POLS 3326 The Politics of Post-Communist States
This course examines the actualities and outcomes of transition to liberal democracy and market capitalism in the countries of East-Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. Focusing on central discussions and debates shaping political discourse in the region, post-communist transformation is approached through the prisms of political economy, democratization, geopolitics as well as specific issues such as crime, corruption, poverty, inequality, and intersectional discrimination. The course introduces students to the diversity of post-communist reform outcomes, both in terms of the regime types, and institutional arrangements within the countries’ political, economic, and social systems. The final part of this course is dedicated to the exploration of the region's contested futures by probing into the potentials of and obstacles to Eurasian integration, overviewing the forms of social activism, and reflecting upon the politics of memory and Soviet nostalgia.
Offered
As scheduled