Dr. Karolina Pomorska is on the Advisory Board of ATHENA. She is a Jean Monnet Chair and Associate Professor in International Relations at Leiden University’s Institute of Political Science. She is also an Affiliated Research Fellow of the European Centre at the Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) at University of Cambridge. Read more
Dr Dimitris Bouris is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam. Read more
This course takes a thematic and inside-out approach to the study of the EU’s relations with, policies towards, and relevance for the countries of the so-called “post-Soviet space”. The latter is conceived broadly to include the six EU neighbourhood countries in Eastern Europe and South Caucasus, the five countries in Central Asia, Russia and, rather cursorily considering their membership of the EU, the Baltic states. Once all republics of the Soviet Union, these countries have followed distinct trajectories over the past 30 years and constitute an extremely diverse cohort.
The thematic and inside-out approach of the course rests in its departure from the usual EU-centric take and “EU framework policy” logic to viewing and analyzing EU interactions with the countries in the region in key spheres of cooperation or areas of policy, as embedded in broader domestic, regional and indeed geopolitical dynamics. After problematizing the very title of the course (namely, the “post-Soviet” and “space” markers in it) and identifying key steps in EU’s relations with the countries since their independence, we will address the following themes: political and economic regimes (incl. transition, change and the role of civil society); trade (incl. in the context of global supply chains and China’s Belt and Road Initiative); development (incl. aid and the role of civil society); energy; security and conflict (incl. regional and global security arrangements, internal conflicts, frozen conflicts and Russia’s war against Ukraine).
The classes in this course are very interactive and, besides the usual lectures-readings-final paper, include guest speakers, in-class assignments, weekly discussions of the news, and students preparing and delivering creative foreign policy speeches (in which students may embody any real or fictional character at any point in time – as long as it remains linked to the subject of the course).
The core module of the European Politics and External Relations MSc programme provides students with a thorough understanding of the politics and power of Europe in an increasingly diverse, interdependent, and multi-polar world. It examines in depth the internal and external dimensions of European politics…
The MSc research project aims to support students who wish to write their Master thesis on topics related to the wider problematic of the EU’s relations with its so-called neighbours through the prism of existing EU policies, their production, transformation, promotion and effects. The MSc…
The objective of this module is to provide students with insights into the dominant international approach to peacebuilding as well as different criticisms and dilemmas. The module also aims to analyze the different tools, policies and mechanisms that the EU has at its disposal in order to be an active peace-builder in its neighbourhood. As such, the module seeks to ‘unpack’ the main elements of peace, security and conflict resolution and also the changing nature of the EU’s external relations by looking at (a) the different tools, policies and instruments employed by the EU in this field; (b) the main actors and policy-making procedures that shape the EU’s role as a Global Actor; and (c) drawing empirical insights by focusing on specific case studies in the EU’s so-called near abroad.
The module will offers the opportunity to the students to become ‘decision makers’ and ‘agenda setters’, by conducting a simulation game focusing on a conflict in the EU’s neighbourhood. Guest speakers, high-level diplomats, distinguished academics, experienced practitioners and policy-makers will also be invited in the framework of the module as part of the ATHENA Jean Monnet Chair Practitioners Engagement Series.
This course takes an inside-out approach to the study of the EU’s relations with, policies towards, and relevance for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The latter is conceived broadly to include those countries in the region that are already EU member states (Visegrad…
The Introduction to European Politics and External Relations course provides students with an overview of the historical development of the process of European Integration and its impact on its External Relations. The first part of the course focuses on placing the European Union in the…
Dr Dimitris Bouris is an Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam and a Jean Monnet Chair “The EU as a Global Actor” (ATHENA). He is an Associate Editor of the academic journal European Security and a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe (Natolin). He is also the leader and coordinator of the EU-Middle East Jean Monnet Network EUMENIA (www.eumenia.eu). Dr Bouris is a co-leader of the Europe in the World theme of the Amsterdam Centre for European Studies (ACES), an Academic Board member of the Amsterdam Centre for Middle Eastern Studies (ACMES), an Academic Council Member of the European Neighbourhood Council and a non-resident fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy ELIAMEP.
Dr Bouris holds a BA in Political Science (University of Crete), a MA in International Politics/International Relations (University of Manchester) and a PhD in Politics and International Studies (University of Warwick). His research focus lies at the intersection of International Relations (IR theory, peacebuilding, state-building, security sector reform, conflict resolution), EU Studies (EU External Relations, EU Common Security and Defence Policy) and Middle East and North Africa Studies (with a particular focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Libya).
Dr Bouris is the author of “The European Union and Occupied Palestinian Territories: State-building without a State” (Routledge, 2014). Dimitris is also the co-editor (with Tobias Schumacher) of the “The Revised European Neighbourhood Policy: Continuity and Change in EU Foreign Policy” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) and the co-editor (with Daniela Huber and Michelle Pace) of the “Routledge Handbook of EU-Middle East Relations” (Routledge, 2022). He has also edited special issues and published a number of scholarly articles in leading peer-reviewed academic journals such as Journal of Common Market Studies, Global Studies Quarterly, European Security, the Hague Journal on the rule of law, Mediterranean Politics, Global Affairs, International Spectator, the British Journal of Politics and International Relations, International Political Sociology and Geopolitics. He is also a frequent media commentator an has published a number of policy briefs and op-eds for major European and Middle East news and policy outlets such as EUROMESCO, Al Jazeera, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Open Democracy.
Dr Olga Burlyuk is a Senior Researcher for ATHENA. She is an Assistant Professor at University of Amsterdam’s Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. Read more
