Jean-Monnet Project - DESCNet

In this year's round of Jean Monnet competitions the CEELES at the University of Graz and the University of Tartu scored a major success. Their proposal for a Jean Monnet Network "Developing European Studies in the Caucasus (DESCNet)" was successful and will be awarded with approximately € 290.000. At the heart of the proposal is the creation of an "Association of European Studies for the Caucasus". Partners in the consortium come from Russia, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The rationale for DESCNet stems from a very uneven level of European Studies in the countries' HEIs, and a fragmented level of exchange and mobility among students, researchers and teachers in the Caucasus. Due primarily to the many unresolved political and military ("frozen") conflicts in the region, the level and quality of European Studies is mainly a function of the ruling elite's attitude to the idea of Europeanization. Only in those countries that are or have been actively seeking EU integration (Georgia, Turkey), a scholarly infrastructure is developed. Where the EU is rejected as the dominant model (Russia, Armenia) or kept at bay (Azerbaijan), there is often no desire to promote European Studies among academic circles as a separate discipline and therefore, a certain perception of European Studies as a "Trojan horse" of EU's, and even worse NATO's, expansionism, is sound. In reality, however, professionals in their respective disciplines and in a multidisciplinary or even interdisciplinary context see Jean Monnet (JM) activities in the region as a tool for supporting teaching and research on a world-class level. Therefore, DESCNet aims at providing and enhancing both research capacities as well as academic mobility by various activities, in particular summer/winter schools as well outreach events. On behalf of the University of Graz, Dr. Benedikt Harzl was appointed as project coordinator.