Summer School on Democracy and Transitional Justice

Research in Ethics and Globalisation (REG) at the University of Groningen (Netherlands) and The Faculty of Law and Political Science at the University of Sousse (Tunisia), with the generous support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Tunis, are pleased to announce a joint summer school on democracy and transitional justice.

Recently, the Middle East and North Africa experienced significant political transformations as a result of (ongoing) uprisings and revolts against authoritarian regimes. A key antecedent to these uprisings was the Tunisian revolution, which led to the ousting of President Ben Ali on 14 January 2011. Tunisia’s revolution provided evidence for people across the region that it was possible to overthrow a dictatorial regime that had been in power for decades. Events in Tunisia thus inspired many of the popular uprisings that spread from Tunisia to Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Yemen.

For this reason, REG has decided to return to Tunisia one year after these dramatic events to offer students the possibility to learn firsthand about political and legal transformations from a dynamic team of local scholars, activists and politicians as well as IBIO staff. Themes that will be covered during the course include regional perspectives on:

• Transitional Justice
• Human rights
• Democratization
• State of emergency law
• The political changes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya

The summer school will take place in the vibrant coastal city of Sousse, Tunisia, from 3-13 August 2012 and RuG students may be awarded 5 ECTS points. Students will be offered a hands-on insight into dynamic political changes in North Africa through a 10-day intensive course at the University of Sousse. RuG students may also apply for a bursary (subject to availability) to cover the cost of tuition which is 950 Euros. Tuition includes accommodation, meals and transport within Tunisia. 

For more information, please email [email protected]. You should register your interest in participation by Friday 13 April 2012.  However, please note that the spaces on this unique course are limited and hence places might run out before this particular date. We would thus encourage you to register your interest as soon as possible.

REG and the University of Sousse look forward to welcoming you to Tunisia this August.

The summer school website can be found on: