Hosted at Istanbul Bilgi University’s SantralIstanbul Campus, the Summer School in Turkey focused on EU enlargement and migration in the wake of the war in Ukraine. Topics include experience of Syrian refugees in Turkey, EU asylum policies, and the diffusion of European norms across the Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova, and the Caucasus. The five-day programme and its daily structure are outlined below.Â
Istanbul Summer School Programme Overview
Session 1 — Turkey: A Land of Migration from a Historicist Perspective
Lecturer: Ayhan Kaya (BÄ°LGÄ°)
Overview of major historical migration patterns shaping Turkey’s demographic and political landscape.
Session 2 — Turkish Foreign Policy
Lecturer: Ozan KuyumcuoÄŸlu (BÄ°LGÄ°)
Insight into recent shifts in Turkey’s foreign policy and the interplay of domestic and regional dynamics.
Joint Session — What (if anything) are EU values?
Lecturer: Timm Beichelt
Introduction to the ValEUs approach to European values and the gap between ideals and practice.
Site Visit — Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (ASAM/SGDD)
Introduction to ASAM’s work supporting refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants across Turkey.
Session — The EU and its Relations with Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia
Lecturer: Timm Beichelt (EUV)
Discussion of the strategic and political dimensions of EU policy in its Eastern neighbourhood.
Joint Session — Europe in ‘Polycrisis’
Lecturer: Amelie Kutter (EUV)
Understanding Europe’s overlapping crises and their impact on political and institutional transformation.
Wrap-up Session
Lecturers: Ayhan Kaya & Özge Onursal-Beşgül (BİLGİ)
Session 1 — Empire & Nation: The Birth of Ukraine
Lecturer: Zsuzsánna Magdó (PITT)
Historical perspectives on Ukraine through the lenses of empire and nation.
Session 2 — Identity, Politics, Europe: Imagining Ukraine in Historical Context
Lecturer: Zsuzsánna Magdó (PITT)
How Ukrainian identity has been imagined and contested in European political and cultural narratives.
Joint Session — Mass Migration & Externalisation of EU Migration Policy
Lecturer: Ayhan Kaya (BÄ°LGÄ°)
Analysis of human mobility from the Middle East and the EU–Turkey Refugee Deal.
Wrap-up Session
Lecturers: Ayhan Kaya & Özge Onursal-Beşgül (BİLGİ)
Sessions 1 & 2 — Simulation Game: Migration Crisis on the EU–Belarus Border
Lecturer: Jarosław Jańczak (AMU)
Role-play simulation exploring human security vs. national security dilemmas at the EU’s borders.
Joint Session — Whose Values? A Postcolonial Look at the EU and the Global South
Lecturer: Nina Sajić (UNIBL)
A postcolonial perspective on EU universalism and emerging alternative visions from the Global South.
Review of the Week — Participant Reflections
Lecturers: Ayhan Kaya & Özge Onursal-Beşgül (BİLGİ)
Session — Turkey–EU Relations: A Historical Perspective
Lecturer: Özge Onursal-Beşgül (BİLGİ)
Overview of the evolution of Turkey–EU relations and dynamics of Europeanisation.
Session — European Security and Ukraine
Lecturer: Mehmet Ali TuÄŸtan (BÄ°LGÄ°)
How the war in Ukraine reshaped Europe’s security priorities and strategic thinking.
Joint Session — Democratic Backsliding and the Rule of Law Crisis in the EU
Lecturer: Angela Bourne (RUC)
Examination of democratic backsliding in EU member states and institutional responses.
Full Programme & Curriculum
Photo Highlights from the Istanbul Summer School
