The Circle U. summer school “The Crossroads of Democracy and Development: Challenges and Innovations” will be held from 2 to 6 June 2025 at the University of Belgrade.
This interdisciplinary course, organized within the framework of Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme, provides an in-depth examination of the challenges that the democratic (liberal) order faces in today's world. These challenges include democratic backsliding, the rise of cultural wars, deepening polarization within societies, reversed globalization, protectionist economic measures, and weakened support for multilateralism. The course explores innovative models and approaches to economic and social development, with a primary focus on countries in the Global South. These models offer potential alternatives to addressing the challenges faced by the contemporary liberal order.
Students will employ various analytical tools to critically assess and understand the significance of factors such as elections, free media, alleviation of inequality and poverty, corruption, and populism in sustaining democratic societies.
This course is offered as part of the Circle U. alliance, allowing students to gain insights from experts across Europe on topics related to democratic and economic governance. Students will be introduced to the major theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of democracy and development. Governance will be explored in depth, particularly focusing on the roles of multilateral organizations, national governments, and civil society actors.
- This Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) consists of one digital lecture in April or May 2025 and a week-long, in-person course at the University of Belgrade in the period 2–6 June 2025.
- The Summer school will mainly be taught by professors and lecturers from Circle U. member universities.
- The students will be expected to actively engage in class discussions and group work.
- A detailed programme will be sent to successful applicants
- Enrolment in a master's programme at one of the partner universities in Circle U.
- Important: Students must stay enrolled in the master’s programme during the entire duration of the summer school
- Open to all disciplines
- Applicants must be registered as students at one of the Circle U. European Alliance universities
During the Summer School, you will have the opportunity to:
- Gain a deeper understanding of the factors shaping global politics in the 21st century;
- Apply various theoretical and empirical tools to critically assess key issues such as elections, free media, corruption, and populism, thereby enhancing the ability to engage with contemporary debates and policies;
- Learn more about development models from the Global South, which offer different perspectives on how countries can address inequality, poverty, and other systemic issues;
- Integrate insights from political science, economics, sociology, development studies, and international relations, providing an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the complexities of democracy and development
- Learn about the roles of governments, multilateral organizations, and civil society in promoting good governance and sustainable development, thus be able to engage effectively in global or national policy discussions.
- To connect with students and professors from around Europe, and to foster international collaboration and exchange.
The summer school will award 5 ECTS to successful participants. The selected master students must contact their home institutions to request ECTS credit recognition as a part of their respective graduate study programmes, as required by the BIP programme guidelines.
The Summer school tuition fees are waived.
Since the summer school is a part of a Blended Intensive Program within the framework of Erasmus+, Circle U. universities can offer travel grants to students to help cover some of the expenses related to travel, accommodation and meals during the summer school, depending on available funding opportunities. Please note that Erasmus+ funding rules may depend on the year of the call and therefore may differ considerably. Additionally, national regulations and fewer opportunities categories, which allow for grant top-ups for participating students, differ from country to country and may result in differences in grant amounts among participants from different Circle U. partner universities. We encourage you to contact your International/ Erasmus office at your home institution for further information and clarifications.
- Aarhus University: aarhus@circle-u.eu
- University of Vienna: circle-u@univie.ac.at
- Humboldt Universität zu Berlin: berlin@circle-u.eu
- Université Paris Cité: circleu.iro@u-paris.fr and online at u-paris.fr
- UCLouvain: infocircleu@uclouvain.be
- University of Pisa: circleU.erasmus@unipi.it and on our website.
- King’s College London: Students are not eligible for Erasmus+ funding, but may have access to internal funding. Please check for funding opportunities or contact the Circle U. Team for more information: circle-u@kcl.ac.uk
- University of Oslo: shortterm-uio@admin.uio.no
- Application procedure is carried out online via mobility platform MobiON.
- All documents must be uploaded in PDF format.
- Ensure the scanned documents are easy to read
- Include all text on both front and back sides.
- Along with the application form, please submit your CV, a motivation letter (one page long), diplomas or a certificate of graduation as well as proof of registration at one of the Circle U. alliance universities.
Contact
- Academic contact: prof. dr Nemanja Džuverović, University of Belgrade (nemanja.dzuverovic@fpn.bg.ac.rs) and prof. dr Dan Banik, University of Oslo (dan.banik@sum.uio.no)
- Administrative contact: Miloš Bojičić, University of Belgrade (milos.bojicic@rect.bg.ac.rs)
