Summer Seminar in Aix-en-Provence, France 2026

Name: Summer Seminar in Aix-en-Provence, France 2026
Start: 2026-07-20T18:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-07-23T14:00:00+00:00

Why join a “Europe & Liberty” seminar?

You have probably noticed how quickly our world can become uncertain—even chaotic. Across Europe, our democracies sometimes appear to be weakening, despite our relative prosperity compared to much of the world. Why is this happening? And more importantly, how can we preserve the values that have made life here so rich and meaningful over the centuries?

These are big, challenging questions. Yet they are rarely addressed in depth at university.

Since 1989, IES-Europe has organized “Europe & Liberty” seminars to explore exactly these issues. The goal is simple but ambitious: to better understand the foundations of a free society, and to discover why such societies have proven so successful—economically, socially, and culturally.

The seminar offers an accessible introduction to classical liberal thought, through the ideas of major thinkers such as the late Scholastics, Locke, Smith, Turgot, Say, Tocqueville, Menger, Mises, Hayek, Friedman, and many others. Whether you are new to these ideas or already familiar with them, the program is designed to deepen your understanding and challenge your perspective.

How it works

What makes this seminar truly unique is its interdisciplinary approach.

IES-Europe brings together leading scholars from a wide range of fields—economics, law, philosophy, history, anthropology, and more—because understanding a free society requires looking at it from multiple angles.

At the same time, we select a small group of 25 to 30 highly motivated students who are eager to engage seriously with these questions.

The seminar follows the Socratic tradition: lectures are concise (no more than 45 minutes) and designed to spark discussion. The real learning happens through dialogue—between speakers and participants, and among participants themselves. Conversations continue beyond the classroom, over meals and during free time, creating a truly immersive intellectual experience.

Who pays what

The seminar is free of charge. All tuition, accommodation, and meals are covered by the organizers.

Students who are able to contribute are welcome to do so via the “contribute” tab, helping make the program accessible to others.

Participants are only expected to cover their own transportation costs.

Where is the seminar taking place ?

At the Law School of Aix-Marseille University located 3 avenue Robert Schuman in the delightful city of Aix-en-Provence, France

What is the working language ?

This year we will have two groups: one for french speaking students, one for english speaking ones.

How to apply

Applying is simple: click on the “application” tab and complete the required sections.

Decisions are communicated quickly, so that selected participants can organize their travel with ease. Once accepted, your place is confirmed as soon as IES-Europe receives your travel details.

More questions

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at:
contact@ies-europe.org

Diana Năsulea

Teacher and Manager

IES-Europe

Radu Nechita

Associate Professor of Economics

Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Radu Nechita is an associate professor who teaches Microeconomics, Globalization and Development, European Economic Integration at Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania (Department of European Studies). His general topics of interest gravitate around the institutional factors of development, with emphasis on regulations, monetary and fiscal policies.

Douglas B. Rasmussen

Professor of Philosophy

St. John's University New York

Douglas B. Rasmussen is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at St. John’s University in NYC and Senior Affiliated Scholar at the Menard Family Institute for Economic Inquiry at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Among the books he has co-authored (with Douglas J. Den Uyl) are: Liberty and Nature: An Aristotelian Defense of Liberal Order (1991); Norms of Liberty: A Perfectionist Basis for Non-Perfectionist Politics (2006); and The Perfectionist Turn: From Metanorms to Metaethics (2016).

Pierre Garello

Professor of Economics

Universite Aix-Marseille

President of IES-Europe and Editor-in-Chief of both the Journal des Économistes et des Études Humaines and Journal des Libertés, Pierre Garello is Professor of Economics at the Faculté d’Economie et Gestion of Aix Marseille University in France. He has published various articles on Austrian economics, law and economics (especially competition law and contract law). He is the editor-in-chief of the Journal des Économistes et des Études Humaines, a scholarly review dealing with economic, legal, philosophical and political issues, in the tradition of the French Classical Liberal School.

Christian Năsulea

Professor of Economics

University of Bucharest

Christian Năsulea teaches Economics at the Department of International Relations and Universal History at the Faculty of History of the University of Bucharest. He is the Executive Director of the Institute for Economic Studies - Europe and a fellow of the Institute for Research in Economic and Fiscal Issues. His areas of research interest include public policy and stimuli for economic development, political and commercial negotiation in international relations, behavioural economics and decision processes.

Gregory Rehmke

Economist

Economic Thinking

Emmanuel Martin

Economist

Aix Marseille University

E. Martin teaches Economics and Public policies at Aix-Marseille University.

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