Courses

Fall 2025 Semester

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DHP D280-1 US-EU RELATIONS IN THE 21st CENTURY: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS OF TRANSATLANTIC AFFAIRS  

Professor Dimitrios Skiadas

It is a course offered jointly by the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the College of Europe (CoE). It will explore the origins of transatlantic cooperation, the creation of common European economic and political structures, notably the European Union (EU), and the development of transatlantic security alliances, particularly the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It will compare constitutional governance in the differing federal systems of the US and the EU, analyze centrifugal forces of disintegration that have tested transatlantic relations and the sustainability of the EU, and examine the populist and nationalist political movements and neo-authoritarian tendencies that are challenging liberal democracy on both sides of the Atlantic. The course will examine the security policies of the transatlantic partners in responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as the root causes, competing narratives, and significant effects of confrontation between Russia and the transatlantic partners, and changes in transatlantic security structures, including NATO and the European Defence Force, in response to the confrontation.  The course will also address evolving transatlantic security policies toward China. Areas of economic tension and cooperation between transatlantic partners will be studied, including financial crises, regulatory differences (e.g., on environmental policy, artificial intelligence), transatlantic trade and investment relationships, economic policies toward China, and economic sanctions against Russia in response to the war in Ukraine. Current topics like climate change and digital regulation will be discussed as empirical examples of regulatory tension and cooperation. The influence of the public health pandemic on transatlantic relations, especially the differing responses to and management of the resulting economic crisis, will be covered.  The course will conclude by projecting and exploring the future of transatlantic relations and their role in international affairs.