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| SPOL2212-1 | Geopolitics of Russia and Eurasia
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| Duration : | 30h Th |
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| Lecturer : | Nina Bachkatov |
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Language(s) of instruction :
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| English language |
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Organisation and examination :
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| Teaching in the first semester, review in January |
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Course contents :
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| A series of 12 lectures of 2 hours (plus 30 minutes of discussion seminar, see Methods) begins with a short socio-historical introduction geared to emphasise different elements which are still weighting on thinking in the new states born from the former USSR - with an accent on that affecting foreign relations. We study the evolution of the Eurasian space, from Kievian Russ to the formation of the Russian empire, the birth and death of the USSR, the creation of 15 new independent republics with a common background but their own specificities in term of external relations (with Russia, between themselves and with the world), the reorganisation of post-Soviet space into new regional organisations, the geopolitical games around them. Special attention is devoted to the question of national identity building in the original context of the collapse of Soviet ideological structures. Each time, the accent is put on elements providing for a better understanding of today's options in foreign relations matters.
To this end, the lecture also analyses the elements of rupture and of continuity regarding the Soviet period, the new threats confronting the republics and the way they respond to them, the foreign policy actors, the external events influencing the decision making process. The last sessions are devoted to a systematic review of the different doctrines of foreign policy and security of the republics, in the framework of specific regional situations and international pressures.
IMPORTANT: the first lecture is on 17 September 2014; the lectures are cancelled on 1 and 8 October. |
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Learning outcomes of the course :
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| Two objectives :
- equip the students with additional tools to understand the different situations in a geopolitical region few of them are knowing well
- to apprehend the impact of the Soviet Union collapse on the situation of all the region but also on the evolution of the global world
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Prerequisites and co-requisites/ Recommended optional programme components :
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| No prerequisites are required - but an intellectual curiosity and a will to go beyond the oversimplifications concerning this specific part of the world and the global world generally speaking. |
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Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
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| The lectures are essentially made by the professor, with eventually some invited guest. To facilitate notes taking, the students receive each time a summery of the topics of the day, in French. |
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Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
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| The lectures are essentially made by the professor, with eventually some invited guest. At the end of each lecture, during 30 minutes, as an experiment during the 2014-2015 academic year, students are invited to take part in a short discussion devoted to one specific point of that lecture. For instance, after the first one (17 September), we will discuss how and why the History of a country is still affecting its foreign policy today. Students are expected to take part by providing examples of their national experience, their lectures, case studies.
To facilitate notes taking, the students receive a summery of the topics of the day, in French, electronically, as well as a few maps. At the end of the lectures, they will receive a syllabus by e-mail. |
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Recommended or required readings :
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| Students are invited to read some books providing a background of the matters provided during the lectures such as: RADVANYI Jean (sous la direction de), Les Etats postsoviétiques, Armand Colin, 2003 ; HANSON Philippe, The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Economy: An Economic History of the USSR from 1945, Pearson Education Lmt, 2003 ; REY Marie-Pierre, Le dilemme russe : la Russie et l'Europe occidentale d'Ivan le Terrible à Boris Eltsine, Flammarion, 2013 ; TRENIN Dmitri, Post-Impérium : a Eurasian Story, Carnegie Endowment, 2011 ; BACHKATOV Nina, L'énergie diplomate : Enjeux et effet de la diplomatie énergétique de la Fédération de Russie, Bruylant, 2011 ; BRAITHWAITE Rodric, Across the Moscow River ; the World turned upside down, Yale University Press, 2002. |
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Assessment methods and criteria :
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| The oral exams are programmed in June - but Erasmus students who are going home after a semester can ask for a session in January. It is held in French or in English, according to the wish of the student. In case of specific problems, well documented by the student and accepted as such by the professor, the later may organise a written exam. |
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Work placement(s) :
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Organizational remarks :
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| This course is held every even year (2014-2015, 2016-2017...). |
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Contacts :
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| nina.bachkatov@russia-eurasia.net |
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| Items online : |
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| Notes/schema course |
| Notes/schema of the course |
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