This seminar supports students in developing research on topics such as nationalism, the radical right, racism, and political violence. Through our class discussions we will shed light on the causes of these phenomena, such as exploring hypotheses about the identity constructions of violent perpetrators, or the systemic breakdown at times characterizing the social environments of perpetrators. Our focus will be on learning about how to conduct research on these issues. Examples come from Eastern Europe - from the Yugoslav wars and their gendered constructions of nationhood to radicalization during and after Euromaidan in Ukraine – and occasionally also from Western Europe, Germany in particular. Topics: “Race” and racism before and after the Soviet Union’s fall; nationalism and nationalist radicalization in Eastern Europe; theories of political violence; far-right groups and their mobilization campaigns, from skinheads to intellectual circles and from the esoteric to neo-Nazis and white supremacist movements.