Political Changes, Conflicts and Cooperation in Eurasia

Courses

Eurasia in and beyond conflict

The course will focus on the sources of and the pathways that led to the ongoing tragic conflict in Ukraine and instability in the South Caucasus. It will engage competing conceptual perspectives on war and the making of peace to provide participants with a toolkit to assess the risk of an outbreak of conflict as well as its ripeness for negotiation and resolution. We [NFL1] will address the current strategic and moral dilemmas faced by national governments in Eurasia and apply the existing scholarship on international orders and post-war settlements to the blueprints for a post-war security architecture in Europe, Eurasia and elsewhere.

Russia and Armed Conflicts in and beyond Eurasia

The course focuses on the main trends in Russia’s policies on armed conflicts in the 21st century, as well as the origins, drivers, specifics, and key implications of Russia’s involvement in conflicts and conflict management in and beyond Eurasia. It also covers Russia’s approaches to major campaigns of organized political violence other than armed conflicts (terrorism, violent extremism, one-sided violence against civilians) in Russia, other Eurasian states, and selected regions beyond Eurasia (the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa). The course employs a multidisciplinary analytical framework centered on peace and conflict studies and the human security approach. It explores the role of both state and non-state actors in armed violence and violence control, and discusses various conflict engagement strategies, from interventions to peace processes.

Russia in the International Relations System

This course offers a comparative look at the making and implementation of Russian Foreign Policy after the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. The course offers a combination of two options. We begin with an investigation of the sources of Russian conduct and analyze Russia’s foreign policy institutions and priorities.

Political Changes in Post-Soviet Eurasia

The course focuses on the emergence and development of political systems the countries of post-Soviet Eurasia within the context of political regime dynamics and state building. Taking the Soviet system and collapse of the Soviet Union as a point of departure, the course traces the making and unmaking of major political institutions in this region by examining the impact of various legacies of the past, the role of domestic and international political and economic actors, and the effects of global trajectories of the twenty-first century. Special attention is devoted to patterns of political continuity and changes during the current wave of domestic and international conflicts. We will also discuss recent developments and current crises in the region with regard to their political, socio-economic, and security consequences.

European Neighborhood Policy in the Post-Soviet Space

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Academic writing

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Russian language

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