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Regular version of the site

EU-Russia Relations since 1991

2023/2024
Academic Year
ENG
Instruction in English
4
ECTS credits
Course type:
Elective course
When:
4 year, 3 module

Instructor

Course Syllabus

Abstract

This class explores the problems and potential solutions driving EU-Russia relations. It talks about the internal workings of both the EU and the Russian state, and traces the way the relations unfolded since the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. If you want to learn why Corfu Island is so important for the relations between Brussels and the Kremlin, what EU-Russian Common Spaces are, or trace the role of the Russian national champion Gazprom in EU-Russia energy relations, this course is for you.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • The class aims to equip students with knowledge and skills necessary both to pursure research in EU-Russia relations and to develop policy expertise and advice in the field of EU-Russia relations.
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • conducts professional activities internationally
  • works in team
  • retrieves, collects, processes and analyzes information relevant for achieving goals in the professional field
  • executes applied analysis of the political phenomena and political processes by using political science methods and in support of practical decision making process
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • Week 1. The Soviet period in the relations between the EC and the SU
  • Week 2. Entering the relationship: PCA and TACIS as the basis for cooperation in the 1990s
  • Week 3. EU-Russia relations at the turn of the century and the Kosovo crisis
  • Week 4. The issue of Chechnya in the EU-Russia relations at the turn of the century
  • Week 5. Enlargement and the ENP as a challenge for the EU-Russia relations
  • Week 6. Colour revolutions of 2003-2005 as a challenge for the EU-Russia relations
  • Week 7. First gas disputes between the EU and Russia, and the failed PCA renewal
  • Week 8. Russian-Georgian conflict of August 2008 and the PfM initiative
  • Week 9. From the Eastern Partnership initiative through Crimea to the current crisis
  • Week 10. Crisis in EU-Russia relations and the issue of sanctions
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Weekly Quizzes (25%)
    Mini-quizzes contain 10 questions to be answered in 8 minutes. The questions are MCQ with one correct answer to be picked among several. These questions are based on the class materials (lectures and mandatory readings for the seminars) for each topic.
  • non-blocking Review essay (25%)
    February 10, 2024, 11:59 pm MSK: essay topic (event - policy area bunch) via a google table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16A66vWsm4VK_mGEhcr32OTCIcV7kIGbldcJDRBBIhOI/edit#gid=1105751664. Failing to fill in the table before the deadline will extract 1 point from the final grade for the essay. The grade for the review essay adds 25% to the final grade. A student picks a topic for her/his review essay her/himself. The essay has to be an analysis of how some distinct event in the EU- Russia relations (the Kosovo crisis, the Chechen war, the EU enlargement and the issue of Kaliningrad, the color revolutions in Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan, the gas crises of 2006 and 2009, the Russia-Georgian conflict, the launch of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Ukrainian crisis and sanctions, etc) has influenced the particular policy area of the EU-Russian cooperation. The list of the policy areas follows below: • Security and Defense • Science, Education and Culture • The ‘Common Neighborhood’ and Regional Cooperation • Justice and Home Affairs • Energy • Economy • Environment
  • blocking Written Exam
    The exam makes up 25% of the final grade. The exam comes in the form of a test. This test consists of two parts and lasts 1 hour 20 minutes. Part one is a simple one correct answer quiz. Part two consists of open questions where students have to demonstrate their deeper knowledge of the subject. The exam takes place offline.
  • non-blocking Seminar participation (25%)
    Criteria of engagement ● Meaningful engagement with the mandatory readings demonstrated ● Own critical approach to the reading and lecture materials elucidated ● By bringing in concepts and empirical examples from other fields of study, the student demonstrates a complex understanding of the introduced concepts ● Contribution to the class dynamics: by reflecting on earlier points and comments, students can again demonstrate a practical understanding of the discussed concepts, as well as their abilities to understand the dynamics of ongoing discussions. Conversely, redundant and self-serving comments will lower the participation grade.
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • 2023/2024 3rd module
    0.25 * Review essay (25%) + 0.25 * Seminar participation (25%) + 0.25 * Weekly Quizzes (25%) + 0.25 * Written Exam
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Haukkala, H. (DE-588)141782374, (DE-627)631191704, (DE-576)187013462, aut. (2010). The EU-Russia strategic partnership the limits of post-sovereignty in international relations Hiski Haukkala.

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Perspectives on EU-Russia relations ed. by Debra Johnson . (2005).