Directors:
Kris Deschouwer (VUB)
Jean-Benoit Pilet (ULB)
Emilie van Haute (ULB)
Contact
Kris Deschouwer (VUB) : Kris.Deschouwer@vub.ac.be
Jean-Benoit Pilet (ULB): jpilet@ulb.ac.be
Emilie van Haute (ULB) : evhaute@ulb.ac.be
Location
Université libre de Bruxelles and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
Gratefully received from Party Politics, the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), the FNRS and the FWO.
Target Groups
Students studying for research degrees (M.Phil/Ph.D.) in comparative politics, political parties or democracy. The maximum number of participants is 20 for didactic reasons.
Objectives and Requirements
The theme of the 2012 Summer School is 'Political Parties in Modern Democracies’. It will be taught by an international team of leading academics specializing in comparative studies of European politics, political parties, and democratic performance.
Our aim is to provide researchers with access to a wide range of core analytical perspectives in comparative European politics; to develop a multinational forum for researchers and senior specialists to critically discuss their research projects; and to encourage researchers to produce high-level research with strong potential for future publication.
The School consists of 2 weeks teaching, with around 70 hours class contact made up of roughly equal proportions of staff lectures, student presentations and seminar discussion. The first day of courses will consist in a crash course on Basic concepts and measurements for the analysis of parties and party systems. Group activities will also be organized.
Faculty for the 2012 School include Daniele Caramani (St Gallen), Susan Scarrow (Houston), Stefaan Walgrave (Antwerp), Kris Deschouwer (Brussels), Emilie van Haute (Brussels), Jean-Benoit Pilet (Brussels), David Farrell (Manchester), Vello Pettai (Tartu), Romain Lachat (Barcelona), Nonna Mayer (Paris), Kenneth Carty (UBC Vancouver).
Students are required to submit a 7000-8000 word paper before the start of the School, which will then be presented at one of the Sessions. The papers will be assessed by leading academics teaching at the School, with constructive feedback provided during the Sessions.
The best paper will be awarded a prize sponsored by the journal Party Politics.
Students must attend all Sessions, and critically discuss the paper presentations of fellow students and senior specialists. Successful participation in the School will be fully accredited (10 ECTS or equivalent).
Academic Programme
Monday September 10
Arrival of participants / Welcome drink
Tuesday September 11
Kris Deschouwer, Jean-Benoit Pilet & Emilie van Haute
Basic concepts and measurements for the analysis of parties and party systems
Wednesday September 12
Romain Lachat
Restructuring West-European Party Systems in the Age of Globalization
Thursday September 13
David Farrell
Political Parties and Electoral System Change
Friday September 14
Daniele Caramani
Nationalization and Europeanization of Electoral Politics
Monday September 17
Stefaan Walgrave
Parties and the mass media: how parties react on media coverage
Tuesday September 18
Vello Pettai
Parties and Party Systems in the New European Democracies
Wednesday September 19
Nonna Mayer
Political Parties and the Challenge of Right Wing Extremism
Thursday September 20
Kenneth Carty
Party organizations
Friday September 21
Susan Scarrow
Political Parties’ Internal Democracy: Important for Whom?
Saturday September 22
Departure
Full academic programme available here
Fees
The program fees for students is 750€ and has to be paid within 14 days after confirmation. The fee includes accommodation, lunches, course material and the social program. Attendees will be responsible for their own transportation costs to and from Brussels. Payment of the attendance fee will confirm your participation.
Applications
Applicants must email the completed Application Form and a 500-word abstract of their proposed paper to Jean-Benoit Pilet (jpilet@ulb.ac.be), Emilie van Haute (evhaute@ulb.ac.be) and Kris Deschouwer (Kris.Deschouwer@vub.ac.be) before 15 June 2012.
Applicants will be informed of the outcome by email as soon as possible. Those offered places must confirm their participation within 7-10 days by e-mail and they must pay a minimum of one third of the fees by July, 15. Without these two confirmations places may be offered to applicants on the reserve list.