Germany and Central Europe: Geopolitics of an Uneasy Relationship - JTM427

• Title: Germany and Central Europe: Geopolitics of an Uneasy Relationship
• Czech title: Německo a střední Evropa: geopolitika nesnadných vztahů
• Guaranteed by: Department of German and Austrian Studies (23-KNRS)
• Faculty: Faculty of Social Sciences
• Actual: from 2021 to 2024
• Semester: summer
• E-Credits: 6
• Examination process: summer s.:
• Hours per week, examination: summer s.:1/1, Ex [HT]
• Capacity: unknown / unknown (20)
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: not taught
• Language: English
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Note: course can be enrolled in outside the study plan; enabled for web enrollment
• Guarantor: doc. Jakub Eberle, Ph.D.
• Class: Courses for incoming students

Annotation

The relationship between Germany and Central Europe has been uneasy, turbulent and complicated for centuries. While the forms of cooperation and conflict kept changing, they were always rooted in geopolitical ideas about how the map of (Central) Europe should be organised. It is around these shared “mental maps” that key political questions are asked. What is Central Europe and what is the best way to govern it? Is Germany part of Central Europe, or rather a distinct entity, perhaps even a rival or enemy? Are Germany and Central Europe integral parts of the West, or do they rather occupy a distinct position? Does the geographical proximity between Germany and Central Europe make everyone more, or less secure? The module will explore some of the most important instalments of such geopolitical thinking in and about Germany and Central Europe from 1848 until the present time, with heavy emphasis on the post-1990 period. Each of the topics will be split between an introductory lecture and a subsequent seminar discussion based on required readings.

English will be the working language, no other language skills are required.

Zoom link (lectures and seminars): https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/99777577235

Moodle link (materials and submissions): https://dl1.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=11727

Last update: Eberle Jakub, doc., Ph.D. (08.02.2021)

Aim of the course

 

Upon completion of the course, the students will

• be able to discuss how have different ideas about the ordering of Central Europe shaped the relationship between Germany and its neighbours
• be familiar with the development of geopolitical thinking in Germany and Central Europe over the last two centuries, with strong emphasis on the post-Cold War period
• be able to critically assess the meaning of notions like ‘the West’, ‘Central Europe’, ‘Eastern Europe’ or ‘civilisation’
• understand the key ideas of critical geopolitics
• develop a detailed understanding of relevant academic literatures and will be able to research and synthesise them independently
• have practiced formulating their own positions on these matters through class discussions as well as individual research assignments

Last update: Eberle Jakub, doc., Ph.D. (27.01.2021)

Literature

 

Reading for every week is listed in the syllabus (see the pdf attached).

Last update: Eberle Jakub, doc., Ph.D. (27.01.2021)

Teaching methods

 

There will be weekly sessions consisting of

• 40 min lecture
• 40 min seminar based on assigned readings and initiated by a student presentation

Following the university health and safety policy, all teaching will be conducted via Zoom.

All reading materials will be circulated on Moodle.

Last update: Eberle Jakub, doc., Ph.D. (08.02.2021)

Requirements to the exam

 

The grade will consist of 100 points divided between the following four elements.

• 20 % for attendance and active participation.  
• 20 % for oral presentation.
• 20 % for a written version of the oral presentation (800-1000 words, including references and bibliography).
• 40 % for final essay (2500 words, +/- 10 %, including references and bibliography).

Last update: Eberle Jakub, doc., Ph.D. (27.01.2021)

Syllabus

The full syllabus is available in the attached pdf.

The outline:

1. Introduction
2. Geopolitics and the idea of the West
3. Mitteleuropa: 19th century and the emergence of Central Europe
4. The Spectre of Geopolitik
5. Westbindung: ‘Bonn Republic’, Cold War and Westernness
6. ‘The Kidnapped West’: Central Europe and the Cold War
7. ‘Return to Europe’: Central Europe and the geopolitics of NATO enlargement
8. Germany reunited: Return to Mittellage?
9. Germany and geo-economics
10. Germany and contemporary Central Europe: Geo-economics and hegemony
11. The West Reborn? Central Europe, hybrid warfare and the ‘new Cold Wars’
12. Whither the West? Visegrad Group and the geopolitics of new European crises

Last update: Eberle Jakub, doc., Ph.D. (27.01.2021)