Political Changes in Post-Soviet Eurasia

February 4 — March 14 , 2025

6 weeks

Political Changes
in Post-Soviet Eurasia

Intensive course

Персональная обратная связь от преподавателя

Бессрочный доступ к методическим материалам

Авторская методика аналитического чтения

Что вам даст курс?

Цель курса – оказать практическую помощь слушателям в работе с концепциями для их собственных исследований путем формирования компетенции аналитического чтения “трудных” текстов и развития организованного теоретического воображения.

1 Не бояться чтения сложных текстов по социальным и гуманитарным наукам

2 Реконструировать теоретические аргументы этих текстов

3 Применять теоретические аргументы в собственных исследованиях

4 Использовать Виатекст – онлайн-инструмент для аналитического чтения

1 Не бояться чтения сложных текстов по социальным и гуманитарным наукам

2 Реконструировать теоретические аргументы этих текстов

3 Применять теоретические аргументы в собственных исследованиях

4 Использовать Виатекст – онлайн-инструмент для аналитического чтения

About the Course

The course focuses on the emergence and development of political systems in post-Soviet Eurasian countries, exploring regime changes and state-building processes. Beginning with the Soviet system and the collapse of the Soviet Union as a starting point, the course examines the creation and dismantling of key political institutions in these newly established states. It considers the impact of various historical legacies and the role of domestic and international political and economic actors in post-1991 political changes. Particular attention is given to patterns of political continuity and change during the wave of “color revolutions” and their aftermath. The course also addresses most recent political developments, including the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and Russia’s role in the region.

Who For?

The course is aimed at undergraduate and graduate students and all those interested in the scholarly analysis of political and social changes in post-Soviet Eurasia over last four decades in a theoretical and comparative perspective.

Participation in the course does not require specialized training in the field.

Program

Studies of Russian and Eurasian politics in East and West. Approaches and theories of political regime dynamics and their applications to Russian and Eurasian politics in a comparative perspective. Models of post-Communist political transformations: democratization, new authoritarianism, or something else?

Key developments and historical evolution in Soviet politics: why and how the Soviet Union has changed. Perestroika and the transformation of Soviet political and economic institutions. August 1991: the failure of reactionary coup and its political outcomes. The breakdown of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the post-Soviet states. Why and how Soviet legacies affect post-Soviet politics.

The problem of “triple transition” after the Soviet Union: hard political choices and their consequences. Russia after the Soviet Union: 1993 clash between President and the parliament, its causes and consequences. Political conflicts in post-Soviet countries: their resolution and non-resolution. Constitution-making in post-Soviet states: constitutionalism and political practice.

Dual executive: institutional framework and political dilemmas of power sharing between presidents and governments in post-Soviet Eurasia. Presidency as a central political institution. Post-Soviet governments: problems of political accountability, political loyalty, and policy performance. Institutional frameworks and political performance of legislatures in post-Soviet Eurasia: law-making and/or political representation? “No site for discussions”: do parliaments matter in post-Soviet politics?

Key problems of the rule of law and law enforcement in post-Soviet Eurasia: dilemmas of state building. Institutional legacies: courts, prosecutor’s office and other judicial institutions in late-Soviet and post-Soviet period. Policies of judicial reforms: arbitration courts, jury trial, and constitutional courts. Rule by law versus rule of law: police, courts and human rights. Post-Soviet law enforcement agencies and their practices.

The background of post-Soviet electoral reforms. Key elements of electoral system: electoral governance and electoral formula. The politics of electoral authoritarianism in Russia and beyond: institutional changes and their political consequences. Electoral fraud: business as usual? The legacies of Soviet one-party state. The emergence of political movements during perestroika period and the formation of post-Soviet political parties. The dynamics of party systems: impacts of institutions and electoral behavior. Parties in post-Soviet parliaments and outside. “Parties of power”, their satellites, and others.

Введение в UX и STS Что такое продукт? Какие есть исследования пользователей? Кто такие пользователи? На эти простые, но важные вопросы мы ответим на первом занятии, чтобы понять, зачем изучать пользователей, и что будет, если этого не делать. Мы также познакомимся со слушателями и преподавателями курса.

Continuity and change in Russian and post-Soviet political culture. Exit, voice, and loyalty in mass participation: activism and protest versus apathy. Post-Soviet voting behavior: theoretical frameworks and political realities. Absenteeism, negativism, and protest voting. Electoral clientelism and electoral corruption in post-Soviet politics.

Concepts of interest groups of Soviet period. Transformation of organized interest groups in post-Soviet politics and their impact on economic policies. Key sectoral interest groups. Business actors and their influence in Russian and post-Soviet politics: the rise and fall of “oligarchs”. Trade unions in Soviet and post-Soviet politics: no organized labor movements. The politics of third sector: the role of NGOs. Is there a post-Soviet version of state corporatism?

Concepts of political elites of Soviet period. The shift of vertical mobility of political elites in end 1980s – early 1990s. New and old elite groups and transformation of elites in post-Soviet period. From plan to clan in post-Soviet elites: political capitalism, generational changes, and clientelist models. In search of elite unity: “parties of power”, leadership succession, and implicit competition of elites.

Territorial-state dimension in Soviet politics: legacies of ethnic federalism. Post-Soviet decentralization: market-distorting federalism, bilateral treaties, and building of sub-national fiefdoms. The politics of recentralization: “power vertical” and the rise of principal-agent problems. Varieties of sub-national authoritarianism in post-Soviet countries: issues in regional and local governance.

The weakness of post-Soviet competitive authoritarianism: problems of leadership succession and beyond. The wave of regime changes: Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Ukraine: elite conflicts, mass mobilization, and institutional changes. Russia as a “black knight” in post-Soviet Eurasia: conflict with the West over Ukraine and its aftermath. Dilemmas of political changes: democratization, state-building, and elite reconciliation.

The final class will be focused on analysis of political dynamics and prospects of political development in post-Soviet Eurasia in a comparative perspective.

Lecturer

Vladimir Gel'man

Professor at the University of Helsinki and associate researcher at Yerevan Center for International Education (YCIE)

Political scientist Vladimir Gel’man is an author and editor of more than 20 books, author of over 150 scientific articles devoted to the problems of Russian politics from theoretical and comparative perspectives. He’s a winner of book awards of the Russian Association of Political Sciences (2002, 2007, 2013). Short- listed for the Enlightener Prize (2022).