The course, delivered at the CIEE Rome Center (Council on International Educational Exchange), develops advanced competencies in connecting historical trajectories with international‑relations analysis across Europe and the Mediterranean, extending to transatlantic and global contexts. Students learn to interpret how institutions, norms and actors shape diplomacy, security and political economy; relate empire, nation‑building and integration to current policy challenges (migration, energy–environment, technology and information); and produce evidence‑based arguments grounded in scholarly literature, field‑based activities and site‑specific learning in Rome, strengthening analytical, methodological and communication skills for MA‑level work in International Studies.