Università Roma Tre

The course will analyze the evolution of relations between the United States and Europe from the end of the Second World War to the emergence of a post-American world. The first module will focus upon key moments in the origins and evolution of the transatlantic relationship during the Cold War, such as the Atlantic Charter, the Marshall plan, the formation and evolution of NATO, the Suez Canal crisis and the Vietnam conflict, and proposals for a new transatlantic bargain. The second module will discuss transatlantic relations after the end of the East-West division. While the central theme of the course will be the history of relations between the United States and Europe, analytical perspectives about the nature of the transatlantic community will also be presented and debated.

Students that have successfully passed this course will possess:

* a deep understanding of and the ability to comment on relations between the United States and Western Europe (LO1)

* an understanding of the policy preferences and attitudes of the United States and the main European states to transatlantic relations (LO2)

* a working knowledge of ‘Western institutions’, their build-up, their policy-making strategies, and their wider role in international politics (LO3)

* a theoretically and empirically informed understanding of NATO and its role in world politics (LO4)

* the ability to analyse and critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of the transatlantic relationship (LO5)

* methodological and other transferable skills and tools for understanding international politics and international relations (LO6)

* skills including data-gathering skills and the ability to access library sources on paper, electronically and orally, to assimilate it, and to evaluate it critically (LO7)

* a foundation that will assist those students willing to follow more advanced courses in International Relations and Security Studies (LO8)