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Short courses related to politics

Summer School courses about politics

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With politics on the agenda, we have you covered.

If you’re driven to explore political systems, legal frameworks, or the realities of inequality in a global context, VU Amsterdam Summer School offers an opportunity to immerse yourself in these critical debates.

These intensive courses deepen your understanding of political institutions, racialised power dynamics, and international governance. Learn to evaluate legal and policy responses and articulate your own evidence-based arguments.

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Courses

VU Amsterdam Summer School courses

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Courses

Summerschool Water Politics and Governance

This course builds knowledge on the governance of freshwater resources with emphasis on the institutional, political and organisational dimensions.
Course VU Graduate Winter School

Summerschool Hybrid Warfare and Peacebuilding in Countries Influenced by the Soviet Legacy

Course VU Graduate Winter School The course provides students with a comprehensive understanding of political, social, and military conflicts in states influenced by the Soviet legacy, including former Soviet republics and states of the former Warsaw Treaty Organization. It explores their historical roots, geopolitical implications, and the role of international actors. It explores their historical roots, geopolitical implications, and the role of international actors. The course focuses on key contemporary cases such as the Russian–Ukrainian war, the Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict, and the ongoing tensions in Moldova, Georgia, and other tensions caused by Russian hybrid influence.
Microclimate inside a light bulb

Summerschool Environmental Justice in Theory and Practice

Microclimate inside a light bulb Explore one of the most urgent challenges of our time—how to make environmental action just. This interactive summer course delves into environmental justice, asking: who benefits, who loses, and why? You'll engage with contemporary philosophical debates, real-world case studies, and justice movements from around the globe. Learn how environmental decisions affect vulnerable communities, ecosystems, and future generations across land, sea, and climate. With expert lecturers, guest practitioners, and a hands-on city walk, this interdisciplinary course invites you to critically rethink sustainability, justice, and your role in shaping a more just world.

Summerschool Governing Climate Change: Theory and Practice

This course will examine different approaches for coping with climate change: international agreements, market-based solutions and private activities.
VU Amsterdam Summer School windfarm image

Summerschool Global Energy Transition in a Fossil World: Challenges and Opportunities

VU Amsterdam Summer School windfarm image This course focuses on the societal and political dimensions of the energy transition, while taking into account the physical and technical limitations of the energy system, as well as earth’s environmental boundaries. You will be equipped with a comprehensive overview of the global energy transition’s needs, its challenges and solutions, and the trade-offs generated by different (policy) options. The course will introduce you to the leading theories, concepts, proposed solutions, and current governance efforts in the energy transition. You will be taught by experienced academics and other key stakeholders in the energy and climate arena in the Netherlands and beyond.

Summerschool Legal Constructions of Race in the Netherlands

Why does racial discrimination and inequality remain a problem in modern society? By now, most people accept that the idea that ‘race’, when used to describe people, is not a biological fact, but a social construct. However, explaining how this social construction works in practice can be difficult. This course aims to remedy that difficulty. Using the Netherlands as a case study, it provides historical context and concrete examples of how ‘race’ has functioned as a legal concept throughout history and how laws regulating race have adapted to the postcolonial, some say even post-racial world. By examining how race is enacted through laws in different eras and territories, we will get to the central question of why racial inequality and discrimination persist.

Are you more interested in law, society, and governance?

Summer School courses about law and society

Explore a variety of legal issues, from human rights to environmental law. Learn from experts and gain a new perspective on the world. Apply today!

Team VU Amsterdam Summer School

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+31 20 59 86429

Microsoft Teams: by appointment via amsterdamsummerschool@vu.nl

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  • Yota
  • Programme Coordinator
  • Esther
  • International Officer

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