Teaching

Presentation

Autumn semester 2024-2025 : European Sovereignty. School of Public Affairs. Sciences Po

Since the war in Ukraine, the concept of European sovereignty has begun to take hold in public debate. It expresses the Union’s recognition that it has vital  interests to protect  itself in a more  conflictual world, much less favourable  to its global  standing. European power, which  used to be  largely normative , is now forced to cope with power politics  . This course will attempt to explain the sources of this sea change, its concrete  modalities   , and the   huge challenges it faces ahead . The basic assumption of this course is that   European sovereignty is not a legal principle but a political one aiming at increasing EU leverage in world affairs . European sovereignty is then deeply related to the idea of power. This course  will be based on both  strong scholarship and personal experience of Professor Laidi who was in Brussels between 2020 and 2024 the Special Adviser to the HRVP ( High Representative for Foreign Affairs  and Security Policy). Students taking this class should read for Class 1 “European Sovereignty” available on his website.