PSIR486 RUSSIAN POLITICS
| Course Code: | 3540486 |
| METU Credit (Theoretical-Laboratory hours/week): | 3 (3.00 - 0.00) |
| ECTS Credit: | 6.0 |
| Department: | Political Science and International Relations |
| Language of Instruction: | English |
| Level of Study: | Undergraduate |
| Course Coordinator: | |
| Offered Semester: | Spring Semesters. |
Course Objectives
The course deals mainly with the nature of political institutions and processes in post-Soviet Russia. The issues that will be covered in this course include institutional design, the presidency, the legislature, elections, problems of party formation and consolidation, economic reform, public opinion, mass media, nationalism, federalism, the processes of systemic transition and democratization in post-Soviet Russia.
Course Content
For course details, see https://catalog2.metu.edu.tr.Course Learning Outcomes
This course aims to make the students familiar with the dynamics and institutions of political order in post-Soviet Russia. The collapse of the Soviet Union, the attempts to construct a democratic order, the subsequent recentralization of power and the increasing geopolitical role of Russia makes it an important global and regional actor that requires closer academic attention. We will start with reviewing the collapse of the Soviet Union and the post-communist perspective in a comparative way. We then explore the main political narratives of post-Soviet leaders (Yeltsin and Putin) and the evolution and workings of political institutions, including constitutional and rule-of-law questions, parliament, the executive branch and hegemonic presidency, and federalism. The course then goes in depth into a series of topics at the intersection between state and society – parties, elections, and civil society. The course concludes with a prognosis for the future and reflections on what Russia’s troubled transition teaches us all.
Program Outcomes Matrix
| Level of Contribution | |||||
| # | Program Outcomes | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1 | Having academic knowledge in Political Science and International relations disciplines | ✔ | |||
| 2 | Developing an interdisciplinary perspective incorporating other areas of the social sciences as well | ✔ | |||
| 3 | Being capable of evaluating political, economic and social matters at local, national and international levels | ✔ | |||
| 4 | Being capable of making sense of, follow and analyze political, economic and social events | ✔ | |||
| 5 | Being sensitive to global, environmental and social problems | ✔ | |||
| 6 | Developing a critical mind capable of making constructive criticisms, open to lifelong learning, researching, inquiring, questioning and problems solving | ✔ | |||
| 7 | Being capable of individual work, entrepreneur, good time management and able to actively take part in group work for common purposes | ✔ | |||
| 8 | Having effective communication skills in Turkish and English languages | ✔ | |||
| 9 | Being capable of using communication technologies in reaching to information and organizing and presenting this information in a systematic way | ✔ | |||
0: No Contribution 1: Little Contribution 2: Partial Contribution 3: Full Contribution