European Security and Crisis Management

About the course

The European security environment of 21st century is diffuse and unpredictable, and threats are often asymmetrical and transnational. At the same time, the Russian aggression on Ukraine shows that the traditional threat of armed conflict between nations is still real on the European continent.

This course provides you with an understanding of this complex environment and the challenges it poses to Europe and the European Union (EU). It focuses on threats such as climate change, forced migration, neighborhood conflicts, terrorism, natural disasters, pandemics, and cyber war and crises. By introducing the concepts of security community, widening security, creeping crisis, and transboundary crisis management, the course explains the new demands put on the Union.

The course also studies the relationship between the EU institutions and the EU member states, with a special focus on Sweden.

What does this course lead to?

During this course, you will learn to critically analyze opportunities and constraints for the creation of EU diplomatic, security, defense and crisis management capacities. You will also problematize the Union’s role through legitimacy and human rights perspectives, explore future scenarios, and discuss Swedish strategies for European security and crisis management.

Course structure

The course is organized into seven lectures and three compulsory seminars covering the main themes of the course. To inspire the discussions for a comprehensive outlook on current threats and capacity challenges, the course includes a simulation exercise on the EU’s role in a security crisis.