Jean Monnet Circle Seminar

European integration is a success model without precedent. The biggest internal market in the world and the strength of the European currency signify that the EU is an “economic giant“(Henry Kissinger) that continues to grow. The attractiveness of the European integration for non-EU-members still is enormous as the list of countries – in the Balkans and in former states of the Soviet Union – willing to join the EU shows. An obvious and astonishing discrepancy exists between the interior view of the Europeans, who become more and more aware of their strength, and the exterior view on Europe, which in manifold respects turns out to be more critical. European trade policy is perceived as unfair and protectionist by developing countries; European agricultural policy is an exclusive example of regulatory policy. At the same time, the European’s commitment is perceived as too little regarding peace making and peace keeping missions in global trouble spots. The odds of European foreign policy are an essential characteristic for the outside. This Jean Monnet lecture aims at a clear outside view on Europe on the basis of academic insights. Economic dynamics and political perspectives need to be developed in equal measure to sustainably strengthen Europe’s importance.

Literature:

• Adam, Hans und Peter Mayer (2014): Europäische Integration, UVK Lucius, UTB-Taschenbuch. • El-Agraa, Ali M. (2011): The European Union. Economics and Policies, Cambridge University Press.
• El-Agraa, Ali M. (2011): The European Union. Economics and Policies, Cambridge University Press.
• Leonard, Dick (2010): Guide to the European Union. The definitive guide to all aspects of the EU, THE ECONOMIST BOOK.
• Neal, Larry (2007): The Economics of Europe and the European Union Cambridge University Press.
• Wagener, Hans-Jürgen und Thomas Eger (2014): Europäische Integration. Wirtschaft und Recht, Geschichte und Politik, 3. Auflage, München.
• Wentzel, Dirk (2006): Europäische Integration. Ordnungspolitische Chancen und Defizite, Schriften zu Ordnungsfragen der Wirtschaft, Band 82, Stuttgart und New York.

Dirk Wentzel studied economics at the University of Bonn, as a scholarship student of the Adenauer Foundation, for which he serves as trustee today. He earned his doctoral degree in 1994, with a dissertation on monetary theory at the University of Marburg, for which he was awarded the Herbert Quandt Prize. In 2001 he completed his habilitation in media economics, also in Marburg. He has had multiple research stays abroad, including at Lomonosov Moscow State University, at New York University, and at Pennsylvania State University, where he was a visiting professor and Humboldt fellow between 2000 and 2002. Since 2003, he has been Professor of Economics and European Economic Relations at Pforzheim University and has served as dean of the economics department since 2019. In 2005 he received an EU-funded Jean Monnet Chair and was named Jean Monnet Professor for European Integration by the European Commission. Since then, his publications have focused on European affairs. He has been director of the European Business, Politics, and Culture Summer School, which he founded in collaboration with the Smeal College of Business at Pennsylvania State University, since 2008. In 2011 he was named President of the Karlsruhe-Pforzheim region for the Humboldt Foundation. In 2013 he became president of the Forschungsseminar Radein ([www.radein.de]www.radein.de).
Dirk Wentzel has been the editor of “Schriften zu Ordnungsfragen der Wirtschaft“ since 2010 and writes regularly for Börsen-Zeitung. In his work, he concentrates on institutional and regulatory economics in the tradition of Walter Eucken’s Freiburg School and Jean Monnet’s concept of European integration.

A list of Dirk Wentzel’s publications and scientific projects can be found here.

Contact: dirk.wentzel∂hs-pforzheim.de

Gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights are embedded in the European Union's legal and policy framework, reflected in treaties, charters, and secondary legislation. This session introduces the concepts of sex, gender, and equality as analytical categories before turning to key EU achievements in women's and LGBTQ+ rights and the institutional mechanisms through which equality policy is developed and implemented.

The session then examines how these commitments are simultaneously contested and mobilized in the European political arena. Two case studies illustrate this tension from opposite directions: the Istanbul Convention, exploring how anti-gender rhetoric has driven resistance to ratification across Hungary, Bulgaria, and Slovakia; and the European Citizens' Initiative 'My Voice, My Choice,' tracing how over a million citizens mobilized around abortion access — and what the Commission's response reveals about the limits of EU competence.

Literature:

• Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, May 11, 2011. https://rm.coe.int/168008482e
• European Citizens' Initiative. (2026, June 14). My Voice, My Choice: For Safe And Accessible Abortion. https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/my-voice-my-choice-safe-and-accessible-abortion_en
• European Commission. (n.d.). Gender equality and empowering women and girls. Retrieved September 5, 2025, from https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/policies/gender-equality/gender-equality-and-empowering-women-and-girls_en
• European Commission. (2022). The European Union: What it is and What it Does.
• European Institute for Gender Equality. Gender Equality Index | European Institute for Gender Equality. 2025. https://eige.europa.eu/gender-equality-index/2024/RO
• European Institute for Gender Equality. Glossary and thesaurus. https://eige.europa.eu/publications-resources/thesaurus
• Holvikivi, A., Holzberg, B., & Ojeda, T. (Eds.). (2024). Thinking Gender in Transnational Times. Transnational Anti-Gender Politics. Springer International Publishing.
• Kováts, E., & Põim, M. (Eds.). (2015). Gender as symbolic glue: The position and role of conservative and far right parties in the anti-gender mobilizations in Europe ; France ; Germany ; Hungary ; Poland ; Slovakia. FEPS – Foundation for European Progressive Studies, with the financial support of the European Parliament and by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Budapest.
• Kuhar, R., & Smrdelj, R. (2025). The Rise of Anti-gender Mobilizations. In R. Smrdelj & R. Kuhar (Eds.), Anti-Gender Mobilizations in Europe and the Feminist Response (pp. 1–24). Springer Nature Switzerland.
• My Voice, M. C. (2026, June 14). My Voice, My Choice. https://www.myvoice-mychoice.org/
• Ojeda, T., Holzberg, B., & Holvikivi, A. (2024). A Transnational Feminist Approach to Anti-Gender Politics. In A. Holvikivi, B. Holzberg, & T. Ojeda (Eds.), Thinking Gender in Transnational Times. Transnational Anti-Gender Politics (pp. 1–32). Springer International Publishing.
• Paternotte, D., & Kuhar, R. (2017). “Gender ideology” in movement:: Introduction. In Anti-gender campaigns in Europe: Mobilizing against equality (First paperback edition, pp. 1–23). Rowman & Littlefield International.

Gabriela Pancheva is a doctoral student in the project "Gender struggles in the new conjuncture. Gender, sexuality and the future of human rights in the 21st century" at the Department of Gender Studies at Lund University, Sweden. Her research interests include political and social discourse on gender, LGBTQ+, and reproductive rights in Europe, with a particular focus on Bulgaria, and how narratives shape public perception, policy debates, and societal attitudes.

Contact: gabriela.pancheva∂genus.lu.se

The EU’s political system is often perceived as too complex, with confusing decision-making processes alienating its citizens. Playing a quiz on European politics, students are provided with an overview of the most important EU institutions to show that EU governance is not that complex as widely perceived. In group work, participants learn about the structure, internal functioning and competences of the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Council of the EU and the European Council. They are then introduced supranational decision-making at the example of the ordinary legislative procedure and to intergovernmental decision-making in the area of Common Foreign and Security Policy. The two cases illustrate how different processes of EU governance are, depending on the policy area. Building on this, students discuss whether these decision-making processes are effective and/or democratic. Is the EU able to master crises with these processes or are they not efficient and democratic enough?

Julian Plottka is a Scientific Senior Project Manager at the Institut für Europäische Politik in Berlin, where he researches EU enlargement policy in the project “InvigoratEU: Invigorating Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy for a Resilient Europe”. He has studied political science at the University of Potsdam, Universitet i Bergen and the Free University Berlin. In 2025, he successfully defended his PhD thesis on the EU’s external actorness at the University of Passau. His research covers German EU policy, reforms of the EU political system, its democratic legitimacy, Strategic Culture, and EU foreign policy with a special focus on the EU’s relations with Eastern European, the Southern Caucasus, and Central Asia. Mr. Plottka has managed a number of research projects, including the “Study on Strengthening the Democratic Legitimacy of the EU”, the “Study on the European added Value of the European Citizens’ Initiative” and the project “The Relaunch of Europe. Mapping Member State Reform Interests”.

For his publications, contact details and more information see here: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0635-2770

Contact: julian.plottka∂iep-berlin.de

In the wake of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, security and defense have moved to the forefront of European and global agendas. As geopolitical tensions reshape the international order, there is no better time to explore the law, policy, and practice of the European Union’s (EU) security and defense—a field with profound implications for the future of the European continent and beyond.

This interdisciplinary seminar invites students on a journey into the heart of EU security and defense. Together, we will unpack the legal, political, and institutional frameworks that define this critical policy area, with a special focus on the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP). Through a blend of theoretical analysis and real-world case studies, students will:

• Gain key insights into the law and governance, actors, and evolving dynamics of EU security and defense.
• Analyze the impact of recent geopolitical shifts, operational realities, and landmark case law on EU defense governance and integration.
• Explore the civilian and military dimensions of EU missions, bridging theory with practical, on-the-ground perspectives.
• Examine current and future challenges, from defense industrial cooperation to joint procurement, and the EU’s role in a rapidly changing global security landscape.

By the end of the course, students will not only understand the origins, evolution, and unique features of EU security and defense but also develop the analytical tools to navigate its complexities.

Literature

• Panos Koutrakos, The EU Common Security and Defence Policy (Oxford University Press 2013)
• Max Bergmann, Why It’s Time to Reconsider a European Army, 28.02.2025, CSIS blog
• Steven Blockmans and Panos Koutrakos (eds), Research Handbook on the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (Edward Elgar 2018)
• Carolyn Moser, On the Way to a European Defence Union. Verfassungsblog, Symposium ‘Europe’s Geopolitical Coming of Age: Adapting Law and Governance to Harsh International Realities’, 29.10.2024. verfassungsblog
• Carolyn Moser, The war in Ukraine and its repercussions on Europe’s “security and defence constitution, 22.09.2022. constitutionnet

Dr Carolyn Moser specialises in international and EU law and governance. Her particular focus is on security and defence, and she is also an expert on Franco-German relations. Since 2022, she has led the independent research group ENSURE (European Security Revisited) at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg. During the 2023/24 academic year, she held the Alfred Grosser Chair at Sciences Po in Paris. Previously, she has also held visiting positions at Basel University, the EUI in Fiesole, Lille Catholic University and LMU Munich, among others. Her work has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals, books, edited volumes and blogs, and she has received several awards and distinctions, including the Otto Hahn Medal from the Max Planck Society and the European Court of Auditors Award. Her research has also received funding from the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, the German government and the Max Planck Society. Dr Moser’s interdisciplinary expertise is in demand beyond academia at institutions such as the German Bundestag, the European Parliament and the European Commission, as well as in print, television, and radio media. She studied law and political science at Sciences Po Paris and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in the US, earning her doctorate from Utrecht University.

National identity is a fundamentally European concept and has existed for as long as the idea of the nation-state itself. But does a distinctly European identity also exist? And if so, how is this notion represented in contemporary European cinema?

This presentation introduces key cultural studies approaches to identity before examining how films negotiate ideas of national, European and/or transnational identities across contemporary comedies, historical dramas, and television series.

Literature:

• Anderson, Benedict (1983): Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London/New York: Verso.
• During, Simon (2005): Cultural Studies: A Critical Introduction. London/New York: Routledge.
• Hall, Stuart (2021): „Race, the Floating Signifier“. In: Paul Gilroy und Ruth Wilson Gilmore (Hrsg.): Selected Writings on Race and Difference. Durham/London: Duke University Press, pp. 339–358. [Ursprünglicher Vortrag: Media Education Foundation, 1997]
• Ryan, Michael (2010): Cultural Studies: A Practical Introduction. Malden, MA/Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Taylor, Charles (1992): „The Politics of Recognition“. In: Amy Gutmann (Hrsg.): Multiculturalism: Examining the Politics of Recognition. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, pp. 25–73.

Dr. Igor Krstić (b. 1973) was born in Yugoslavia and grew up as the son of immigrant parents in Nürtingen, Baden-Württemberg. He studied German Studies and Comparative Literature at the University of Tübingen and later earned a Master of Arts in Film and Television Studies at the University of Amsterdam. He received his Ph.D. with a dissertation on the representation of slums in world cinema (published in 2016 by Edinburgh University Press) and has since worked as a research associate, DAAD postdoctoral fellow, and lecturer in film, media, and cultural studies at the University of Reading (UK), the University of Stuttgart, and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.”

Contact: igor.krstic∂kit.edu

After years of arduous negotiations, the new rules enshrined in the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum finally entered into force in June 2026. The Pact claims to strengthen and further develop key EU policies on migration, border management and asylum (the Common European Asylum System – CEAS) by striking a new balance between the protection expectations and human rights of persons arriving from third countries, the security and overburdening concerns of EU Member States and the idea of an orderly and effective asylum and migration policy.

The session will focus on examining the legal foundations and background of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, notably critically discussing its implications in terms of human rights. A particularly controversial aspect of the Pact is its emphasis on policies of «externalization», i.e. increasing possibilities for EU Member States to conduct relevant procedures at the external borders of the EU (including the creation of border camps, combined with the so-called legal «fiction of non-entry») or even beyond the Union borders, i.e. in third states (e.g. Albania or African countries). Another contentious element is the so-called «instrumentalization» of refugees by third countries (e.g. Russia or Belarus), the legitimate defenses EU Member States claim to rely on in this regard and their implications for the human rights of the persons concerned.

Literature:

• Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs. (2026, June 11). Asylum in the EU. https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/asylum-eu_en
• Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs. (2026, June 11). Pact on Migration and Asylum: A common EU system to manage migration. https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/pact-migration-and-asylum_en

Andreas Müller is Professor of European Law, Public International Law and Human Rights at the University of Basel. He studied Law and Philosophy at the Université Robert Schuman in Strasbourg and the University of Innsbruck and holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Yale Law School. He received his doctorate in 2010 and completed his habilitation in 2016, being awarded the venia docendi for Public International Law, EU Law, Constitutional Law and Philosophy of Law. He became a professor in the Department of European Law and Public International Law at the University of Innsbruck in 2018. Since 2010, he has been an annual Visiting Professor at the Universidad de Alcalá in Madrid and the Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City.

As a university professor, he has regularly given lectures and seminars and spoken at events on International Asylum and Migration Law, European Law, and Human Rights. His past talks include “The Future of International Human Rights Law”, “Climate-Displaced Persons and International Law”, and “The Reform of the Common European Asylum System”.

See full CV

Contact: office-mueller-ius∂unibas.ch

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Prof. Dr. Caroline Y. Robertson-von Trotha, born in Scotland, studied sociology, philosophy, and history in Heidelberg and Karlsruhe. With the support of a scholarship from the Peter Fuld Foundation, she earned her doctorate in 1990 with a dissertation on “Ethnic Identity and Political Mobilization” and was habilitated in 2004 at the University of Karlsruhe (TH). In 1989, she was a founding member and, from 1990 to 2002, served as Executive Director of the Interfaculty Institute for Applied Cultural Studies at the University of Karlsruhe (TH). From 2002 to 2021, she served as the founding director of its successor institution, the ZAK | Center for Cultural and General Studies at the University of Karlsruhe, now the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
Prof. Dr. Caroline Y. Robertson-von Trotha served as coordinator of the German network of the Anna Lindh Foundation, as member of the Culture Committee of the German National Commission for UNESCO, as member and later spokesperson for the Kleiner Konvent of the Schader Foundation, and as chair of the Scientific Initiative Group on Culture and Foreign Policy (WIKA) at the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa), where she also served on the research advisory board. In addition, she was the editor of three academic series and the Scientific Director of the Karlsruher , an annual international conference dedicated to contemporary political and societal issues in cultural studies. Since 2024, she has been a member of the External Advisory Board of the COLOURS European University Alliance, and since 2026, she has served as co-spokesperson for the Humboldt Regional Group Karlsruhe-Pforzheim e.V.

In June 2021, she was selected as one of the two final candidates in the selection process to serve as Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue Between Cultures (ALF), which comprises 42 member states and is headquartered in Alexandria.

Her primary research interests are: cultural change and globalization, multiculturalism and integration policy, as well as the theory and practice of “public science.” As the founding director of the ZAK, one of her primary goals was to bring science to the public and thereby facilitate an exchange in the spirit of a dialogical civil society.

For her exceptional work and dedication to KIT, Prof. Dr. Caroline Y. Robertson-von Trotha was honored the KIT Medal of Merit.

Contact: caroline robertson ∂does-not-exist.kit edu