Summer Academy | SAIS Europe

From War to Peace: Civil Wars and International Interventions

Instructor: Francesco N. Moro
Course Description: Why do countries experience civil wars? How can the international community act and try to prevent, or stop, such wars? The course revolves around these two basic but fundamental questions to understand international security nowadays. Civil wars have been a constant feature of the contemporary global security environment across different continents, and beginning with the end of the Cold War, there has a been a spike in international activism through UN mandated peacekeeping and peacebuilding missions. This course addresses international interventions—peacekeeping and peacebuilding—as they evolved through the decades and assesses the factors that can explain success and failure of such activities. Case studies may focus on Bosnia, Colombia, Lebanon, the Sahel region and Syria.

The (Geo)Politics of Organized Crime 

Instructor: Francesco Strazzari 
Course Description: The course gives students a comprehensive understanding of contemporary patterns and characteristics of transnational organized crime, illicit markets and trafficking activities.

Students will be introduced to a complex phenomenon by engaging with empirical evidence and by demystifying common perceptions of mafias and criminal under- and over- world. The course rests on the assumption that what most people know about criminal organizations comes from stereotypical representations in popular culture – films and literature. The analysis of real-world data, such as investigations, proceedings, crime statistics and economic/social science research findings dispels many of the accepted myths.

We will use concepts from organizational studies (e.g., hierarchies and networks), the analysis of business and political economy (“the firm” and markets), political sociology (e.g., in-group cohesion, trust and symbolic power) and IR/political science (e.g., borders, sovereignty, globalization). We will also look closely into efforts by government and law enforcement agencies to respond transnational organized crime across jurisdictional or national borders in several sectors of activity and geopolitical contexts.

Students will be invited to work on specific cases, to critically engage and reflect on the nature and limitations of what we know and what we do to respond to main crime-related challenges in several international studies-related contexts that often are not addressed from this angle.

Rising sophomores (students who will have completed one year of college by summer 2025) and upperclassmen may apply with a minimum 3.0 GPA. The program is also open to recent college graduates who have completed their undergraduate degree within the past two years. High-performing undergraduates from any discipline are encouraged to apply.

Students apply through Johns Hopkins SAIS Summer Programs.

Applications will open December 1 and decisions will be rendered on a rolling basis.

Application Requirements:

• Online application
• Undergraduate transcript
• Resumé
• Personal statement
• Two academic references
• No application fee

Students who successfully complete the Summer Academy courses will earn up to four graduate credits from Johns Hopkins SAIS. These credits can be transferred back to your home institution. Credits will also transfer to most Johns Hopkins SAIS degree programs.

As a four-week program, the SAIS Europe Summer Academy does not require a student visa. Students who are citizens or permanent residents of nations within the European Union do not need a visa to visit Italy. Citizens and permanent residents of nations outside the European Union, including the United States, can attend the program on a tourist visa. Johns Hopkins SAIS and the Office of Study Abroad will assist you in obtaining visas and necessary documentation.

Students will stay in shared apartments in the heart of Bologna’s historic center within walking distance to campus. Apartments will include a kitchenette, on-site laundry facilities, high-speed wireless internet, and weekly cleaning services.

4 CREDITS/4-WEEK PROGRAM

*Travel insurance is required for all non-JHU students who are non-European citizens and is automatically billed.