In this paper we summarize the recent results on nonlinear dynamics of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) which are bearing the fingerprints of the particular polarization properties of VCSELs. Due to the surface emission and cylindrical symmetry, VCSELs lack strong polarization anisotropy and may undergo polarization switching and polarization mode-hopping. This provides new specificities to the rich nonlinear dynamics induced in VCSELs by an external perturbation. We unveil both experimentally and theoretically these new specificities for the case of optical feedback, optical injection, and unidirectional synchronization between VCSELs.