EU - Latin American Relations
| Title | Λατινική Αμερική και Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση / EU - Latin American Relations |
| Code | ΚΕ0Ε58 |
| Faculty | Social and Economic Sciences |
| School | Political Sciences |
| Cycle / Level | 1st / Undergraduate |
| Teaching Period | Winter/Spring |
| Coordinator | Ioannis Papageorgiou |
| Common | Yes |
| Status | Active |
| Course ID | 600025386 |
Programme of Study: PPS Tmīma Politikṓn Epistīmṓn 2023-sīmera
Registered students: 6
| Orientation | Attendance Type | Semester | Year | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KORMOS | Elective Courses | Spring | - | 4 |
| Academic Year | 2024 – 2025 |
| Class Period | Spring |
| Faculty Instructors |
|
| Weekly Hours | 3 |
| Total Hours | 39 |
| Class ID | 600271334
|
Class Schedule
| Building | Αμφιθέατρα Νομικής & Κοινωνικών και Οικονομικών Επιστημών |
| Floor | Ισόγειο |
| Hall | ΑΙΘΟΥΣΑ Β (156) |
| Calendar | Τετάρτη 12:00 έως 15:00 |
Course Type 2021
Specific Foundation
Mode of Delivery
- Face to face
Digital Course Content
- e-Study Guide https://qa.auth.gr/en/class/1/600271334
- eLearning: https://elearning.auth.gr/course/view.php?id=17336
Erasmus
The course is also offered to exchange programme students.
Language of Instruction
- Greek (Instruction, Examination)
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course students:
• Gain knowledge about the historical dynamics and contemporary characteristics of the politics of the Latin America countries at continental and international context and understand the basic trends and issues in the politics of the continent
• develop the reading, writing, and communication skills that will serve their further careers.
• increase their ability to think critically and comparatively and to be able to evaluate various theoretical interpretations and conflicting evidence. build real knowledge of Latin American politics and Latin American history.
• Understand the dynamics in the relations between the European Union and Latin America at bilateral and interregional level.
General Competences
- Apply knowledge in practice
- Work autonomously
- Work in teams
- Work in an international context
- Work in an interdisciplinary team
- Appreciate diversity and multiculturality
- Advance free, creative and causative thinking
Course Content (Syllabus)
The course is an undergraduate elective course at the School of Political Sciences and it is provided in Greek. It offers students a thorough overview of the diverse relationship between the European Union and Latin America. Covering political, economic, and social dimensions, it explores the historical context, current dynamics, and prospects of collaboration. Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach, the course includes lectures, case studies, interactive discussions, and guest lectures by experts in EU-Latin America relations.
This course starts by an introduction to the political systems, politics and society of Latin America. It includes an overview of the region as a whole, with analysis and study both of specific countries (Mexico, Brazil, Colombia…) and of cross-cutting issues (external dependence and regionalization, social and racial inequalities, democratization and the role of the various oligarchies, the role of religion). It begins with a historical, geopolitical and geographical overview of Latin America and identifies and tries to explain common features and processes in the birth and development of countries and their role in the regional context and international relations.
Next, the course focuses on specific topics in Latin America (including the role of religion, the presence of the military, the promotion of ethnic policies, the rise of civil society, land reform and land ownership, political and economic violence, and the US presence).
The last part of the course focuses on EU- Latin America relations. It starts with the historical and cultural ties, the colonial legacies as well as the Cold War period and their impact on modern interregional dynamics, before coming to the present time. It analyses the institutional Framework of the relations between the EU and individual Latin American states and regional organisations and examines the economic and trade relations (such as the EU-Mercosur trade deal) and challenges in economic relations (tariffs, agriculture, and sustainability). Finally, it investigates political and social dimensions, such as human rights and democracy promotion in Latin America, migration and environmental cooperation and climate change challenges.
The course is open to other students of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
Series of lectures
1. Introduction - geographical, historical and geopolitical context of Latin America
2. The heritage of the colonial period and the formation of national identities
4. Revolutions and upheavals: Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua
5. Populism and neo-populism: Peronism in Argentina
6. Army and Politics - The Dark Decade and Dictatorships: Chile and Uruguay
7. Violence as a political tool and as a substitute for the state: Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador
8. The role of the Church - from the theology of liberation to Pope Francisco
9. Political institutions and regional integration efforts
10. The EU and relations with Latin America – history and the institutional dimension
11. EU and Latin America economic and trade relations
12. Political and social dimensions in the bi-regional relations.
13. Challenges for the future
Keywords
Latin America, state, society, international relations, comparative politics, international economy, European Union
Educational Material Types
- Notes
- Slide presentations
- Book
Use of Information and Communication Technologies
Use of ICT
- Use of ICT in Course Teaching
- Use of ICT in Communication with Students
- Use of ICT in Student Assessment
Description
The course will be based on Power Point presentations. The bulk of the teaching material will be uploaded on the course's e-learning where students' papers will be also uploaded.
Course Organization
| Activities | Workload | ECTS | Individual | Teamwork | Erasmus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 39 | 1.4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reading Assigment | 35 | 1.3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Written assigments | 34 | 1.2 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Exams | 2 | 0.1 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Total | 110 | 4 |
Student Assessment
Description
short papers during the semester - 30% of the total grade.
participation and presentations during the semester - 40% of the total grade.
Final exam (long paper or dossier) - 30% of the total grade.
Student Assessment methods
- Written Assignment (Formative, Summative)
- Performance / Staging (Formative, Summative)
- Report (Formative, Summative)
Bibliography
Course Bibliography (Eudoxus)
Ιστορία της Λατινικής Αμερικής, Μαρίας Δαμηλάκου, Εκδόσεις ΑΙΩΡΑ. 2014. ΑΘΗΝΑ
Additional bibliography for study
Basic bibliography
• Skidmore Thomas E., Peter H. Smith and James N. Green (2014), Modern Latin America, 8th edition, Oxford University Press: New York.
• Bulmer-Thomas, Victor (2004), The Economic History of Latin America since Independence, Cambridge University Press: New York.
• Leslie Bethell (ed.), Latin America since 1930: Economy, Society and Politics, Cambridge University Press: New York.
• Susan Eckstein, ed. Power and Popular Protest: Latin American Social Movements, University of California Press.
• Linz, Juan J. and Alfred Stepan (Eds.) (1978) The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Latin America, Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore.
• Hagopian, Frances and Scott Mainwaring, (Eds.) (2005) The Third Wave of Democratization in Latin America: Advances and Setbacks, Cambridge University Press: New York.
• Smith, Peter H. (2011), Democracy in Latin America: Political Change in Comparative Perspective, Oxford University Press: New York.
• Cardoso, Fernando H. and Enzo Faletto (1979), Dependency and Development in Latin America, University of California Press
• Madrid, Raúl. L. 2012. The Rise of Ethnic Politics in Latin America. New York, Cambridge University Press.
• Scott Mainwaring and Aníbal Pérez-Liñán, Democracies and Dictatorships in Latin America: Emergence, Survival and Fall (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013)
• Acemoglu, Daron and James Robinson (2012), Why Nations Fail, Crown Publishers: New York
Country or topic-related bibliography
• Leslie Bethel, ed. Mexico Since Independence, Cambridge University Press: New York.
• Cuba: A Short History, Leslie Bethell, Ed. Cambridge University Press: New York.
• Paige, Jeffery (1998) Coffee and Power: Revolution and the Rise of Democracy in Central America, Harvard University Press: Cambridge
• Wood, Elisabeth J. (2001), "An Insurgent Path to Democracy: Popular Mobilization, Economic Interests and Regime Transition in South Africa and El Salvador." Comparative Political Studies, 34(8), pp. 862-888.
• Bushnell, David (1993), The Making of Modern Colombia: A Nation in Spite of Itself, University of California Press
• Stepan, Alfred (Ed.) (1973) Authoritarian Brazil, Yale University Press: New Haven.
• Valenzuela, Arturo (1978) The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Chile, Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore.
• Karl, Terry (1990), “Dilemmas of Democratization in Latin America.” Comparative Politics, 23(1): pp. 1-21.
• Drake, Paul W. (2009), Between Tyranny and Anarchy: A History of Democracy in Latin America, 1800-2006, Stanford University Press: Stanford.
• Coatsworth, John H. (2008) "Inequality, Institutions, and Economic Growth in Latin America,” Journal of Latin American Studies, 40: 545-569.
• Acemoglu, Daron and James A. Robinson (2006), Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy, Cambridge University Press: New York.
• Levitsky, Steven and Kenneth M. Roberts, (Eds.) (2011) The Resurgence of the Latin American Left, Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore.
• Fitch, Samuel. 1998. The Armed Forces and Democracy in Latin America. John Hopkins University Press.
• Burgos-Debray, Elisabeth. 1987. I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala New York: Verso, 1987.
• Weyland, K., R. Madrid, et al., eds. 2010. Leftist Governments in Latin America: Successes and Shortcomings. New York, Cambridge University Press.
• Guillermo O’Donnell, Bureaucratic Authoritarianism: Argentina 1966-1973 in Comparative Perspective (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988)
• Francisco Panizza. (ed), Populism and the Mirror of Democracy, (London:Verso, 2005),
• Alex E. Fernández Jilberto and Bargara Hogenboom (eds.) Latin America Facing China: South-South Relations beyond the Washington Consensus, (New York: Bergahn Books: 2010)
• Peter H. Smith, Talons of the Eagle: Latin America, the United States and the World, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008)
• tin America. Latin American Politics and Society, Volume 50: 1
Last Update
07-03-2025
