What's the matter with Russia? The course is focused on the political economy of political and economic regime change and forms of state-building with a specific focus on the post-Soviet countries: Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The course is divided into two parts. In the first we review literatures on political and economic change, state-formation, rent-seeking, elite constellations, colored revolutions, foreign aid, development and institutional decay. In the second part we closely examine the three cases: Russia, Ukraine and Belarus and pay specific attention to nation-building, institutional formation, elite constellations and rents of energy dependency.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Develop a global understanding of the key concepts within the course: political regimes, economic regimes, economic development, institutional change, rent-seeking, varieties of capitalisms (and non-capitalisms), sanctions regimes, value chain risk-management.
2. Understand the linkage between economic and political institutional change.
3. Develop a solid understanding of the post-Soviet space
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
1. Foundation of risk assessment and risk management.
2. Foundation of international crisis management, specific to the private sector
3. Verbal and written communication adapted to the business and professional world
- Online learning activities: 4 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
- Reading and Preparation for Class: 8 hours a week / 48 hours a semester
- Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 2 hours a week / 12 hours a semester
(ii) oral group presentation—the students will split into groups and be asked to present a reading and co-lead the discussion (20%),
(iii) participation (10%),
(iv) individual literature review paper (20%)