Objectives

The term «peace» means either security and absence of war, or inclusive societies, social harmony and effective welfare policies (European Union Global Strategy 2016). Under this view, the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the EU not only because it «contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation», but also for its role in fostering «democracy and human right». The core importance of ensuring peace is also evident by Article 3 of the Treaty on the European Union. It is therefore surprising that the Nobel Peace Prize has not been welcomed unanimously by Europeans as a major achievement for the EU. Today, European Union citizens seem to be so accustomed to peace that they tend to forget the relevant role played by the Union in this regard: the project aims at analyzing this major achievement by focusing on the multiple dimensions of what we can consider the «European Peace».

More specifically B4PEACE aims at investigating:

a)     The internal dimension of peace in the EU:

the focus will be on the European Social Model, which will be analyzed both on an economic and a sociological point of view. In particular, research and teaching activities in this field will deal with two of the most recent theorizations of welfare policy: the concept of social welfare system based on a multi-stakeholder approach (i.e. the role of private societal actors in the provisions of social protection measures); and the concept of «Public Participatory Welfare» (i.e. the role of public and civil society actors). Building upon these concepts, the course will discuss the concept of «shared social responsibility» (Council of Europe 2011) and the impact of the current migration crisis on European social cohesion policy.

b)     The external dimension of peace in the EU:

the focus will be on the EU as a Global Actor of Peace, both from a political science and from a juridical perspective. In particular, research and teaching activities in this field will deal with the European Union’s role in maintaining and promoting peace, democracy and human rights outside its borders. Building upon these concepts, the course will debate the Common Foreign and Security Policy and EU civil and military operations.

The project aims at meeting the following Jean Monnet Action’s objectives:   

1. Promoting the introduction of a European Union angle into mainly non-EU related studies
   
   Finding the causes of peace was a founding issue in International Relations (IR) when the first «Woodrow Wilson Chair» was established at the University of Wales one Century ago (1919). Since then, peace studies have been ancillary in social sciences. Most surprisingly, the causes of the seven decades-long European Peace have not yet been fully investigated by academic research. The proposal aims at promoting the introduction of this kind of debate in peace studies, paying attention to the political causes of peace, its economic determinants, its social prerequisites and its main juridical outcomes. It is the first time that experts in these fields of study gather in a single course dealing with a distinctive feature of the European Union.
   
   
2. Delivering a tailor-made course on a specific EU issue relevant for graduates in their professional life
   
   The University of Parma already offers one graduate programme in International and European studies. An MA in Advanced European Studies is also offered by the European College of Parma. However, there are no undergraduate programmes devoted to European Studies in Parma. Both the abovementioned MA programmes are characterized by a multidisciplinary approach, but they both are grounded on the expectation that interdisciplinarity (i.e. interconnections between different disciplines, or the study of the same topic from different angles) will somehow be a spontaneous outcome of their programme. This is not always the case: it is for this reason that delivering a tailor-made course for BA students on the European peace may pave the way to more refined, interdisciplinary courses on Europe in the future, connecting students getting their European Baccalaureat in the School for Europe with graduate programmes offered by the University of Parma and by the European College of Parma Foundation, thus making Parma an attractive pole for those interested in pursuing a career in the EU.
   
   
3. Creating interest in the EU and constituting the basis for future poles of European knowledge, particularly in Partner Countries
   
   We strongly believe that emphasizing peace as a distinctive feature of the EU may serve as a model for other regions, especially for conflict-torn and democratizing countries. In order to expand the interest in the EU and in its model of peace, the project aims at consolidating and further strengthening the host institution’s relationships with partner countries. Indeed, a significant number of students enrolled at the University of Parma – either as ordinary or exchange students – are citizens of Western Balkan, Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America countries (more than 100 in the Department’s programmes only). It is expected that, once back to their original countries, these foreign students will have a more complete understanding of the European Union as «Global actor of peace», therefore constituting the basis for future poles of European knowledge.
   
   
4. Fostering the publication and dissemination of the results of academic teaching & research
   
   The project is innovative insofar it brings together many young researchers from different disciplines. To carry out such a course and coordinate their activities, they will do research and work together before, during and after the course for three years. To exploit this joint research activity, the project aims at disseminating the most relevant results achieved by key staff members to the Italian academic community (through external researchers involved in the teaching staff), to other European Universities (through the EUniverCities network) and, more generally, to the broader public (through the organization of public conferences and events). To achieve this three-pronged goal, research team members will take part to seminars and public conferences involving researchers and academics from Italy and all over Europe and, at the end of the 3rd year, they will publish one scientific article for each discipline to be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals.