NS3401 Contemporary Politics of Russia

This course introduces students to the contemporary politics of Russia, focusing on the post-Soviet era. PREREQUISITE: None.

Lecture Hours

4

Lab Hours

0

Course Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

·      Identify the key long-term factors and persistent trends driving Russian domestic politics and international behavior.

·      Analyze how the Soviet collapse and the crisis of the 1990s shaped Russia’s trajectory and gave rise to the Putin regime.

·      Understand the key pillars and inner workings of the Putin regime, as well as its social, political economic and security consequences.

·      Examine the domestic roots and the logic of Russia’s aggressive international posture and their implications for the future.

·      Critically assess the various perspectives on the nature of the threat posed by Russia, as well as the different U.S. and Western policies to counter it.