DAFF 25A07 - Russia - Ukraine: Politics Inside, Policies Outside
This course is an introduction to Soviet and post-Soviet politics and external policies, with a special emphasis on domestic developments in Russia and Ukraine, and Moscow's foreign behavior. The key paradigm is the close interaction between internal and external factors. Vladimir Putin's confrontational strategies demonstrate that an autocratic regime is prone to conflict and war.
The course will address:
1.The building and unbuilding of an empire: from the Tsarist empire to the USSR; from the fall of the USSR to the consolidation of new independent republics in Europe.
2.From Gorbachev and Yeltsin's reforms to Putin's authoritarianism. From partnership to confrontation with Western countries.
3.Russia's wars: Chechnya, Georgia, Syria, Ukraine.
4.The question of democracy versus autocracy, European security, Russia-West relations, the future of Ukraine and Russia.
Marie MENDRAS
Séminaire
English
The course is open to students with some background in European history or Russian politics, or international affairs. Summer reading is recommended (see short list below)
Autumn 2024-2025
A reading note: 40% of final grade
An oral presentation, followed by written presentation (revised after discussion in class): 60% of final grade.
Richard Pipes, Russia's Historical Roots, Washington, D.C., 1992: https://www.piie.com/publications/chapters_preview/4242/01iie4242.pdf
Nicolas Werth, Histoire de l'Union soviétique de Khrouchtchev à Gorbatchev (1953-1991), PUF, 2021,https://www.cairn.info/histoire-de-l-union-sovietique-de-khrouchtchev--9782715405769.htm
Geoffrey Hosking, Russian History. A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2019. https://www.bol.com/be/fr/p/russian-history-a-very-short-introduction/9200000033011252/ - https://www.britannica.com/place/Ukraine/History ;
Marie Mendras, Russian Politics. The Paradox of a Weak State, (Hurst, London, and Columbia University Press, 2012) https://www.sciencespo.fr/ceri/lab/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/mendras_book_russianpolitics2012.pdf
Milan Kundera, A Kidnapped West: The Tragedy of Eastern Europe, Harper Collings, ebook: https://readspore.fun/book.php?i=16&g=book&b=665606&n=&sid=5e4693d64d87a27873de347199fa492b (first published in 1983).