7AAYM209 The EU and Asia: Economics, Politics and Security
Credit value: 20 credits
Module Tutor: Dr Ramon Pacheco-Pardo
Assessment: One oral presentation (15%); 4,000 word essay (85%)
Teaching pattern: 2 hours per week
Module description
The relationship between the EU and Asia is one of the key drivers of developments in the international system. Whereas in the past relations between these two regions were driven by economics, today political and security calculations are equally central to understand the dynamics of their interactions. This module addresses the relationship between the EU and Asia by looking at their relations at the regional level, as well as by analysing bilateral relations between the EU and key Asian countries. Particular attention will be given to how developments in the international system affect EU-Asia interactions and to how these interactions impact international relations. Special emphasis will also be put on the role of the USA in shaping the EU’s and Asian countries’ respective policies towards each other.
Module aims
The aim of this module is for students to understand and evaluate the present policy of the EU towards Asia, as well the current policy of key Asian countries towards the EU. Students will also learn how the policy of the EU towards Asia, and vice versa, has evolved and how it might develop in the future. The module also aims to analyse Asian perceptions of the EU as an international actor.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module the student will be able to:
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demonstrate a knowledge of EU-Asia relations;
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demonstrate a knowledge of the reasoning, principles, aims, goals and instruments of EU policy towards Asia;
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demonstrate a knowledge of the reasoning, principles, aims, goals and instruments of selected key Asian countries towards the EU;
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understand how Asian elites perceive the EU as a foreign policy actor;
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understand the role that the EU and selected key Asian countries play in each other’s respective foreign policies;
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evaluate the scope, delivery and limitations of EU policy towards Asia;
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evaluate the scope, delivery and limitations of selected key Asian countries’ policy towards the EU;
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work cooperatively with others to analyze, understand and explain key aspects of EU-Asian relations.
Preparatory reading
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Balme, Richard, and Brian Bridges (eds.), Europe-Asia Relations: Building Multilateralisms ( Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008).
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Keukeleire, Stephan, and Jennifer MacNaughtan (eds.), The Foreign Policy of the European Union (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008).
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Murray, Philomena (ed.), Europe and Asia: Regions in Flux (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008).
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Seidelman, Reimund, and Andreas Vasilache, European Union and Asia: A Dialogue on Regionalism and Interregional Cooperation (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2008)