Program Dates: May 28 – July 7, 2018 (internship option extends to August 4)
Application Deadline: March 15, 2018
Cost: $3895 (one course/3 weeks); $6,495 (two courses/6 or 10 weeks)
Includes: Tuition, hotel accommodation with breakfast, excursion program, one three-day trip per course, insurance, airport transfers, transcript of studies.

This course offers a broad overview of the challenges faced by the countries of Central Europe and also by NATO and the European Union in the 21st century. It will focus specifically on cybersecurity, energy security, intelligence, and the media.

The course will begin with a brief history of security of Central Europe from 1989 to the present day. The collapse of the Soviet Union saw a number of countries in the region detach themselves from the Russian sphere of influence and join Western institutions including NATO and the EU. Whereas the West saw this as the fulfilment of the right of self-determination the Russians tended to view it as a threatening move, which challenged their own defense and security interests.

This course will examine the complex historical roots of these events with a particular focus on Central and Eastern Europe, and will look at various possible future scenarios between Russia, the EU, and NATO. These contemporary conflicts and disputes have increased global awareness of the importance of intelligence gathering in this region. Students will explore the links between information and security in a time of hybrid war. They will learn about the importance of energy security with a focus on oil and gas, nuclear, coal, and alternative energy sources. They will also look at the political, economic, and strategic importance of other natural resources in the region.

There will also be an emphasis on the challenges of cybersecurity, terrorism, and war, including cyberwar and net-centric warfare. Students will look at the challenges of rising fundamentalism and migration and how it affects the region. The participants will leave the course with an in-depth knowledge of some of the most challenging security issues in contemporary Central Europe, and the world, and will gain a sense of the importance of the region on international affairs.

Main topics to be covered:

• From Barbarossa to NATO – The Historical Role of Defense and Security in Central Europe
• Security in Central Europe: Who Calls the Shots?
• The EU and Central Europe: Past, Present and Future
• Regional Security Policies
• Security in times of Asymmetric Threats
• Modern Terrorism – Strategies and Tools
• Information Conflict in the 21st Century
• War in 21st Century
• The Issue of Migration
• Economic Security in the Region

For information on this and other programs see their website.