Geopolitics of Great Powers: Russia - JPM739

• Title: Geopolitics of Great Powers: Russia
• Guaranteed by: Department of Political Science (23-KP)
• Faculty: Faculty of Social Sciences
• Actual: from 2021
• Semester: summer
• E-Credits: 4
• Examination process: summer s.:
• Hours per week, examination: summer s.:1/1, Ex [HT]
• Capacity: unlimited / unknown (30)
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: taught
• Language: English
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Note: course can be enrolled in outside the study plan; enabled for web enrollment; priority enrollment if the course is part of the study plan
• Guarantor: PhDr. Magdalena Leichtová, Ph.D.
• Teacher(s): PhDr. Magdalena Leichtová, Ph.D.
• Class: Courses for incoming students
• Incompatibility : JPM191
• Is incompatible with: JPM191

Annotation

Last update: PhDr. Magdalena Leichtová, Ph.D. (31.01.2023)

Russian foreign policy attracted significant amount of political and analytical attention in recent years. The tensions which appeared and intensified in Russia-West relations recently sparked boom in production of Russia-related papers, reports, analyses and articles. While this body of analyses contains brilliant and valuablepieces the overall tendency leads towards simplification and –more importantly –stereotypization of the mutual relations. Russian foreign policy is often analysed from distorted and simplified perspectives of New Cold War, irreversibly undemocratic nature of Russia or omnipotent Putin. As a result it is increasingly important to understand sources and developments in Russian geopolitical and foreign policy thinking in order to interpret its behaviour without relying on old-fashioned stereotypes, and to understand the risks, challenges and viable strategies in mutual relations.The main aim of this course is to provide basis for better understanding of current Russian foreign policy. Students will gain basic understanding to drivers of Russian foreign policy based on history, perceptions of Self and Others. Students will learn about the developments of Russian foreign policy in major geopolitical regions of the world. And finally students will discuss the current developments in Russian foreign policy within the abovementioned framework.

Literature

Last update: PhDr. Magdalena Leichtová, Ph.D. (01.03.2024)

Recommended further reading:

Belton, Catherine (2020). Putin's People. Farrar. (https://d-pdf.com/book/587/read)

Cadier, David –Light, Margot (2015). Russia ́s Foreign Policy. Palgrave Macmillan. (Available in FSV library)

Charap, Samulel - Colton, Timothy (2017). Everyone Loses: the Ukraine Crisis ant the ruinous contest for post-Soviet Eurasia. Routledge. (Available in UK libraries via system UKAZ)

Frye, Timothy (2022). Weak Strongman: The Limits of Power in Putin's Russia. Princeton University Press. 

Galeotti, Mark (2019). We need to talk about Putin. Ebury Digital. 

Leichtova, Magda (2014). Misunderstanding Russia. Ashgate. (Available in FSV library)

Legvold, Robert (2007) Russian Foreign Policy in the Twenty-First Century and the Shadow of the Past. Columbia University Press. (Available in FSV library)

Mathews, Owen (2022) Overreach: The Inside Story of Putin and Russia's War against Ukraine. Mudlark.

Sarotte, M.E. (2021). Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate. Yale University Press. 

Stent, Angela (2019). Putin´s World: Russia against the West and with the rest. Twelve. (Available in FSV library)

Taylor, Brian (2018) The Code of Putinism. Oxford University Press.

Toal, Gerard (2019). Near Abroad. Oxford University Press. 

Tsygankov, Andrei (2020). Handbook of Russian foreign policy. Routledge.

Teaching methods

English

Last update: PhDr. Magdalena Leichtová, Ph.D. (31.01.2023)

The course will be taught in intense 4-day form in 1-4 April 2023, followed by 2 online discussions on 28 April (10-12AM) and 19 May (10-12AM).

Requirements to the exam

Last update: PhDr. Magdalena Leichtová, Ph.D. (31.01.2023)

Please see the pdf version of the syllabus for exact exam requirements.

Syllabus

Last update: PhDr. Magdalena Leichtová, Ph.D. (31.01.2023)

Russian identity
Russian vision of changing international order
Trends and schools of thought in Soviet and Russian foreign policy
Russia and the West (1 and 2)
Russia, the West, and the countries in between
Russia and China
Russia and post-Soviet space
Russia as a member of international community of states
Resurection of Russian great power politics?