Students will acquire the ability to clearly and effectively communicate complex concepts related to EU foreign and security policy, both orally and in writing. They will be trained to use the appropriate technical and political terminology of the field, and to present arguments in a structured and persuasive manner to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.
Learning Skills
Students will develop the capacity to pursue further study independently in the areas of European and international politics. They will learn how to autonomously identify, study, and synthesize academic texts, official policy documents, and reports from international organizations, producing both critical analyses and concise reviews of the literature.
Course Structure
Required Prerequisites
Attendance of Lessons
Detailed Course Content
- Theories of EU integration
- Policy Cycle
- Multilevel Governance
Textbook Information
EU integration
Hooghe, Liesbet, and Gary Marks. "Grand theories of European integration in the twenty-first
century." Journal of European Public Policy 26, no. 8 (2019), pp. 1113-1133.
MLG
Hooghe, L., & Marks, G. (2003). Unraveling the central state, but how? Types of multi-level governance. (Reihe Politikwissenschaft / Institut für Höhere Studien, Abt. Politikwissenschaft, 87). Wien: Institut für Höhere Studien (IHS), Wien. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-246200
Policy Cycle
Hill, M. (1997). The policy process. Harlow, UK: Prentice Hall/Harvester Wheatsheaf. Ch. 4 pp. 43-63
EU foreign and security policies
The European Union’s Foreign, Security, and Defence Policies
Ana E. Juncos, and Anna Maria Friis
https://doi.org/10.1093/hepl/9780198862239.003.0019
Elie Perot, Klose Stephan, “Differentiation in EU Security and Defence Policy,” in The Routledge Handbook
of Differentiation in the European Union (Routledge, 2022).
(accessed from here https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429054136-
29/differentiation-eu-security-defence-policy-elie-perot-stephan-klose )
EU as a foreign policy actor ( Eu role in global politics, trans-Atlantic relations)
Ulrich Krotz, “Momentum and Impediments: Why Europe Won’t Emerge as a Full Political Actor on the
World Stage Soon,” Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 47, No. 3 (May 2009), pp. 555-578.
Christopher Hill, “The capability-expectations gap, or conceptualizing Europe’s international
role,” Journal of Common Market Studies 31, no. 3: pp. 305-328.
Ulrich Krotz and Richard Maher, “International Relations Theory and the Rise of European Foreign and
Security Policy,” World Politics, Vol. 63, No. 3 (July 2011), pp. 548-579.
Wallace, W. (2017). European foreign policy since the Cold War: How ambitious, how inhibited?. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 19(1), 77-90.
Tocci, N. (2020). Resilience and the role of the European Union in the world. In Resilience in EU and International Institutions(pp. 25-43). Routledge.
Ulrich Krotz and James Sperling, “The European Security Order between American Hegemony
and French Independence,” European Security, Vol. 20, No. 3 (September 2011), pp.
305-335.
Pernille Rieker and Marianne Riddervold, ‘Not so Unique after All? Urgency and Norms in EU Foreign and
Security Policy’, Journal of European Integration 44, no. 4 (19 May 2022): 459–73,
https://doi.org/10.1080/07036337.2021.1977293
Xue Mi, ‘Strategic Cultures between the EU Member States: Convergence or Divergence?’, European
Security 0, no. 0 (31 December 2022): 1–25, https://doi.org/10.1080/09662839.2022.2159384.
Defense and security
Danilo Di Mauro, Jonas J. Driedger und Ulrich Krotz, "Military and Civilian Crisis
management," in Handbook on Governance and the EU, edited by Sonia
Lucarelli and James Sperling. Northhampton: Edward Elgar, forthcoming in 2023.
Juncos, A. E., & Blockmans, S. (2018). The EU’s role in conflict prevention and peacebuilding: four key challenges. Global Affairs, 4(2-3), 131-140.
Tocci, N. (2017). From the European Security Strategy to the EU Global Strategy: explaining the journey. International Politics, 54, 487-502.
Landman, L. (2015). The EU Maritime Security Strategy: Promoting or Absorbing European Defence Cooperation?.
Data: https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/48944
DI MAURO, D., KROTZ, U., & WRIGHT, K. (2017). EU's global engagement: a database of CSDP military operations and civilian missions worldwide: codebook: version 2.0. 2003-2017.
And new Edition (forthcoming).
Course Planning
| Subjects | Text References | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hooghe, L., & Marks, G. (2003). Unraveling the central state, but how? Types of multi-level governance. (Reihe Politikwissenschaft / Institut für Höhere Studien, Abt. Politikwissenschaft, 87). Wien: Institut für Höhere Studien (IHS), Wien. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-246200 | |
| 2 | Hill, M. (1997). The policy process. Harlow, UK: Prentice Hall/Harvester Wheatsheaf. Ch. 4 pp. 43-63 | |
| 3 | Mikos-Sitek, A. (2022) ‘Common Foreign, Security, and Defense Policies’ in Osztovits, A., B.ka, J. (eds.) The Policies of the European Union from a Central European Perspective. Miskolc–Budapest: Central European Academic Publishing. pp. 197–215. https://doi.org/10.54171/2022.aojb.poeucep_10 | |
| 4 | 1) Hooghe, Liesbet, and Gary Marks. "Grand theories of European integration in the twenty-firstcentury." Journal of European Public Policy 26, no. 8 (2019), pp. 1113-1133. 2) Bergmann, J., & Niemann, A. (2015) Theories of European Integration In Jorgensen et al. (Eds) The SAGE Handbook of European Foreign Policy, SAGE. | |
| 5 | Ulrich Krotz and Richard Maher, “International Relations Theory and the Rise of European Foreign and Security Policy,” World Politics, Vol. 63, No. 3 (July 2011), pp. 548-579. | |
| 6 | 1) Danilo Di Mauro, Jonas J. Driedger und Ulrich Krotz, "Military and Civilian Crisis management," in Handbook on Governance and the EU, edited by Sonia Lucarelli and James Sperling. Northhampton: Edward Elgar,2025.2) Krotz, U. Di Mauro, D. and Dieter J. (2025) "War as External Cause: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, the Theorizing of European Integration and EU Politics, and the EU’s Arduous Formation in Foreign and Security Policy" has been accepted for publication in Journal of European Public Policy. Journal of European Public Policy, online first DOI - 10.1080/13501763.2025.2566346The EUGED Database https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/48944DI MAURO, D., KROTZ, U., & WRIGHT, K. (2017). EU's global engagement: a database of CSDP military operations and civilian missions worldwide: codebook: version 2.0. 2003-2017.And new Edition (forthcoming). |
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
Course participants are expected to come to class fully prepared and to actively participate in class
discussions
The final exam is a test with open questions about some selected topics of the course. Lab activities will be also evaluated.
Grading breakdown: course participation/lab activities 40%; exam 60%.
In Italy, grades for individual courses range from 18 (minimum pass) to 30 (maximum). The highest grade may be awarded with “lode” (cum laude, distinction) for outstanding performance. The scale is not directly convertible to percentages or GPA, but it is roughly comparable to “sufficient–excellent” ranges used internationally.
Failed (0–17): The student does not demonstrate knowledge of the basic concepts of the course and/or has not completed the required share of work.
18–20 (Pass – Sufficient): The student demonstrates a basic knowledge of the topics of the course but shows significant difficulties in discussing or applying them, with limited capacity to engage critically.
21–24 (Fair – Discrete): The student demonstrates an adequate knowledge of the topics of the course and can engage with materials, cases, or discussions in a simple way, though often requiring guidance.
25–27 (Good): The student demonstrates a solid knowledge of the topics of the course and can address assignments, case analyses, or discussions independently, with only minor inaccuracies.
28–30 (Very Good – Excellent): The student demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of the topics of the course, engaging autonomously with readings, cases, and debates, and making appropriate connections across themes, with very few errors.
30 e lode (Distinction): The student demonstrates outstanding mastery of the course topics, addressing assignments and discussions with originality, critical insight, and virtually no errors.