The first meeting was in 2008, when the special features of the individual political systems of the Baltic Sea Region were discussed. Since then, Juris Rozenvalds (Riga) and Stefan Ewert (Greifswald) have organised this joint teaching research project on an annual basis and it has developed into a permanent component of the B.A. degree course in Political Science [de]. It is an important part of the Department’s internationalisation strategy.
Following preparations in both towns, the students first meet in Greifswald and two weeks later in Riga, work in three-day workshops in both towns on current political issues and also get a taster of political practice in excursions to the national parliaments. This year the students are analysing and discussing current developments such as Brexit, the rise of populism or the situation of the Russian-speaking minority in Latvia from the perspective of various theories of democracy. On Friday, the participants visited the Bundestag (home to the German parliament) and the Federal Chancellery.
At the beginning of December, 25 students from the University of Greifswald will make their way to Riga for the return visit. Their trip to the Baltic city is financially supported by the DAAD Eastern Europe Partnership Programme [de]. The groups will present the results of their project work on the last day and then make their way back with lots of new ideas, impressions and knowledge.
Further Information
Department of Political Science and Communication Studies
Contact at the University of Greifswald
Dr. Stefan Ewert
Department of Political Science and Communication Studies
Baderstraße 6/7
17489 Greifswald
Tel.: +49 3834 420 3171
stefan.ewert(at)uni-greifswald(dot)de