Center for Constitutional Studies and Democratic Development

The Center for Constitutional Studies and Democratic Development (CCSDD) represents a partnership between the University of Bologna School of Law and the Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Bologna Center. The CCSDD serves as an international center for research and training in the process of political and economic liberalization assisting countries that are undergoing a transition to democracy. The CCSDD convenes faculty from the University of Bologna Law School and The John Hopkins Bologna Center to mobilize their human and intellectual resources to address research topics of international concern as they relate to law, economics and human rights. The CCSDD training includes a series of programs (short, medium, and long-term) available to practitioners from democratizing countries. Current program areas focus on the Balkan States. In the future the CCSDD aims to operate seminars and projects in Eastern and Central Europe as well as North Africa.

The CCSDD is directed by Justin Frosini.

For more than fifty years, the Bologna Center of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) has trained nearly 6,000 students to enter the fields of diplomatic and government service, non-profit organizations and the private sector. The University of Bologna is Europe's oldest university, established in 1088. The CCSDD Charter was established in 1995.

Sponsored Programs

Youth Organizing Institute: Training of Trainers

The Youth Organizing Institute, a 10 day intensive program, offers yearly training for college students living in the Balkans. The curriculum focuses on developing community-organizing projects through community organizing and conflict resolution techniques. Under the leadership of experienced local and international community organizers, participants will spend one week developing the personal knowledge and skills necessary for them to become effective leaders in their communities through a conflict management and community-organizing curriculum. Imbedded in the format of the Institute is a strategy by which students design projects to address one particular issue of need in their home community. Following the Institute, the participants will then implement the project in their home communities and be required to follow procedures for reporting and evaluation of the projects' progress.

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Bosnia-Herzegovina Study Trip

During the winter academic break, 30 Bologna Center and University of Bologna students participate in a five-day educational study trip in Sarajevo. Each year students meet with the United States Ambassador, the OSCE Chief of Mission, and a number of directors of local and international NGOs. The program provides an on the ground perspective as to advances in the peace process since the signing of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords which ended nearly four years of bloodshed in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

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Human Rights Nights Film Festival

The Human Rights Film Festival is co-sponsored by the CCSDD and the Cineteca of Bologna. The spring festival attracts an average of ten films that address human rights abuses occurring across the globe. Directors from the United States, Croatia, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Italy and Russia have made appearences at this annual event held in April.

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Legal Reform: Summer School in Montenegro

Every year the CCSDD and the faculty of law of the University of Belgrade organize a summer school in the seaside resort of Igalo in Montenegro. The purpose of this program is to support the next generation of law faculty in South Eastern, Central and Eastern Europe by training a core group of Law Fellows each year who will be able to guide their academic institutions towards a better understanding of European expansion.

The inaugural program consisted of a one week Summer School that took place in July 2003. As a result of the great success of the following editions, we will promote the Summer School on a yearly basis and again invite graduate students in Law and Political Science from South Eastern, Central and Eastern Europe.

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CCSDD, Via Belmeloro 10, 40126 Bologna, Italy | Phone: (+39) 051-4210371 | Fax: (+39) 051-4219806 | Email: