Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has upset the unstable balance of security in Europe and the world. Vladimir Putin has chosen war against peace. This course examines the key questions that help understand why and how Moscow's policies got derailed, and when relations with Ukraine and western democracies reached the point of no return. The main subjects are:
-Russia and the “in-between” countries (Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia). The challenge to Europe and the Atlantic alliance.
-International relations post-1945, U.S.-Russia relations, the USSR and the construction of the European community, détente and confrontation. Soviet war in Afghanistan.
- The collapse of the Warsaw Pact in 1989 and fall of the USSR in 1991. Gorbachev's perestroika and preference for peace. The new independent states partnership with western countries, arms control and cooperation.
-War and Peace. Conflict studies. Terrorism and counter-terrorism. Russia's wars in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria, Ukraine.
New ways of waging war: subversion, disinformation and cyberattacks, economic embargo, energy dependence, low-intensity conflicts, waging an armed conflict without declaring war, disrespect for international law and conventions.
-Putin's war of agression against Ukraine, and the consequences for Russians, Ukrainians, Europeans, and beyond Europe. The criminal nature of the war. Ukrainian resistance. Democracies and international organizations' full support to Ukraine.
-Dictatorships versus democracies. Political regimes and competition. Globalization and retrenchment. A study of European and U.S. policies towards Moscow.
1 FINAL ESSAY, CIRCA 3000 WORDS 40%
1 ORAL PRESENTATION WITH ANOTHER STUDENT 20%
ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN CLASS IS A PLUS.