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Belarus between the East and the West
Study Course Description
Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:6.00
Study Course Accepted:09.02.2024 10:47:36
| Study Course Information | |||||||||
| Course Code: | PZK_170 | LQF level: | Level 7 | ||||||
| Credit Points: | 5.00 | ECTS: | 7.50 | ||||||
| Branch of Science: | Political Science | Target Audience: | Political Science | ||||||
| Study Course Supervisor | |||||||||
| Course Supervisor: | Elizabete Elīna Vizgunova-Vikmane | ||||||||
| 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 of Belarus and surrounding region. | ||||||||
| Objective: | To provide knowledge on Belarus, its history, politics, economics, and its special geopolitical location affecting those. The course aims to portray interlinked nature of international, local and regional politics, using Belarus and its complex statehood as a case-study/tool. | ||||||||
| Topic Layout (Full-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | Belarus: A History of Crossroads | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | 20th Century: the Soviet Union and Its Collapse and Independent Belarus | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | Lukashenko's Rise to Power: Authoritarianism and the Formation of an Authoritarian State | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 4 | Personalization of Power under Lukashenka: Institutions, Elites and Civic Society | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 5 | Belarus and Russia: Friendship with Different Goals? | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 6 | Bilateral Cooperation Dilemma: Relations between Belarus and the EU | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 7 | Belarus and International Organisations (EES, CIS, KDLO) | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 8 | Belarus's Relations with the United States and China: in Search of new Allies? | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 9 | Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic States: Opportunities and Limitations of Cooperation | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 10 | Impact of the “Covid-19” Pandemic on the Stability of the Lukashenko Regime and the Future of Belarus: Quo vadis, Belarus? TBD | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 11 | Belarus and Historical Impact of Various Powers. Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 12 | Belarus in the Soviet Union and After its Collapse: Consequences. Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 13 | Lukashenka Reign to Power and Possible Development Scenarios. Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 14 | The Main Pillars of Current Regime in Belarus: Institutions and Lukashenko's Influence on them. Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 15 | Is There Another Scenario for Belarus and Russia Relations That Is Possible? Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 16 | In Need to Restructurize the Framework of Belarus – EU Relations? Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 17 | Belarus and International Organizations: Winner or Loser. Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 18 | Influence of China and the U.S. on Belarus. Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 19 | Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic States: Opportunities and Limitations of Cooperation. Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 20 | “Covid-19” impact on Belarus: What Does the Future Hold? Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Topic Layout (Part-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | Belarus: A History of Crossroads | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | 20th Century: the Soviet Union and Its Collapse and Independent Belarus | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | Lukashenko's Rise to Power: Authoritarianism and the Formation of an Authoritarian State | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 4 | Personalization of Power under Lukashenka: Institutions, Elites and Civic Society | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 5 | Belarus and Russia: Friendship with Different Goals? | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 6 | Bilateral Cooperation Dilemma: Relations between Belarus and the EU | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 7 | Belarus and International Organisations (EES, CIS, KDLO) | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 8 | Belarus's Relations with the United States and China: in Search of new Allies? | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 9 | Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic States: Opportunities and Limitations of Cooperation | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 10 | Impact of the “Covid-19” Pandemic on the Stability of the Lukashenko Regime and the Future of Belarus: Quo vadis, Belarus? TBD | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 11 | Belarus and Historical Impact of Various Powers. Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 12 | Belarus in the Soviet Union and After its Collapse: Consequences. Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 13 | Lukashenka Reign to Power and Possible Development Scenarios. Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 14 | The Main Pillars of Current Regime in Belarus: Institutions and Lukashenko's Influence on them. Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 15 | Is There Another Scenario for Belarus and Russia Relations That Is Possible? Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 16 | In Need to Restructurize the Framework of Belarus – EU Relations? Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 17 | Belarus and International Organizations: Winner or Loser. Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 18 | Influence of China and the U.S. on Belarus. Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 19 | Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic States: Opportunities and Limitations of Cooperation. Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 20 | “Covid-19” impact on Belarus: What Does the Future Hold? Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| Assessment | |||||||||
| Unaided Work: | During the module students will prepare for the seminars, read literature, write two essays, final paper 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 essays and final paper 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. In order to evaluate the quality of the study course as a whole, the student must fill out the study course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal. | ||||||||
| Assessment Criteria: | Attendance – 10% Activity and preparedness during seminars – 30% Essays – 20% Final Paper – 40% | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Full-Time): | Exam (Written) | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Part-Time): | Exam (Written) | ||||||||
| Learning Outcomes | |||||||||
| Knowledge: | Using the knowledge provided in the study course, students will identify the challenges of the development of Belarusian history to the present day. Students will describe the domestic political problems of Belarus and the preconditions for Alexander Lukashenka to come to power in Belarus. Students will explain Belarus foreign policy challenges in a regional and international context, especially in the context of building relations with the EU and Russia. Analyze the future development scenarios of Belarus and forecast the development of Belarus' domestic and foreign policy vectors in the future perspective. | ||||||||
| Skills: | Students will read and critically analyze and evaluate the sources of information offered in the study course about the history of Belarus, domestic political processes and their impact on the country's foreign policy and future development scenarios. Students will argue and justify their position on specific issues of Belarus's domestic policy (for example, the role of 1990s in Lukashenka's coming to power) and foreign policy (for example, Belarus's relations with the EU, Russia and the United States), as well as historical developments (for example, at what stages and how Belarusian national identity has developed and evolved). Independently writing essays and reports, students will analyze alternative literature sources and gather information about different views in the context of a particular problem, offer solutions to the development of a particular problem, demonstrate the ability to draw conclusions independently and model new scenarios for Belarusian domestic and foreign policy. | ||||||||
| Competencies: | Students will argue the causes of the problem (for example, Lukashenka's positions of power are determined by a marked personalization of power structures). Students will explain Belarus' domestic and foreign policy processes based on historical experience. Students will demonstrate their position on a specific issue related to Belarus' domestic and / or foreign policy. | ||||||||
| Bibliography | |||||||||
| No. | Reference | ||||||||
| Required Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Lubov Bazan. A History of Belarus. Glasgow Publications, United Kingdom, 2014, pp. 20-306. | ||||||||
| 2 | Ainārs Lerhis, 2017. “The History of Belarus: Multiply Identities”, in Belarusian Foreign Policy: 360. A. Kudors (eds.), Centre for East European Policy Studies, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, pp. 11-19. | ||||||||
| 3 | Robert Coalson, “Flexible Stagnation: How Lukashenka has held on to Power For 25 Years in Belarus”, 20.07.2019. Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty. Available from: https://www.rferl.org/a/flexible-stagnation-how-lukashenka-… | ||||||||
| 4 | Oleg Manev, Natalie Manayeva, Dzmitry Yuran. “More State than Nation: Lukashenko’s Belarus,” in Journal of International Affairs, Fall/Winter2011, Vol. 65 Issue 1, pp. 93-113. | ||||||||
| 5 | House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, “Constitution of the Republic of Belarus,” House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus. Available from: http://www.house.gov.by/en/constitution-of-the-republic-of-… | ||||||||
| 6 | Artyom Shraibman. “The House that Lukashenko Built: the Foundation, Evolution, and Future of the Belarus Regime.” Carnegie Moscow Center, April 2018. Available from: https://carnegieendowment.org/files/CP328_Shraibman_Belarus… | ||||||||
| 7 | Artyom Shraibman, “Lukashenko and the Reformers,”28.07.2020, Carnegie Moscow Center. Available from: https://carnegie.ru/commentary/64194 | ||||||||
| 8 | Matthew Frearer. Belarus Under Lukashenka: Adaptive Authoritarianism. Routledge; 1st Edition (September 4, 2018), pp. 31-47; pp. 49-62; pp. | ||||||||
| 9 | Konstantin Ash. “The election trap: the cycle of post-electoral repression and opposition fragmentation in Lukahsenko’s Belarus.” Democartization, Vol. 22. 2015. Issue 6. pp. 1030-1053. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2014.899585 | ||||||||
| 10 | Vitali Silitski, “Belarus and Russia: Comradeship-in-arms in Preempting Democracy” in “Political Trends in the New Eastern Europe: Ukraine and Belarus” (eds. A. Moshes and V. Silitski), 2007. pp. 02-08. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep11235 | ||||||||
| 11 | Anais Marin, “The Union State of Belarus and Russia: Myths and Realities of Political-Military Integration.” Vilnius Institute for Policy Analysis, 2020, Available from: https://vilniusinstitute.lt/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Anai…. | ||||||||
| 12 | Artyom Shraibman, “A Brotherly Takeover: Could Russia Annex Belarus?” 29.01.2019, Cernegie Moscow Center. Available from: https://carnegie.ru/commentary/78226 | ||||||||
| 13 | Artyom Shraibman, “Oil Spoils the Russia- Belarus Romance,” 28.01.2020, Carnegie Moscow Center. Available from: https://carnegie.ru/commentary/80905 | ||||||||
| 14 | “Building Belarus’ defense capacity is at odds with Russia’s interests,” 26.05.2020. Belarus Security Blog. Available from: https://bsblog.info/building-belarus-defense-capacity-is-at… | ||||||||
| 15 | Māris Cepurītis, 2017. “Belarus Political Relations with Russia after the Annexation of Crimea”, in Belarusian Foreign Policy: 360. A. Kudors (eds.), Centre for East European Policy Studies, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, pp. 73-86. | ||||||||
| 16 | “EU-Belarus Relations”, European Commision, European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations. Available from: https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/neighbourhoo…. | ||||||||
| 17 | Dzianis Melyantsou, 2017. “Belarus - EU Relations: Normalization 2.0”, in Belarusian Foreign Policy: 360. A. Kudors (eds.), Centre for East European Policy Studies, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, pp. 45-56. | ||||||||
| 18 | Artyom Shraibman, “Europe’s Last Dictator Comes in from the Cold,” 06.04.2020. Carnegie Moscow Center. Available from: https://carnegie.ru/commentary/63252 | ||||||||
| 19 | Judy Dempsey, “The Kremlin Tries Charm to Counter E.U.” 05.08.2013. Carnegie Moscow Center. Available from: https://carnegieeurope.eu/2013/08/05/kremlin-tries-charm-to… | ||||||||
| 20 | Yauheni Preiherman, “Belarus and the EU: Where Could Another Rapprochement Lead?” 27.01.2020. The Jamestown Foundation. Available from: https://jamestown.org/program/belarus-and-the-eu-where-coul… | ||||||||
| 21 | Reid Standish, “Russia May Need to Say ‘Do Svidaniya’ to Belarus,” 30.01.2015, Foreign Policy. Available from: https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/30/russia-may-need-to-say… | ||||||||
| 22 | Mārcis Balodis, 2020. “Eurasian Economic Union: Numbers and Trends”, in The Russian Economy: Prospects for Putin 4.0.. A. Kudors, J. Hermanis (eds.), Centre for East European Policy Studies, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, pp. 109-124. | ||||||||
| 23 | “Here’s looking at EAEU #4: Belarus backs itself into trade corner,” 03.09.2020. Eurasianet. Available from: https://eurasianet.org/heres-looking-at-eaeu-4-belarus-back… | ||||||||
| 24 | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, “Belarus and CIS countries and Georgia”. Available from: https://mfa.gov.by/en/bilateral/cis/ | ||||||||
| 25 | A. V. Tihomirov, 2015. “Approaches of the Main Actors in the Development of CSTO after 2014 (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan)”, in “Collective Security Treaty Organization and Contingency Planning after 2014,” A.F. Douhan and A.V. Russakovich (eds.), The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, pp. 35-60. Available from: https://www.dcaf.ch/sites/default/files/publications/docume… | ||||||||
| 26 | Siarhei Bohdan, “The World HandCOV’d: CSTO: in search of raisons d'être,” 29.06.2020, Minsk Dialogue. Available from: https://minskdialogue.by/en/research/opinions/the-world-han… | ||||||||
| 27 | Temur Umarov, “In Belarus, China is Neither at Odds with Russia nor Wedded to Lukashenko,” 07.09.2020, Carnegie Moscow Center. Available from: https://carnegie.ru/commentary/82662 | ||||||||
| 28 | Brian G. Carlson, ”Why China will support Russia in Belarus?” 31.08.2020. The Diplomat. Available from: https://thediplomat.com/2020/08/why-china-will-support-russ… | ||||||||
| 29 | Nicolas Bouchet, “The Wheel May be About to Turn (Again) in U.S. - Belarus Relations,” 08.06.2020. Available from: https://www.gmfus.org/blog/2020/08/06/wheel-may-be-about-tu… | ||||||||
| 30 | Petro Burkovsky, 2017. “Ukrainian-Belarusian Relations from 2014 and Beyond: Using Good Chances and Looking for Better Times”, in Belarusian Foreign Policy: 360. A. Kudors (eds.), Centre for East European Policy Studies, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, pp. 117-137. | ||||||||
| 31 | Andrei Yeliseyeu, 2017. “The Poland-Belarus Relathionship: Geopolitics Gave New Impetus, but no Breakthrough”, in Belarusian Foreign Policy: 360. A. Kudors (eds.), Centre for East European Policy Studies, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, pp. 159-170. | ||||||||
| 32 | Dzianis Melyantsou, “Belarus’s Relations With the Baltic States: Strategic Economic Links and Pragmatic Foreign Policy Calculations,” 29.05.2020. The Jamestown Foundation. Available from: https://jamestown.org/program/belaruss-relations-with-the-b… | ||||||||
| 33 | Ryhor Astapenia, Anaïs Marin, “Belarusians Left Facing COVID-19 Alone”, 16.04.2020. Chatham House. Available from: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2020/04/belarusians-left-facin… | ||||||||
| 34 | Artyom Shraibamn, “Coronavirus Inflames Russia-Belarus Quarrel,” 25.03.2020. The Carnegie Moscow Center. Available from: https://carnegie.ru/commentary/81361 | ||||||||
| 35 | Mariya Sadouskaya - Komlach, “Who can replace Lukashenko in Belarus?” 26.08.2020. Politico. Available from: https://www.politico.eu/article/alexander-lukashenko-replac… | ||||||||
