.
Russia's Defence Policy
Study Course Description
Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:6.00
Study Course Accepted:19.02.2024 12:32:34
| Study Course Information | |||||||||
| Course Code: | PZK_166 | LQF level: | Level 7 | ||||||
| Credit Points: | 5.00 | ECTS: | 7.50 | ||||||
| Branch of Science: | Politics | Target Audience: | Political Science | ||||||
| Study Course Supervisor | |||||||||
| Course Supervisor: | Māris Andžāns | ||||||||
| Study Course Implementer | |||||||||
| Structural Unit: | Faculty of Social Sciences | ||||||||
| The Head of Structural Unit: | |||||||||
| Contacts: | Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szf rsu[pnkts]lv | ||||||||
| Study Course Planning | |||||||||
| Full-Time - Semester No.1 | |||||||||
| Lectures (count) | 10 | Lecture Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Lectures | 20 | ||||
| Classes (count) | 10 | Class Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Classes | 20 | ||||
| Total Contact Hours | 40 | ||||||||
| Part-Time - Semester No.1 | |||||||||
| Lectures (count) | 7 | Lecture Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Lectures | 14 | ||||
| Classes (count) | 7 | Class Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Classes | 14 | ||||
| Total Contact Hours | 28 | ||||||||
| Study course description | |||||||||
| Preliminary Knowledge: | Overall knowledge of the methods and theories in the field of International Relations, as well as general knowledge on Russian recent history, political system, economic data and position among other global military powers. | ||||||||
| Objective: | To provide knowledge and analytical readiness on the crucial aspects of the Russian defence and security policy and Russian military ambitions in the region and globally. To analyse the impact of Russian defence policy aims and priorities internally and externally. | ||||||||
| Topic Layout (Full-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | Mapping and researching Russian military ambitions and defence policy | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | Geopolitical and geostrategic variables behind Russian defence policy: Russian role in global arena | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | Historical aspects and lessons of Russian/Soviet defence policy 1900 – 2021 | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 4 | Theoretical models and concepts explaining Russian defence policy | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 5 | Traditional principles and components of Russian defence policy in 2000 – 2020 | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 6 | Narratives shaping and describing Russian defence necessities and defence policy 2020 | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 7 | Hybrid warfare as a component of Russian defence policy in 2020 – 2021 | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 8 | Economic warfare and lawfare in Russian military toolbox and part of defence policy | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 9 | Assessing Russian defence policy aims and ambitions from Baltic perspective: risks and opportunities | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 10 | Competition with the US and NATO shaping factor for Russian defence policy | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 11 | Russian - Chinese relations, competition, cooperation and interests impacting Russian defence policy | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 12 | Russia's defence and security partners and alliances: CIS, India, Syria, etc. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 13 | Economic limitations shaping the Russian military ambitions and defence policy | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 14 | Russian military doctrine and its expected updates | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 15 | Russian Military Industry: internal and external needs and outputs in 2015 – 2021 | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 16 | The future of the Russia’s military industry: ‘special deliveries’, functional needs, generous loan deals, and ‘old love’ from Soviet times | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 17 | Analysing the future options for global security: Russia and West 'lost in translation' in their confronting military ambitions? | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 18 | Future prospects and ambitions of Russian defence policy. Options for NATO and EU to respond to Russian ambitions | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 19 | Student presentations | Classes | 2.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Topic Layout (Part-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | Mapping and researching Russian military ambitions and defence policy | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | Geopolitical and geostrategic variables behind Russian defence policy: Russian role in global arena | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | Historical aspects and lessons of Russian/Soviet defence policy 1900 – 2021 | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 4 | Theoretical models and concepts explaining Russian defence policy | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 5 | Traditional principles and components of Russian defence policy in 2000 – 2020 | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 6 | Narratives shaping and describing Russian defence necessities and defence policy 2020 | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 7 | Hybrid warfare as a component of Russian defence policy in 2020 – 2021 | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 8 | Economic warfare and lawfare in Russian military toolbox and part of defence policy | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 9 | Assessing Russian defence policy aims and ambitions from Baltic perspective: risks and opportunities | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 10 | Competition with the US and NATO shaping factor for Russian defence policy | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 11 | Russian - Chinese relations, competition, cooperation and interests impacting Russian defence policy | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 12 | Russia's defence and security partners and alliances: CIS, India, Syria, etc. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 13 | Economic limitations shaping the Russian military ambitions and defence policy | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 14 | Russian military doctrine and its expected updates | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 15 | Russian Military Industry: internal and external needs and outputs in 2015 – 2021 | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 16 | The future of the Russia’s military industry: ‘special deliveries’, functional needs, generous loan deals, and ‘old love’ from Soviet times | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 17 | Analysing the future options for global security: Russia and West 'lost in translation' in their confronting military ambitions? | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 18 | Future prospects and ambitions of Russian defence policy. Options for NATO and EU to respond to Russian ambitions | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 19 | Student presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Assessment | |||||||||
| Unaided Work: | During the module students will prepare for the seminars, read literature, write review and prepare a presentation. The aim of a seminar is to develop students' ability to argue and present their opinion in a consistent and logical manner; to promote activity; to test students’ knowledge of the topic and materials in question. The aim of review is to develop the ability to identify the key issue of the topic; to identify and evaluate alternative arguments and views; to offer an opinion, explaining and arguing why this particular opinion is better than any other. The report should compare all possible alternatives, considering all their strengths and weaknesses. Another goal is to develop skills to independently study the situation and the problem, give it an assessment and be able to find solutions. | ||||||||
| Assessment Criteria: | Attendance: 10% Activity and preparedness during seminars: 10% Presentation and review: 40% Final exam: 40% | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Full-Time): | Exam (Written) | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Part-Time): | Exam (Written) | ||||||||
| Learning Outcomes | |||||||||
| Knowledge: | As the result of the course acquisition, students will be aware of the tendencies and challenges of Russia’s defense policy. Students will understand the dynamics of the development of Russia's defense policy, considering internal and external shocks, their interaction and impact. | ||||||||
| Skills: | Students will independently conduct a research on Russia's defense policy and its trends. By participating in classes and developing research work, students will critically select sources of information about Russia's defense, as well as argue about these issues. Students will explain in depth the challenges and opportunities of Russia's defense policy in promoting cooperation with other countries. | ||||||||
| Competencies: | Students will describe the impact and challenges of Russia's defense policy in the international system, including the Baltic region, as well as evaluate and argue the impact of various factors on Russia's defense policy. | ||||||||
| Bibliography | |||||||||
| No. | Reference | ||||||||
| Required Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Karaganov, S. (2018). The new Cold War and the emerging Greater Eurasia. Journal of Eurasian studies, 9 (2), 85-93 | ||||||||
| 2 | Suslov, M. D. (2014). “Crimea Is Ours!” Russian popular geopolitics in the new media age. Eurasian Geography and Economics, 55(6) | ||||||||
| 3 | Götz, E. (2015). It's geopolitics, stupid: explaining Russia's Ukraine policy. Global Affairs, 1(1), 3-10. | ||||||||
| 4 | Veebel, V. (2017). Escaping the imperial grip of Russia, Cross-Border Journal of International Studies, 1(2017) | ||||||||
| 5 | Karaganov, S., & Suslov, D. (2018). A new world order: A view from Russia. Multipolarity: The promise of disharmony. | ||||||||
| 6 | Olga Oliker (2017) Putinism, Populism and the Difference of Liberal Democracy, Survival 59 | ||||||||
| 7 | NATO “NATO Russia Founding Act 1997” | ||||||||
| 8 | Adamsky, D. 2018. From Moscow with coercion: Russian deterrence theory and strategic culture. Journal of Strategic Studies, 41(1-2), 33-60 | ||||||||
| 9 | Tertrais, Bruno. "Russia’s Nuclear Policy: Worrying for the Wrong Reasons." Survival 60.2 (2018): 33-44. | ||||||||
| 10 | Задачи Вооруженных Сил Российской Федерации. Министерство обороны РФ. Available from: https://structure.mil.ru/mission/tasks.htm | ||||||||
| 11 | Putin, V. (2020) The Real Lessons of the 75th Anniversary of World War II, The National Interest, 18.06.2020 Available from: https://nationalinterest.org/print/feature/vladimir-putin-r… | ||||||||
| 12 | Veebel, V. and Vihmand, L., 2020. Living in confronting or parallel strategic narratives? The reasons behind the missing security dialogue between Russia and the Baltic States. Journal on Baltic Security, 5(2), pp.17-28 | ||||||||
| 13 | Gareev, M. На «мягкую силу» найдутся жесткие ответы. Available from: http://www.vpk-news.ru/articles/18404 | ||||||||
| 14 | Lanoszka, A. (2016). Russian hybrid warfare and extended deterrence in eastern Europe. International affairs, 92(1), 175-195. | ||||||||
| 15 | Sliwa, Z., Veebel, V. and Lebrun, M. 2018. Russian Ambitions and Hybrid Modes of Warfare. Estonian Journal of Military Studies, 2018 (7), pp 86−108. | ||||||||
| 16 | Sergi, B. S. (2018). Putin's and Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union: A hybrid half-economics and half-political “Janus Bifrons”. Journal of Eurasian studies, 9(1), 52-60. | ||||||||
| 17 | Becker, U., & Vasileva, A. (2017). Russia's political economy re-conceptualized: A changing hybrid of liberalism, statism and patrimonialism. Journal of Eurasian studies, 8(1), 83-96. | ||||||||
| 18 | Frühling, S., & Lasconjarias, G. (2016). NATO, A2/AD and the Kaliningrad Challenge. Survival, 58(2) | ||||||||
| 19 | Timofeev, I. 2016 “Russia and NATO in the Baltic”, The Baltic Sea Region: Hard and Soft Security Reconsidered. 2016, Latvian Institute of International Affairs. http://liia.lv/en/publications/the-baltic-sea-region-hard-a… (accessed 21.04.2019). | ||||||||
| 20 | Veebel, V. and Ploom I. 2019. Are the Baltic States and NATO on the right path in deterring Russia in the Baltic?, Defense & Security Analysis, 35:4, 406-422. | ||||||||
| 21 | Clark, W., Luik, J., Ramms, E., & Shirreff, R. (2016). Closing NATO’s Baltic Gap. Tallinn: International Centre for Defence and Security, 12. | ||||||||
| 22 | Shlapak, D. A., & Johnson, M. W., Reinforcing deterrence on NATO's eastern flank: Wargaming the defense of the Baltics (Santa Monica United States: RAND Arroyo Center, 2016). | ||||||||
| 23 | Malle, S. (2017). Russia and China in the 21st century. Moving towards cooperative behaviour. Journal of Eurasian Studies, 8(2), 136-150. | ||||||||
| 24 | Richard A. Bitzinger, Nicu Popescu, ‘Defence industries in Russia and China: players and strategies’, EU Institute for Security Studies, December 2017, p. 15. Available from: https://www.iss.europa.eu/sites/default/files/EUISSFiles/Re… | ||||||||
| 25 | Anna Borshchevskaya, ‘The Tactical Side of Russia’s Arms Sales to the Middle East’, Russia in the Middle East. 2017. Available from: https://jamestown.org/program/tactical-side-russias-arms-sa… | ||||||||
| 26 | Аверре, Дерек. "Russia's 'strategic narratives': the case of Syria ad the 'Arab spring'." Вестник Удмуртского университета. Социология. Политология. Международные отношения 3.3 (2019): 317-325. | ||||||||
| 27 | Russia-Ukraine War: Is peace possible in 2020? Available from: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/russia-u… | ||||||||
| 28 | Oxenstierna, S. (2016). Russia's defense spending and the economic decline. Journal of Eurasian Studies, 7(1), 60-70 | ||||||||
| 29 | Borovsky Y.V. The Soviet and Russian Energy Industry as Objects of Western Sanctions: Political Rivalry or Economic Competition MGIMO Review of International Relations. 2019; (3(66)):42-60. (In Russ.) Available from: https://doi.org/10.24833/2071-8160-2019-3-66-42-60 | ||||||||
| 30 | Sokov, N. 2010. The New 2010 Russian Military Doctrine: The Nuclear Angle. Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey 2010. Available from: https://www.nonproliferation.org/new-2010-russian-military-… (accessed 21.04.2020). | ||||||||
| 31 | Russian National Security Strategy, 2015. Available from: http://www.ieee.es/Galerias/fichero/OtrasPublicaciones/Inte… (accessed 21.04.2020). | ||||||||
| 32 | Petraitis, D. (2011). The Russian Military Reform 2005-2015. Lithuanian Annual Strategic Review, 9(1), 139-171. | ||||||||
| 33 | Loukianova Fink, A. 2017 The Evolving Russian Concept of Strategic Deterrence: Risks and Responses. Arms Control Association. Available from: https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2017-07/features/evolving-r… (accessed 21.04.2019). | ||||||||
| 34 | Makarychev, A., & Sergunin, A. (2013). Russian military reform: institutional, political and security implications. Defense & Security Analysis, 29(4), 356-364. | ||||||||
| 35 | Veebel, V; Vihmand, L; Ploom, I; and Markus, R (2019), Western Misperceptions when Deterring Russia: Cultural and linguistic factors, Journal of Politics and Law Vol 13 (2) | ||||||||
| 36 | Ven Bruusgaard, K. "Russian strategic deterrence." Survival 58.4 (2016): 7-26. | ||||||||
| 37 | Rahim, S., 2018. Revisiting Putin´s 2007 Munich Security Conference Speech – Op-Ed. Eurasia Review: News & Analysis. 11 September 2018. Available from: https://www.eurasiareview.com/11092018-revisiting-putins-20… (accessed 21.04.2020). | ||||||||
| 38 | Veebel, V. (2019). European Union as normative power in the Ukrainian–Russian conflict. International Politics, 56 (5), 697−712. | ||||||||
