EU and Russia Transforming: Implications for the Relationship

This programme is a 1-week intense course offered by the Centre for EU-Russian Studies of the University of Tartu.

The programme will begin on 23 July 2012 and will continue until 28 July 2012. Participants will spend the week in Tartu, where the programme is conducted on the premises of the University of Tartu.

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 a 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, it might be the case that both the EU and Russia are entering the times of major transformations, which can make them much stronger, but can also lead their respective social, economic and political structures to a total collapse. The objective of the 2011 University of Tartu, Centre for EU-Russian Studies (CEURUS) Summer School is to help students to grasp 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.

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

Location: Tartu, 23-30 July 2012

Structure

The CEURUS summer school 2011 consists of 30 academic hours (i.e. 30 x 45 minutes) of study, combining different study formats (lectures, seminars study trips). The programme covers one week (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 and advanced undergraduate students. Professionals and researchers from the field are also welcome to apply. Upon completion of the programme, the participants earn 4 ECTS. In order to receive credit 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 20 August 2012. The length of the paper must be between 4000 and 4500 words, including footnotes and bibliography.

The application deadline is 04 June 2012. A letter of motivation needs to be submitted together with the application.

This programme awards 4 ECTS credits.

The application fee is 100 EUR and it is payable together with submission of the application by 04 June 2012. Applicants will be notified by 14 June about acceptance into the programme. If the applicant is not admitted the application fee will be fully refunded. If the applicant is admitted, the application fee will be used for the payment for accommodation (5 nights for the period of 23-28 July 2012). An additional accommodation fee of 100 EUR for accommodation is payable by 01 July 2012. The cost of tuition, the cultural and social programme and services of the host university are covered by the Centre for EU-Russian Studies of the University of Tartu. However, we do not cover the cost of transportation to and from Tartu.

For application, please go to How to apply section of our website.