Main Objectives of the Oslo Summer School: to provide advanced training for young European researchers at the post-graduate and post-doctoral level; to offer Ph.D.-courses at the highest international level, drawing on top-ranking experts, whether they be Europeans or from other parts of the world; to cover all of the social sciences, and to encourage interdisciplinary approaches; to inspire young researchers to take up comparative projects at as early a point as possible in their careers and to contribute to denser networks between European social scientists and research institutions working with various types of comparative social science.