Academics

Students can earn six hours of UNC graded credit through the following two courses:

POLI/PWAD 469H
Conflict and Nationalism in the Former Yugoslavia (3 Credits)

Professor Robert Jenkins
Approach: Social Sciences Perspective (SS)
Connection: Global Issues (GI)

This core course explores the background, history, and aftermath of recent conflicts in the Balkans and attempts by international organizations to secure peace and rebuild states in the region.

POLI/PWAD 252H
International Organizations and Social Change (3 Credits)

Approach: Social Sciences Perspective (SS)
Connection: Global Issues (GI)

Building upon supplemental lectures on European political and economic institutions offered by faculty members of the Vienna Diplomatic Academy, briefings from OSCE headquarters, and international organizations in the field, students are expected to keep a weekly journal of personal reactions to their experience and evaluations of organizations they encounter. Additionally, in consultation with Professor Jenkins, each student will design his/her own research project. This project will focus on a selected aspect of the role of international organizations in European security. Students will be encouraged to concentrate on issues related to the Balkan countries. The independent project will culminate in a 15-20 page research paper due at the end of the program.

Interactions + Excursions

Seminar research will focus on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a multi-national agency with 56 participating states in Europe, North America and central Asia that is active in promoting security through democracy, human rights and conflict resolution. Participants will observe the organization by visiting its headquarters, attending weekly sessions of ambassadors at the Permanent Council, and receiving briefings from diplomats and headquarters staff.

During the three weeks in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, students will participate in briefings at the OSCE mission headquarters in Sarajevo and Pristina and meet with representatives of other international organizations active in the two countries, including the Office of High Representative, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and European Union.

Students will travel into the Bosnia-Herzegovina countryside and stay in Banja Luka, the seat of government of the Bosnian Serb Republic, and Mostar, a historic city that suffered substantial damage during the 1992-95 war. In Kosovo, students will be based in Pristina and make day trips to key regional centers like Peje/Pec and Mitrovica.

In Vienna, students will meet with representatives from the United Nations and other international organizations.