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Regular version of the site

Political Regional Studies

2023/2024
Academic Year
ENG
Instruction in English
5
ECTS credits
Course type:
Compulsory course
When:
4 year, 1, 2 module

Instructors

Course Syllabus

Abstract

Political Regional Studies is an advanced level course for undergraduate students devoted to the spatial dimension of political processes in nations. The course’s object is subnational units (regions) in modern states as well as interrelations between regions, national governments, and supranational structures. The particular attention will be payed to federations and federalism as well as the most important issues of decentralization. The course is taught through lectures and discussion groups (hereafter DGs). DGs are interactive and include discussions over the essential readings and assignments which should be completed at home.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • The main goal of this course is to introduce students to political regional studies, its basics and main characteristics
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • Able to efficiently communicate based on the goals and communication situations
  • Able to solve professional problems based on synthesis and analysis
  • Work with information: find, define and use the information from different sources which required for solving of research and professional problems (including the system approach)
  • Student is capable of retrieving, collecting, processing and analyzing information relevant for achieving goals in the professional field
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • Introduction
  • Territorial arrangements. Federations and their forming
  • Federalism as unstable institutional structure
  • Conditions for robust federalism
  • Decentralization and its types. How to measure decentralization
  • The ambiguity of causes and effects of decentralization
  • Regional development and its strategies
  • Subnational interests in the EU
  • Subnational processes in China
  • Territorial system in the USSR
  • Territorial system in the Russian Federation
  • Dynamics of the subnational regimes in Russia
  • Subnational processes in the Middle East
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Discussion group activity
    Students are expected to attend each seminar and regularly participate in discussions. The instructor grades the participation during the seminars based on the quality of answers, demonstration of engagement with the assigned readings and home tasks, and overall quantitative involvement in the in-class activities.
  • non-blocking Essay
    At the last seminar of the first module the students will be provided with a list of themes to write an essay in the class. The themes will cover basic questions discussed in the classes. For instance, "Do you think that it is important to differ unitary states from the federal ones in the modern world?" or "Can we imagine federal system without democracy?"
  • non-blocking Exam
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • 2023/2024 2nd module
    0.3 * Discussion group activity + 0.3 * Essay + 0.4 * Exam
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Lijphart, A. (2012). Patterns of Democracy (Vol. 2nd ed). New Haven [Conn.]: Yale University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=474918

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Filippov, M., Ordeshook, P. C., & Shvetsova, O. (2004). Designing Federalism : A Theory of Self-Sustainable Federal Institutions. New York: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=157922

Authors

  • STARODUBTSEV ANDREY VLADIMIROVICH
  • YUZBEKOVA KARINA SHAMILEVNA