Entry requirements

Enrolment in the Master's Programme in Russian and Eurasian Studies and 7.5 credits from the module Russian and Soviet history, culture and society.

Learning outcomes

After the course the student should be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

• account for and critically discuss Russia's role and activities in contemporary world politics and in the region,
• account for selected international relations theories and approaches,
• account for the use of media to promote Russia's foreign policy interests.

Competence and skills

• Independently apply international relations theories and approaches to analyse and explain Russian foreign and security policy,
• plan, implement, and present (orally and in writing) small research assignments.

Judgement and approach

• critically assess and problematise different theoretical approaches and perspectives that are presented in the course literature,
• critically assess, analyse and evaluate academic sources, think tank reports, and media coverage of Russian foreign and security policy.

Content

The course is comprised of three main parts. In the first part of the course, theoretical approaches will be discussed with a particular focus on Russia's policy in the post-Soviet space, especially concerning the conflict in Ukraine. In addition, these theoretical approaches will also shed light on Russian foreign policy in a variety of international domains, including Russia's relations with the United States, the European Union, China, and the Middle East. In the second part of the course, we will discuss the role of the media and examine how Russia has used media outlets such as RT (formerly Russia Today), Sputnik, and social media tools to advance its foreign policy interests. The third part of the course students will work on their final papers.

Instruction

Instruction is in the form of lectures and seminars.

Assessment

The course is examined by active participation in seminars, oral presentations, and written assignments.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator or a decision by the department's working group for study matters.