The European Union, the world’s largest free trade area and the most successful regional integration project in history, affects every part of the globe economically, politically and militarily. As such it is critically important to understand its internal workings and relations with other powerful international actors, such as the United States, China or other major states. After examining the EU’s evolution and structure, the second half of the course examines transatlantic relations – economically and politically the world’s largest and most important relationship – and the relationship with other powerful states, focusing on how they affect the EU and the U.S.