The annual National Minorities and Border Regions Summer School, an intensive two-week programme of postgraduate-level study in national minorities and border regions studies will be held between 6 and 13 September 2012 in Flensburg, Germany. The European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) invites applications for the Summer School from junior scholars and practioners from all over the world.

European history has linked many national minorities to state borders. Not only did the territorial changes of the last two centuries alter the sovereignty of the European states, but they also shaped the identities and allegiances of the people living in the border regions. Many minority groups in the border regions of Europe continue to identify with the majority groups in bordering states. Most importantly, in recent years, many kin-states have also strengthened the ties with their kin-minority groups across borders. Although such ties remain a source of conflict in some parts of Europe, they are increasingly valued for their role to preserve European cultural diversity, improve the living conditions of minority groups in border regions, and stimulate inter-state relations and cross-border cooperation. In the context of the current discussions over the future of the European Union, national minorities in border regions represent a resource for deepening European integration.   

The ECMI Summer School aims to set out the conceptual and normative approaches to the study of national minorities in border regions and to explore their different applications in relation to current arrangements across Europe. By the end of the summer school, the students will be able to critically evaluate the successes and failures regarding the accommodation of national minority groups in the border regions of the European states. 

Researchers from ECMI will be joined by distinguished international scholars, local politicians and representatives of minority groups from the Danish-German border region. Drawing on the effective collaboration between Germany and Denmark in the fields of minority accommodation and cross-border cooperation, ECMI’s research and policy consulting expertise, its engagement in conflict resolution, competence development and institution building in Kosovo and Georgia, and the empirical and normative expertise of the speakers, the Summer School promises a comprehensive examination of Europe’s national minorities in border regions. Upon completion of the Summer School, the participants receive certificates of participation.        

Past courses have included: Ethnic Conflict and Conflict Management, Professor Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham; The European Minority Rights Regime, Dr. Tove H. Malloy, ECMI; Deficiencies in Minority Policies, Dr. Alexander Osipov, ECMI; The Role of Minorities in National and Transnational Reconciliation Processes, Dr. Jan Asmussen, CAU Kiel.

The Summer School is organised in cooperation with the University of Flensburg.