Course Information

About this course

The European Union has been called an Unidentified Political Object (UPO) because it is less than a federal state, but more than a federation of states. Therefore, the European game of politics is rather special with deep impacts on the present EU crisis and the future of EU survival. This course offers a broad study of the EU, including historical development, governing institutions, political processes, economic cooperation, and modern challenges. You will also explore major policies and approaches to the present crisis, all while learning ‘how to play the game’ of politics in Europe.

Syllabus

Spring 2026 – Section A

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Spring 2026- Section B

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Spring 2026 – Section C

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Pre-requisites

Two political science courses at university level, with at least one focusing on either international relations or comparative politics.

Study Tour note

Bring a week’s worth of professional business attire.

Travel on Study Tour

You only take one Core Course per semester, and each Core Course includes two Study Tours: one Short Study Tour to a nearby destination for three days, and one Long Study Tour to another European country for six days.

Led by your faculty, Study Tours take you into real-world settings where you will apply what you’ve learned outside the classroom.

Check out the Study Tours for this course
Students sitting on the floor in a modern building, engaging in a group activity with papers and notebooks scattered around.
“Going to the European Union institutions in Brussels showed me that a career in international politics could be very interesting and a field that I might want to work in someday.”

Emma

SUNY Oneonta

Faculty

Mikkel Gaardsted Nielsen

Cand.Soc. International Relations, European Studies, Aalborg University 2020. European Union Information Consultant, The Danish European Movement. With DIS since 2026

Alexander Hviid

M.Sc. (International Security & Law, University of Southern Denmark, 2016). M.A. (Social Science, University of Copenhagen, 2010). Research interests include Arctic security and Danish-Greenlandic relations, as well as public international law, specifically international criminal law and international humanitarian law. Work experience with the Institute for Strategy at the Royal Danish Defense College. With DIS since 2016.

Milosz Jeromin Cordes

PhD (Cultural Studies, SWPS University, Warsaw 2017), MA (East-European Cultural Studies, University of Warsaw 2012), MA (International Relations, University of Warsaw & St. Petersburg State University, 2012), BA (History, University of Warsaw 2011), BA (International Relations, University of Warsaw 2010). Research Fellow at the Danish Foreign Policy Society (2021), Post-Doc Researcher at Lund University (2021). Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellow (2006). Vice-Consul at Poland’s Consulate General in Kaliningrad (2018-2021), Second Secretary at Poland’s Permanent Representation to the European Union (2016-2018), Second Secretary & Specialist at Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (2012-2016). With DIS since 2021.

Long Study Tour

About this tour

In Warsaw you’ll gain a more nuanced understanding of the domestic and external challenges the European Union (EU) faces, and experience first-hand the inner working of political institutions you learn about in class. Warsaw, the capital city of Poland, is the largest metropolis in the eastern part of the European Union. It hosts international bodies like the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), the Representation of the European Commission and the European Parliament, and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

The uniqueness of Warsaw lies in its history, geographical location, and importance for current political developments within the EU and beyond. Completely destroyed during the Second World War and rebuilt during the communist times, the city is a living proof of the success of the post-Cold War democratic transition of Central Europe and the European integration. Since Poland borders Ukraine, one can see the practical dimension of the political machinery beyond EU’s support for this war-torn country.

By visiting various institutions, you’ll gain comprehensive knowledge of the ‘Unidentified Political Object’ known as the EU. Meeting with diplomats and politicians who work at the intersection of national, European, and global politics, you’ll have numerous opportunities to ask questions and discuss current issues with inside players.

Learning outcomes

  • Experience key challenges the European Union is facing on its eastern frontiers: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, hybrid threats coming from Belarus & Russia, strengthening EU’s autonomous defense capabilities
  • Learn about the difficulties behind achieving coherence across 27 EU Member States
  • Understand the civilizational progress Central and Eastern European states have achieved thanks to their EU membership, as opposed to their Eastern European and Balkan neighbors
  • See different perspectives on security across the Baltic Sea
  • Meet with international relations professionals both from EU institutions and Member States

Possible activities

  • Visit the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) headquarters
  • Tour the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland and the Embassy of Denmark in Warsaw
  • Meet with experts at the European Commission and European Parliament Representation Office
  • Visit Gaz-System, one of companies dealing with securing gas supplies to Poland and further west
  • Learn from the Casimir Pulaski Foundation

About this tour

This week-long Study Tour to Brussels allows you to gain a more nuanced understanding of the European Union (EU), and experience first-hand the political institutions you learn about in class. Brussels, the ‘capital of Europe,’ is home to the major EU institutions, as well as a plethora of organizations hoping to influence the EU. Through visits to the various institutions, you will gain a better comprehensive knowledge of the ‘Unidentified Political Object’ known as the EU, and understand how individual countries and organizations interact, lobby, and work with the EU.

You will meet with politicians who work in various branches of the European Union, and thus have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss current issues with inside players. To develop your independence and critical analysis skills, you will conduct political actor interviews throughout Brussels. In these interviews, you and four or five classmates will interview lobbyists, permanent representatives of countries, and NGOs, and analyze how countries, businesses, and organizations lobby the European Union. These meetings will help you understand how policy is created, where different organizations have influence and how various actors ‘play the game.’

Throughout the Study Tour, you will use Brussels as a classroom to enhance your understanding of the class material and develop a better understanding of the history and culture of Belgium, and the European Union.

Learning outcomes

  • Experience and observe the life, culture, and diplomatic environment of one of Europe’s most important cities
  • Learn about supranational governmental organizations such as the European Council, Commission and Parliament, as well as smaller governmental and non-governmental bodies, such as permanent representations and lobbyists
  • Provide opportunities to gain a pragmatic understanding of EU decision-making. In other words, learning how to ’play the game’

Possible activities

  • Visit the European Commission
  • Hold small group interviews with Political Actors, Permanent Representatives of the EU, and NGOs
  • Visit the European Parliament

Brussels

Short Study Tour

About this tour

The Core Course Week explores conflict and cooperation in Europe in the 20th century with Denmark as the case study. Travel to the rugged landscapes and quaint towns of Southern Jutland, where the apparent idyll belies the fact that life here has always been steeped in European power politics, as this land has been ‘swapped’ multiple times between Denmark and the much stronger Southern neighbor Germany – sometimes by voting and sometimes by force. What was the lived experience of the World Wars and the Cold War in Denmark, and how does it continuously shape our relations with the rest of Europe?

Learning outcomes

  • Explore the origins of European integration through a case study of the turbulent Danish-German relations in the 19th and 20th centuries.
  • Learn of the dramatic division of Europe throughout the Cold War and its consequences for European and Danish security and integration.
  • Engage in your personal learning process outside the classroom by actively participating and challenging your current ideas and assumptions within the field.
  • Get to know your fellow students and professors in an educational and social setting outside DIS.

Possible activities

  • Visit the the North Atlantic Wall: Nazi Germany’s Fortifications on the Danish West Coast
  • Explore the unique Tirpitz Museum
  • Experience the Cold War Museum at Stevnsfort