The aim of this course is to provide an overview of the post-Soviet transformation. It will focus on key themes and processes, namely state-building, nation-building, civil society development, regimes types and democratization.
By the end of this course students will:
a) Have a good general knowledge of the major approaches to the study and analysis of post-Soviet period, theoretical and methodological debates on post-Soviet transition.
b) Have basic introductory knowledge on major issue areas and problems experienced by the post-Soviet countries.
c) Be able to identify similarities and differences among post-Soviet states and societies, particularly the Southern Caucasus, the Baltic countries and Central Asia.
d) Develop oral and written skills.
SCHEDULE & READINGS
Week 1: Introduction to the Course
Key themes: the scope of area studies, Sovietology, post-Sovietology, transitology, characteristics of post-Soviet transition
Week 2: Collapse of the Soviet Union
Key themes: nature of the Soviet system, nationalities policies, glasnost and perestroika
Yuri Slezkine “The USSR as a Communal Apartment or How a Socialist State Promoted Ethnic Particularism” Slavic Review, Vol.53 (2).
Thomas Carothers (2002) “The end of Transition Paradigm”, Journal of Democracy, 13 (1), pp. 5-21.
Stephen White (2003) ‘Rethinking post-communist Transition’, Government and Opposition, Vol.38 (4).
Taras Kuzio (2001) “Transition in Post-Communist States: Triple or Quadruple?” Politics, Vol. 21(3).
Week 4: Post-Soviet State Building I
Key themes: the process of state-building, regime type
S. Levitsky and Lucan Way (2002) “The Rise of Competetive Authoritarianism”, Journal of Democracy, 13 (2), pp. 51-65.
Theodor Tudoroiu (2007) “Rose, Orange, and Tulip: The Failed post-Soviet Revolutions” Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Vol. 40 (3).
Robert Elgie and Sophie Moestrup (2016) (eds) Semi Presidentialism in the Caucasus and Central Asia, Chapter 2 and 3.
Week 5: Post-Soviet State Building II
Key themes: patterns of leadership, varieties of authoritarianism
Lucan Way (2005) “Authoritarian State Building and the Sources of Regime Competitiveness in the Fourth Wave: The Cases of Belarus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine”, World Politics, 57 82), pp. 231-261.
Henry Hale (2005) “Regime Cycles: Democracy, Autocracy and Revolution in Post-Soviet Eurasia”, World Politics, Vol.58 (1).
Robert Elgie and Sophie Moestrup (2016) (eds) Semi Presidentialism in the Caucasus and Central Asia, Chapter 4, 5, Palgrave.
Week 6: Post-Soviet Nation Building I
Key Themes: process of nation-building, construction of national identity, majority-minority relations (in the South Caucasus).
Murad Ismayilov (2012) “State, Identity and Politics of Music: Eurovision and Nation Building in Azerbaijan”, Nationalities Papers, 40 (6).
Razmik Panossian (2002) “The Past as Nation: Three Dimensions of Armenian Identity”, Geopolitics, 7 (2), pp. 121-146.
Serrano, Silvia. 2014. “The Georgian Church: Embodiment of National Unity or Opposition Force?”. Russian Politics & Law 52(4):74–92.
Week 7: Post-Soviet Nation Building II
Key Themes: process of nation-building, construction of national identity, majority-minority relations (in Central Asia).
Brubaker, Rogers (2011): “Nationalizing States Revisited: Projects and Processes of Nationalization in Post-Soviet States.” Ethnic and Racial Studies, No: 34 1785-1814.
Kuşçu, Işık (2014) “The Public Debate Surrounding the Ethnic Return Migration Policy in Kazakhstan” International Migration, Vol.52 (2), April 2014, 178-197.
Adams, Laura L. and Assel Rustemova. (2009) “Mass Spectacle and Styles of Governmentality in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.” Europe-Asia Studies, No: 7, 1249-1276.
Denison, Michael (2009) “The Art of the Impossible: Political Symbolism, and the Creation of National Identity and Collective Memory in Post-Soviet Turkmenistan.” Europe-Asia Studies, No: 7, 1167-1187.
Week 8: Post-Soviet Civil Societies I
Key Themes: development of civil society, state-civil society relations, internationalization (in the South Caucasus).
Ergun Ayça (2010) “Post-Soviet political transformation in Azerbaijan: Political elite, civil society and the trials of democratization”, Uluslararası İlişkiler/International Relations
Jody Laporte (2015) “Hidden in he Plain Sight: Political Opposition and Hegemonic Authoritarianism in Azerbaijan”, Post-Soviet Affairs, 31 (4).
Irakly Areshidze (2007), Democracy and Autocracy in Eurasia-Georgia in Transition, Chapter 14, Michigan State University Press.
Armine Ishkania (2007),”En-gendering Civil Society and Democracy Building: The Anti-Domestic Violence Campaign in Armenia”, Social Politics, 14 (1), pp. 488-525.
Week 9: Post-Soviet Civil Societies II
Key Themes: development of civil society, state-civil society relations, internationalization.
Marina Muskhelishvili & Gia Jorjoliani (2009) Georgia’s ongoing struggle for a better future continued: democracy promotion through civil society development, Democratization,16:4, pp. 682-708, DOI: 10.1080/13510340903083000
Yulia Skokova, Ulla Pape & Irina Krasnopolskaya (2018): The Non-profit Sector in Today’s Russia: Between Confrontation and Co-optation, Europe-Asia Studies, DOI: 10.1080/09668136.2018.1447089
Taras Kuzia (2006) “Civil Society, Youth and Societal Mobilization in Democratic Revolutions”, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 36 (3), pp. 365-386.
Key Themes: sources of conflict in Eurasia, impact of conflicts on nation and state-building, prospects of conflict resolution.
Mikhail Filippov (2009) “Diversionary Role of the Georgia–Russia Conflict: International Constraints and Domestic Appeal”, Europe-Asia Studies, 61(10), pp. 1825-1847. Charles King (2001) “The Benefit of Ethnic War: Understanding Eurasia’s Unrecognized States”, World Politics, 53 (4), pp. 524-552.
Nina Caspersen (2011) “Democracy, nationalism and (lack of) sovereignty: the complex dynamics of democratisation in unrecognised states”, Nations and Nationalism, 17(2), pp. 337-356.
Week 12: How to write up a country profile
Key themes: profiling a country (political, social and economic transformation, foreign policy)
Week 13: Class Presentations (Book Reviews)
Dr. Ayça Ergun, Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Sosyoloji Bölümünde öğretim üyesidir. ODTÜ Karadeniz ve Orta Asya Ülkeleri Araştırma Merkezi (KORA) başkan yardımcısıdır. Sovyet sonrası dönemde Kafkasya’da siyasal ve toplumsal değişim, devlet-toplum ilişkileri, ulus-devlet kuruculuğu, sivil toplum, demokratikleşme, uluslararasılaşma ve Azerbaycan-Türkiye ilişkileri konularında çalışmaktadır.
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