Vrije University - Summer graduate programs
Post-Soviet Conflicts and Political Transformations: A Comprehensive StudyAmsterdam, Netherlands
DURATION
2 Weeks
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
15 May 2025
EARLIEST START DATE
Jul 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 1,360 / per course *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for Professionals| PhD candidates and employees of VU Amsterdam: EUR 765 per course
Key Summary
Introduction
Explore post-Soviet conflicts with experts, gaining unique insights into geopolitical, historical, and propaganda dynamics.
The course focuses on several armed conflicts and hotbeds of military and political tension in the states that emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a result of the collapse of the USSR.
In particular, we are talking about 20 episodes of military conflicts, including revolutions for the last 34 years in former Russian colonies in East Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia (the full list will be provided in the course syllabus). This episode took place inside, between former colonies and between Russia and former colonies.
We will focus on the vast variety of episodes that took place during the last years: the Russian-Ukrainian war, the Azerbaijan-Armenia war, and the Fergana Valley conflicts (Central Asia) with special attention to the situation in Moldova and Georgia.
The subject of the course is the study of the nature, consequences and narratives of armed conflicts and centres of military and political tension in the states that emerged from the collapse of the USSR. An important aspect is the definition of conceptual approaches to understanding political, ethnic, and socio-cultural processes within these conflicts. In particular, in the context of the concepts of neo-imperialism in the information and digital age, ‘waves of democratisation’, conflict of civilisations, post-communist transformations, democratic transit, etc.
One of the focuses is postcolonial studies on the example of Russia/USSR as an empire, in particular in the post-Soviet period, in the process of the collapse of the USSR.
Another focus is the study of the possibilities of propaganda and information influence in the digital society to provoke pockets of military and political tension in post-colonial countries and societies.
Course Overview
- Dates: Session 2b, course dates 21 - 25 July 2025
- Course level: Advanced Bachelor's
- Other lecturers: Dr Maksym Folomieiev
- Forms of assessment: written assignment, peer review, quiz
- Contact hours 25
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Equal Access Scholarship
Application Procedure
Application for the Equal Access Scholarship will open in February
Great that you are interested in applying for the Equal Access Scholarship. You can apply for the scholarship between 12 February and 1 April. Please be aware that it is only possible to select one course.
The results of the scholarship selection will be announced in May. Since we have a limited number of scholarships available for a large number of applicants, we suggest - if possible! - to complete your payment at the time of your course application to guarantee your place in the course. However, if you are not able to come without the scholarship, you can just wait until the announcement. If you would like to come, regardless of whether you will be granted the scholarship, it is best to secure your place in the course by completing your payment via our regular application form. If the scholarship is granted to you, the tuition and accommodation fees will be reimbursed.
Deadline to submit your Equal Access Scholarship application: 31 March (23:59 CET).
Requirements
When you apply via the Equal Access Scholarship application form you will be requested to upload the following documents:
- Curriculum Vitae/Résumé (CV) stating your educational background.
- Professional Letter of Reference Including:
- His/her/their experience working with you (either in an academic, professional, or volunteer setting)
- His/her/their motivation for recommending you for the scholarship
- Complete contact information
- His/her/their experience working with you (either in an academic, professional, or volunteer setting)
- His/her/their motivation for recommending you for the scholarship
- Complete contact information
- When filling out the scholarship form, we will ask the following questions*:
- Why are you interested in joining VU Amsterdam Summer School?
- What’s your motivation for selecting this course?
- How you will use the information you learn to make a positive impact in the future for both you and your community?
- Why do you deserve this scholarship?
- Why are you interested in joining VU Amsterdam Summer School?
- What’s your motivation for selecting this course?
- How you will use the information you learn to make a positive impact in the future for both you and your community?
- Why do you deserve this scholarship?
Please stick to a maximum of 150 words per question.
Green Travel Grant
At VU Amsterdam Summer Schoo,l we are also committed to VU's sustainability goals and we aim to reduce the environmental impact of mobilityd specifically, student travel. Therefore, we are thrilled to offer Green Travel Grants to encourage sustainable travel for students attending our summer school.
Where can I apply?
Once the courses have been confirmed to run in mid-May or June, we will send out a newsletter to our participants with a link where they can apply for either funding for train travel or funding for bus travel.
The application period will last two weeks, and we will select the winners via a lottery system. More information on the specific deadlines can be found in the newsletter we send out in May.
How does it work?
For students to receive the economic compensation they will need to submit their purchased travel tickets via email within two weeks after being selected as winners of the grant. Once the deadline to submit their tickets has passed, the students will receive the reimbursement.
Program Outcome
By the end of this course, students will:
- Apply theoretical frameworks: utilize key theoretical frameworks such as postcolonial theory, neo-imperialism, and waves of democratization to understand the transformation and conflict dynamics in the region.
- Critique information warfare: Evaluate the role of digital propaganda and information warfare in shaping political outcomes and provoking conflicts within post-Soviet and post-colonial societies.
- Develop critical and soft skills: Enhance critical thinking, teamwork, and communication skills through group discussions, and blog assignments, applying these to real-world case studies and conflict scenarios.