Topic

The autumn school aims to provide in-depth and specific understanding of the European neighbourhood policy (ENP) and of the Union’s “ever widening nature” from different multidisciplinary perspectives, combining political, social, historical and cultural vantage points. The discussion on the ENP – with a specific focus on its Eastern component – will be critically conducted in the light of the experience of the recent EU enlargements (capitalizing from the successful experience of the Baltic states), in an attempt to frame the competing and alternative perspectives and interests of both the accessing countries and the pre-2004 Member states.

The debate on the ongoing process of redefinition of the ENP cannot exclude intervening factors such as the challenges posed by Moscow’s revamped activism in the post-Soviet space and by the post-Maidan developments along the Eastern flank of the EU. The discussion of the future perspectives and developmental trajectories of the ENP as the centre of the school’s debate discloses its key timely relevance in the light of the process of institutional and structural redefinition initiated by the European Commission in March 2015. The recently disclosed ENP review and its practical implementation, throughout the next year, will pave the way to the redefinition of EU’s approach towards the ENP countries aspiring Union’s membership (i.e. Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine), and more in general towards a problematization and more multidimensional characterization of the concept of membership itself.

Structure

The program of the Autumn School will comprise appr. 30 academic hours of study, combining different study formats (e.g. group work, workshops, lectures). The following topics will be addressed:

 Identification of factors related to success or failure in europeanization

 main concepts of transition processes and conditionality

 role of the different institutions and actors involved in the ENP and ENP review

 similarities and differences in the light of their integration process

 relationship between EU politics and policy-making to the developments in the ENP

 impact of the current geo-political developments on the EU and neighbours' attitude towards further enlargements

 democratic transition, conditionality, and europeanization

 Impact of Russia’s assertiveness on the ENP

The program awards 5 ECTS. Upon successful completion of the Autumn School, participants will receive a joint certificate from three renowned universities (FUB, UH, UT). Students are required to:

 attend the entire program of the Autumn School;

 submit a short essay on one of the 4 suggested topics (TBD) (2 000 words) one week prior to the Autumn School addressing a) connections with current and future developments in EU’s neighbourhood, b) applicant’s perspective on these developments, and c) relation with applicants’ current experience/background;

 organize, conduct, and present student-led group work according to groups defined in the light of the four suggested topics.

Expenditures

There are no tuition fees. Accommodation will be booked and covered by the University of Tartu. Participants are expected to take care of the other travel arrangements and further costs themselves.

Application

The Autumn School is open to MA students and advanced undergraduate students of the three above mentioned Universities. Deadline for applications is June 1, 2016. A letter of motivation together with your CV and an academic transcript needs to be submitted in order to apply. Please send your application via email – attached as PDFs – to your respective program coordinator.

Contacts

Jointly conducted by University of Tartu, Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies University of Helsinki, Aleksanteri Institute Freie Universität Berlin, Institute for East European Studies

Freie Universität Berlin: Ms. Cosima Glahn, cosima.glahn@fu-berlin.de

University of Helsinki: Ms. Oliivia Võrk, oliivia.vork@ut.ee

University of Tartu: Ms. Minna Oroza, minna.oroza@helsinki.fi