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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2013/2014 -
- ARCHIVE as at 1 September 2013 for reference only
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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Social and Political Science : Postgrad (School of Social and Political Studies)

Postgraduate Course: The Politics of Post-Soviet Russia (PGSP11149)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Social and Political Science CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Course typeStandard AvailabilityAvailable to all students
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) Credits20
Home subject areaPostgrad (School of Social and Political Studies) Other subject areaNone
Course website None Taught in Gaelic?No
Course descriptionThis course introduces students to the politics and government of the contemporary Russian Federation. Format varies each year but follows the following general outline. It commences with theoretical approaches to the USSR, and analysis of the disintegration of the Soviet state and its consequences. It then looks in detail at Russian state and institution-building. Foci generally include party systems, civil society and human rights, democratisation in theory and practice, the nature of post-communism, comparative post-Soviet government and the international relations of the post-Soviet space.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus?Yes
Course Delivery Information
Delivery period: 2013/14 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1) Learn enabled:  Yes Quota:  22
Web Timetable Web Timetable
Course Start Date 16/09/2013
Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 10, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 176 )
Additional Notes
Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
No Exam Information
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, it is expected that students will be able to:

- Demonstrate knowledge of key institutions and processes in post-Soviet Politics
- Exhibit a strong understanding of competing analytical and conceptual approaches for understanding Russian and Post-Soviet Politics
- Evaluate alternative explanations for particular political developments and events in Russia and the CIS
- Develop a personal assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the Russian political system.
Assessment Information
2 essays totalling 4,000 - 5,000 words
(Essay 1 1500 words, Essay 2 2500 words)

Short essay 40% total mark
Long essay 60% total mark
Special Arrangements
None
Additional Information
Academic description Not entered
Syllabus Indicative only - exact topics change each year
WEEK 1 General introduction to course
WEEK 2
Lecture: The USSR: origins, structures, development
Seminar: Approaches to the Soviet system
WEEK 3
Lecture: Gorbachev's perestroika
Seminar: The collapse of the USSR
WEEK 4
Lecture: The politics of Russian economic reform
Seminar: 'Clans', oligarchs and the Russian executive
WEEK 5
Lecture: The evolution of executive-legislative relations in Russia
Seminar: Putin, Medvedev and the evolution of executive-legislative relations DVD session WEEK 6
Lecture: Centre-periphery relations
Seminar: Chechnya and the North Caucasus
WEEK 7
Lecture: Russian elections
Seminar: Political parties
DVD session
WEEK 8
Lecture: Russian foreign policy
Seminar: Russia and the West
WEEK 9
Lecture: Russia and the CIS states
Seminar: Russia and the 'Coloured revolutions'
WEEK 10
Lecture: Post-Soviet democratisation: themes and developments
Seminar: Characterising Russian 'democracy'
Transferable skills Not entered
Reading list - Stephen White, Richard Sakwa & Henry E. Hale (eds.) Developments in Russian Politics 7 (2009)
- Richard Sakwa, Russian Politics and Society (4th edn, 2008)
Study Abroad Not entered
Study Pattern Not entered
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Luke March
Tel: (0131 6)50 4241
Email: L.March@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMrs Gillian Macdonald
Tel: (0131 6)51 3244
Email: gillian.macdonald@ed.ac.uk
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