CEURUS Summer School

‘EU and Russia Transforming: Implications for the Relationship’

Place: University of Tartu, Centre for EU-Russia Studies (CEURUS)

Time: 23-28 July 2012

Objectives
While many experts describe the EU-Russia relations as stagnating, internally both players are going through dramatic changes. The eurozone has been hit by the debt crisis, which presents a grave danger to the very existence of the single European currency. The scale of the financial problems, which the European Union is now facing has pushed the EU governments towards far-reaching political and institutional reforms, which might lead to the emergence of a much more coherent and robust political actor to replace today’s rather loose confederation. Russia, for its part, demonstrates an unprecedented degree of political stability and continuity, and yet there are numerous indications that the tensions continue to accumulate within the economy, the state and society. There seems to be a consensus for the need to modernise the country, but various elite groups and the wider society increasingly diverge as to the most basic goals of political and societal development.

In sum, the EU and Russia are entering an interesting time of major transformations, which can make them much stronger, but can also lead the collapse of the current social, economic and political structures. The goal of the 2012 CEURUS Summer School is to help students get a grasp on the scale and interconnectedness of various challenges that the EU and Russia face today, and to estimate the potential impact of these challenges on the EU-Russia relations.

In particular, this is to be achieved by:

  • expanding their understanding of the core policy problems, analytical puzzles, and theoretical debates driving contemporary research on the EU, Russia and their mutual relations;
  • demonstrating how social science theories, concepts and methods can be used to explain and interpret EU-Russia relations and assessing the explanatory potential and limitations of the various approaches;
  • combining theoretical discussions with presentations by policy practitioners involved in policy-making, advocacy and research in the field of EU-Russia relations.

Structure

The 2012 CEURUS Summer School will comprise 30 academic hours (i.e. 30 x 45 minutes) of study, combining different study formats (lectures, seminars study trips). The programme’s duration is six full days (Monday through Saturday) and is built around the following major themes:
1.    Theoretical introduction.
2.    The legal and institutional framework of the EU-Russia relations.
3.    The eurozone crisis and the prospects of institutional reform.
4.    The driving forces and the prospects of Russia’s modernisation.
5.    EU-Russia energy relations.
6.    The EU and Russia in the shared neighbourhood.
7.    Memory politics and EU-Russia relations.
8.    International law and human rights on the agenda of the EU-Russia relations.

Eligibility and requirements

The summer school is open to MA students, advanced undergraduate students and professionals. The programme awards 4 ECTS/2 ECTS. In order to receive 4 ECTS for the programme, the participants are required to:

  • attend all lectures, seminars and study trips;
  • read all required texts prior to arrival in Tartu;
  • participate actively in discussions;
  • submit a research paper by 30 August 2012. The length of the paper must be between 4000 and 4500 words, including footnotes and bibliography.

Students who do not submit the research paper will earn 2 ECTS.

Upon successful completion of the programme participants will receive the University of Tartu Certificate of Completion and an Academic Transcript.

Application procedure:

Deadline for applications is 04 June 2012. A letter of motivation needs to be submitted together with the application. It should answer at least the following questions:

  1. How is the topic of the summer school related to your previous education and/or work experience?
  2. In what ways will the summer school help you attain your academic and professional goals?
  3. Which topics listed in the summer school programme are especially interesting to you and why?

To submit the application, please go to the How to apply section of UT International Summer University website.

Study fees

Study fees, including tuition, cultural and social programme as well as other services in the framework of the Summer School, are fully covered by CEURUS and the University of Tartu. We do, however, charge 200 EUR to cover accomodation costs during your stay in Tartu (5 nights for the period of 23-28 July 2012). Half of this (100 EUR) need to be paid upon application (i.e. together with the submission of you application) by 4 June 2012. It will be fully refunded in case your application is rejected. In case your application is confirmed, however, the other half (100 EUR) of the accommodation fee is due by  01 July 2012.

We do not cover the costs of transportation to and from Tartu.

Please view the 2012 CEURUS summer school schedule (doc)

For additional information, please contact Dr. Heiko Pääbo (heiko.paabo[at]ut.ee)