On October 18, 2017, the INSITER coordinators have successfully submitted the technical report for Year 1 of the INSITER Module to the Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). The INSITER team is looking forward to the evaluation of the project by the project officers.
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New Publication by INSITER Co-Coordinator
On September 11, 2017, the new article “EU-Politik in Krisenzeiten – Krisenmanagement und Integrationsdynamik in der Europäischen Union” was published in the journal Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte. Co-authors of the article in German language are INSITER Co-Coordinator Wulf Reiners, INSITER steering board and key staff member Wolfgang Wessels and Johannes Müller Gómez. A download of the full article (in German language) can be found here. See also the INSITER webpage section “Publications“.
INSITER Research Presented at UACES Conference in Krakow
From September 4 to 6, 2017, the UACES 47th Annual Conference took place in Krakow, Poland. Research that was conducted in the framework of INSITER was presented in the form of the paper “Taking Refuge in Leadership? Facilitators and Constraints of Germany’s Role in EU-Turkey Affairs“, co-authored by INSITER Co-Coordinator Wulf Reiners.
Conference Report in DAAD Newsletter
On July 6, 2017 the German Academic Exchange Service in Turkey (DAAD Türkiye) has published the second issue 2017 of its widely-distributed newsletter. Given the close links between the Turkish-German University and the DAAD, the issue also features a conference report (in German language) by the INSITER Co-Coordinator Asst. Prof. Dr. Wulf Reiners on the INSITER conference “New Political Challenges for Germany, Turkey and the EU” that took place on May 26, 2017 in Istanbul. The INSITER team welcomes the appearance, which is in line with the project’s dissemination strategy to reach out to the wider public through established communication channels. A download of the complete newsletter (PDF) is available here.
Study and Research Trip Concluded
On June 24, 2017, the annual study and research trip of INSITER with the group of MA students of “European and International Affairs” of the Turkish-German University Istanbul was concluded. This year the students visited Paris (June 4-10), Brussels (June 11-16), Cologne (June 17-18) and Berlin (June 19-24). The journey served the purpose to experience real life politics first-hand and to take teaching inside the Turkey-EU relations by enabling the students to step into the everyday work of European, Turkish and International Organizations. By getting into direct contact with decisions makers of leading political, economic and administrative institutions students were able to study the complex interaction between the EU, national and subnational level of decision-making in the ‘multi-level’ political system of the European Union and to get a hands-on perspecti
ve on how Turkey-EU relations are shaped in practice.
The programme was partly carried out in cooperation with other international partner institutions such as the University of Cologne, Sciences Po Paris, Université de Sorbonne Paris, Charles University Prague and the Centre International de Formation Européenne. Besides the joint visits to institutions the internationally composed group of students could engage in a simulation exercise that dealt with EU-Turkey relations in the context of differentiated integration in Europe.
The full programme of the excursion can be found here.
Visit to German Chancellery and further Institutions in Berlin
In the final week of the INSITER research and study trip the group of MEIA students of the Turkish German University visited a number of political institutions in Berlin, Germany. Together with students from the University of Cologne and the Centre International de Formation Européenne meetings were held inter alia with representatives of the German Chancellery, the German Bundestag, the German Federal Foreign Office and the German Ministry of Finance. In addition to the visit to official state institutions the stay in the German capital also served the purpose to exchange views with researchers and practitioners from Berlin-based think tanks and interest representations, notably the Institute for European Politics (IEP), Polis 180 and the German Trade Union Confederation. Finally, in order to grasp the history of Germany and Berlin, the group also went on a city tour that focused on the political architecture of the city. Students and organisers are extremely grateful for the precious time and the valuable input from the different hosts and institutions.
International Simulation Exercise Completed
On June 15 and 16, 2017, as an integral part of the study trip week in Brussels, the INSITER students participated in an international simulation exercise with students from Cologne, Paris and Prague. The overarching idea of the exercise, which was planned in cooperation with the partner universities, University of Cologne and Science Po, was to discuss different forms of partnership between the EU and third states in the form of a two day Moot Court of the European Court of Justice that focused on Alternative Partnership Agreements.
Students had started to prepare for the simulation exercise in April already in interdisciplinary and international teams in order to defend their position at the Moot Court. The best teams received an award for their performance.
The final judgement of the simulation exercise’s judges can be found here.
Start of the Study Visit to European Capitals
On June 4, the annual INSITER study trip of the Turkish-German University’s MA programme “European and International Affairs” has officially started. The programme takes place in the framework of the INSITER project and is also supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. In the next three weeks, it will take the students to Paris, Brussels, Cologne and Berlin to gather first-hand insights in European decision-making and EU-Turkey affairs. A draft of the full programme can be found here.
On June 6, the programme kicked-off with a meeting with Prof. Dr. Pascal Hector, deputy head of mission of the German embassy in Paris. The exchange was particularly interesting as Prof. Hector had also been involved in the setup of the Turkish-German University in his function as deputy head of mission of the German embassy in Ankara between 2009 and 2012. The students and the INSITER team are thankful for the warm welcome and the good discussions at the Embassy.
Meeting of the INSITER Advisory and Steering Board
On May 25, 2017 the second meeting of the INSITER Advisory and Steering Board took place in the premises of the Istanbul Policy Centre in Istanbul. The meeting served the purpose to jointly reflect on the programme implementation in the first nine project months and on the planning of upcoming project activities, such as the study trip to Paris and Berlin and the international simulation exercise in Brussels.
INSITER Seminar Concluded
On May 24, 2017, the last session of the INSITER seminar “Contemporary EU-Turkey Relations” took place. The course was added to the Turkish-German University’s MA programme “European and International Affairs” as a new teaching offer (seminar code ‘AVU114’) in the framework of the INSITER project; classes had started on February 15. The seminar was conducted by the INSITER co-coordinators Asst. Prof. Dr. Ebru Turhan and Asst. Prof. Dr. Wulf Reiners and will be concluded with the submission of the students’ seminar papers by May 28.