The 2021 edition of the Security and Society Summer School has just finished. The program run by Collegium Civitas in cooperation with SRAS (USA) was conducted in online format, combining the two-weeks intensive course Central Europe & Security Issues with a four-week research internship with the Terrorism Research Center. During the internship the American students participating in the program worked on their own research projects. In result a book will be published containing papers written by the participants.
The course began with a brief history of security of Central Europe from 1989 to the present day. The collapse of the Soviet Union saw a number of countries in the region detach themselves from the Russian sphere of influence and join Western institutions including NATO and the EU. Whereas the West saw this as the fulfilment of the right of self-determination, the Russians tended to view it as a threatening move, which challenged their own defense and security interests.
This course examined the complex historical roots of these events with a particular focus on Central and Eastern Europe, and will look at various possible future scenarios between Russia, the EU, and NATO. These contemporary conflicts and disputes have increased global awareness of the importance of intelligence gathering in this region. The students explored the links between information and security in a time of hybrid war. They learned about the importance of energy security with a focus on oil and gas, nuclear, coal, and alternative energy sources.
Emphasis was put on the challenges of cybersecurity, terrorism, and war, including cyberwar and net-centric warfare. We looked at the challenges of rising fundamentalism and migration and how it affects the region and discussed the evolution of threats relating to terrorism – psychology of terrorism, risk assessment and analysis, as well as issues related to mass media. Also, the participants took a look at newly emerging challenges to security, such us the outbreak of coronavirus.
In result of the internship program the next volume of the publication “Security and Society in the Information Age” will be published containing papers written by interns. You can download the results of the previous editions – the books are available in PDF format:
Security and Society in the Information Age Vol. 1