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Belarus between the East and the West
Study Course Description
Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:2.00
Study Course Accepted:02.02.2024 12:30:35
| Study Course Information | |||||||||
| Course Code: | PZK_213 | LQF level: | Level 7 | ||||||
| Credit Points: | 3.00 | ECTS: | 4.50 | ||||||
| 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) | 8 | Lecture Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Lectures | 16 | ||||
| Classes (count) | 6 | Class Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Classes | 12 | ||||
| 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 | 4.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | Belarus and Russia: Friendship with Different Goals? | Lectures | 4.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | Belarus and Historical Impact of Various Powers. Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 3.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 4 | In Need to Restructurize the Framework of Belarus – EU Relations? Discussion and Presentations | Classes | 3.00 | 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 | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Part-Time): | |||||||||
| 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. (2014). A History of Belarus. Glasgow Publications, United Kingdom. pp. 20-306. | ||||||||
| 2 | David Marples. (1999). Belarus. A Denationalized Nation. Chapter 1. | ||||||||
| 3 | Matthew Friar. (2018). Belarus under Lukashenka. Adaptive Authoritarianism. Chapter "Adaptive Authoritarianism. A Conceptual Framework". | ||||||||
