SUİ426

School of Economics and Administrative Sciences \ Political Science and International Relations

3

6

Elective

English

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This is a departmental elective course for SUI (Political Science and International Relations) students. Students from other programs may take it as a faculty or university elective, depending on the available quota.

This course offers a comprehensive exploration of the contemporary political, economic, and strategic landscape of the Eurasian region. Beginning with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent emergence of the post-Soviet space, the course traces the multifaceted processes of political and economic transformation across Eurasia over the past three decades. Students will examine the political trajectories of the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic States, Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Key topics include regime types, identity politics, religion, nationalism, democracy, civil society, and regional cooperation. The course provides in-depth analysis of political institutions (both formal and informal) as well as the tensions and connections between domestic governance and international engagement.
A central component of the course focuses on Eurasia's role in global energy politics, analyzing the importance of natural resources, pipeline politics, and the geopolitical rivalries surrounding access and control. Students will engage with the foreign policy strategies of major global powers (China, Russia, the United States, and the European Union) and how their competing visions shape regional dynamics. Importantly, the course also explores Turkey’s evolving foreign policy in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Emphasis is placed on Ankara’s efforts to build soft power through cultural, linguistic, and economic ties, as well as its strategic interests in energy corridors, security cooperation, and pan-Turkic initiatives.

Hale, H. E., Johnson, J., & Lankina, T. V. (Eds.). (2024). Developments in Russian Politics 10 (Vol. 10). Bloomsbury Publishing.
Smith, F. K. (2023). Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Central Asia. Rico Isaacs & Erica Marat (eds), Abingdon & New York.
Souleimanov, E. (2013). Understanding ethnopolitical conflict: Karabakh, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia wars reconsidered. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

By the end of the semester, students will have gained a comprehensive understanding of Eurasia as a region of both historical legacy and contemporary significance, shaped by internal challenges and external ambitions. The course aims to familiarize the students with the complex political, economic, and strategic dynamics of the Eurasian region, fostering a distinction understanding of both historical legacies and contemporary developments. Through critical engagement with the post-Soviet transitions, regional governance models, identity politics, and the influence of global actors, students will develop the analytical tools necessary to interpret Eurasia’s evolving geopolitical landscape.

1. Understand the political systems and governance structures across Eurasia.
2. Be able to distinguish between the concepts of the post-Soviet space and Eurasia and develop a distinction awareness of how cultural, historical, and social dynamics shape political processes.
3. Critically examine fictional representations of institutions, figures, and political roles within the context of Eurasian politics.

Week 1: Introduction and Background
Week 2: The Rise and Fall of Communism
Week 3: The Political and Economic Transition of the USSR
Week 4: Borders of Central Asia: Identity and Religion
Week 5: Political Regimes and Governance in Post-Soviet Central Asia 1 (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan)
Week 6: Political Regimes and Governance in Post-Soviet Central Asia 2 (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan)
Week 7: South Caucasus: Ethnicity, Democracy, and Civil Society (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia)
Week 8: Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus & Baltic States: State Building and Transition
Week 9: Eurasia and the Geopolitics of Energy
Week 10: Regionalism in Eurasia: The Commonwealth of Independent States (CSTO), The Shanghai Cooperation Organization and The Eurasian Economic Union
Week 11: Competing Visions: China, Russia, the US, and the EU in Eurasia
Week 12: Turkey’s Foreign Policy Towards Central Asia and Caucasus