Summer Course in Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Theory, Evidence, and Outlooks
Amsterdam, Netherlands
DURATION
2 Weeks
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Request earliest startdate
TUITION FEES
EUR 765 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* VU students
Introduction
What do we know about the roots and motivations of ISIS, the KKK, al-Qaeda, or the Lord’s Resistance Army beyond speculation, snippets of incomplete information, and stereotypical assessments? This course considers modern-day terrorism from a theoretical and especially from an empirical perspective. First, we study whether, when, and why terrorism has been successful to varying degrees. Second, we turn to the intimate relationship between terrorism and the media; exploring whether and how news coverage is likely so crucial for terror groups; and what this means for a free press. Third, we consider the role of religion in terror movements and radicalization (e.g., for Islamist extremism). Fourth and final, we evaluate counterterrorism strategies, exploring a few successful and unsuccessful cases for which empirical evidence is available.
At the end of this course, you will have acquired a better understanding of the drivers and consequences of terrorism; what makes these groups tick; and what we as a society can do to stop them. In addition, you will have worked through several scientific papers that employ a variety of statistical strategies to analyze real-world data, particularly focusing on isolating causal effects.
Course Overview
- Course level: Bachelor's and Master's level
- Course curriculum: read more about the course curriculum
- Coordinating lecturer: Michael Jetter
- Forms of tuition: dialogue-based lectures
- Forms of assessment: presentations and a short essay
- Contact hours: 35
- Self-study hours: 45
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Equal Access Scholarship
Application Procedure
Application for the Equal Access Scholarship will open in Febraury
Great that you are interested in applying for the Equal Access Scholarship. You can apply to the scholarship between 12 February and 1 April. Please be aware that it is only possible to select one course.
The results of the scholarship selection will be announced in May. Since we have a limited number of scholarships available for a large number of applicants, we suggest - if possible! - to complete your payment at the time of your course application to guarantee your place in the course. However, if you are not able to come without the scholarship, you can just wait until the announcement. If you would like to come, regardless of whether you will be granted the scholarship, it is best to secure your place in the course by completing your payment via our regular application form. If the scholarship is granted to you, the tuition and accommodation fees will be reimbursed.
Deadline to submit your Equal Access Scholarship application: 31 March (23:59 CET).
Requirements
When you apply via the Equal Access Scholarship application form you will be requested to upload the following documents:
- Curriculum Vitae/Résumé (CV) stating your educational background.
- Professional Letter of Reference Including:
- His/her/their experience working with you (either in an academic, professional, or volunteer setting)
- His/her/their motivation for recommending you for the scholarship
- Complete contact information
- When filling out the scholarship form, we will ask the following questions*:
- Why are you interested in joining VU Amsterdam Summer School?
- What’s your motivation for selecting this course?
- How you will use the information you learn to make a positive impact in the future for both you and your community?
- Why do you deserve this scholarship?
Please stick to a maximum of 150 words per question.
Green Travel Grant
At VU Amsterdam Summer School we are also committed to VU's sustainability goals and we aim to reduce the environmental impact of mobility, and specifically, student travel. Therefore, we are thrilled to offer Green Travel Grants to encourage sustainable travel for students attending our summer school.
Where can I apply?
Once the courses have been confirmed to run in mid-May or June, we will send out a newsletter to our participants with a link where they can apply for either funding for train travel or funding for bus travel.
The application period will last two weeks, and we will select the winners via a lottery system. More information on the specific deadlines can be found in the newsletter we send out in May.
How does it work?
For students to receive the economic compensation they will need to submit their purchased travel tickets via email within two weeks after being selected as winners of the grant. Once the deadline to submit their tickets has passed, the students will receive the reimbursement.
Welcome to Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Summer and Winter Schools
Last chance to apply!
Program Outcome
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Understand how terrorism is similar and different from more traditional forms of large-scale organized violence, such as intra- and interstate wars.
- Distinguish between correlation and causality when it comes to the drives and consequences of terrorism.
- Formulate their own research ideas related to the topic.
- Read and assess empirical studies about terrorism and terrorism-related topics.