EAS513 STATE AND NATION-BUILDING IN SOUTH CAUCASUS

Course Objectives

The principal aim of this course is to acquaint students with the South Caucasus and to explore the processes of state and nation-building in the three countries of the South Caucasus in the post-Soviet period considering the legacy of history (Soviet and pre-Soviet past). The course will first introduce the Caucasus. Then, it will focus on the state and nation building processes of the three South Caucasian Republics with a specific focus on ethnicity, religion, minorities, territorial integrity, and conflicts at national and regional level. Experiences of nation and state building in these countries will be critically and comparatively discussed. Within this context the course aims to provide academic background, conceptual clarity, and guidance to the students around the key issues for analyzing the political dynamics in the three South Caucasian countries. 

Course Content

The purpose of this course is to analyze the nation and state building process in the three south Caucasus countries of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. First, general information on the history and geographical conditions of the region will be given; then the developments during the Tsarist Russian and Soviet eras will be analyzed. In this context, the transformative impact of the Bolshevik Revolution, the Sovietization period, the collapse of the Soviet Union and ethnic conflicts will be specifically emphasized in a detailed way. Finally, the course will also discuss the latest developments in the social and political institutions of these three countries.

Course Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, 

• The student will identify major topics, issues, and debates of the South Caucasus region.
• The student will comprehend the present situation of the South Caucasus region.
• The student will comprehend that national and regional conflicts mostly have an international dimension. 
• The student will identify various sources of ethnic, religious or territorial conflicts.
• The student will make sense of the concepts of universalism, democracy, human rights, minorities, assimilation, pluralism, authoritarianism, integration, and political unrest or stability.
• The student will develop a fundamental understanding of the internal political dynamics of the states of the South Caucasus.