PS 122: SOVIET, RUSSIAN, AND POST-SOVIET POLITICS Fall term, 2010 T&Th 12 noon - 1:15 (Block F+) TERR RM. Course description and objectives

Transcription

1 PS 122: SOVIET, RUSSIAN, AND POST-SOVIET POLITICS Fall term, 2010 T&Th 12 noon - 1:15 (Block F+) TERR RM Professor Oxana Shevel Office: Packard oxana.shevel@tufts.edu Phone: Office hours: Wed 2:00-4:00 pm, and by appointment Course website accessible through Course description and objectives In this course, you will be studying one of the most important countries of the 20th century, the Soviet Union, and the states the Russian Federation (Russia) and 14 others that were formed from its collapse. Approximately one third of the course will be devoted to an overview of political, economic, and social structures that defined Soviet Communism. This historical overview will cover the time period from the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution through Gorbachev, perestroika, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in In the remaining two-thirds of the course we will explore the unprecedented triple transition in national identities, political institutions and economic systems that followed the collapse of Soviet Communism, and will examine and critically evaluate theoretical attempts to explain the different developmental trajectories upon which the 15 successor states of the Soviet Union have embarked. While Russia will receive the most extensive consideration, we will cover the other successor states as well, paying particular attention to Ukraine, but also other states. As we examine and compare developments in the region after 1991, we will consider topics such as state collapse and state formation, regime types, political and institutional changes, the politics of economic reform, the challenges of nationalism within the multinational state, electoral revolutions, and others. Course requirements and policies This course requires a significant amount of reading, so be prepared. If you fall behind it will be difficult (perhaps impossible!) to catch up. Final grade will be based on grades awarded for each of the following: 1) Class attendance and active participation (15%). Regular attendance and active participation are crucial for success in this course. You should come to class having done the readings and having thought about them critically. I will be posting a study guide to course website on the Blackboard at the end of each week for the following week. The study guide will indicate what to focus on when you do the readings, and writing down answers to the study guide questions will be an excellent preparation for exams. 2) Group presentations (10%). A key objective of this class is to examine and critically evaluate the different developmental trajectories upon which the post-communist states have embarked. Towards this goal, after we finish with the Soviet period and before we begin analyzing the post-soviet developments, we will devote one class meeting (Thursday, October 14) to mapping the variations among post-soviet countries. We will focus on four types of variation (democratic performance, economic performance, ethnic conflict, and membership in international organizations). The class will divide into four groups, and each group will prepare a minute presentation summarizing how 15 post-soviet states vary 1

2 on a given dimension. On Blackboard there will be a list of online resources that you may use when preparing group presentations. Groups are encouraged to be creative in their presentations, and also to utilize additional resources. 3) Midterm (30%). The in-class midterm will take place on Tuesday, October 26. The midterm will include identification questions on key concepts, events, people, and dates, essay questions, and a map component. Study maps will be posted on course website on the Blackboard. 4) Research paper (30%). All students will write a paper applying one of the theories that we cover in class to an empirical case of your choice. The goal is to provide evidence from one (or more) post-soviet countries experience that either bolsters or challenges a given theory. For example, if you would like to write about Armenia, you can look into how its experience with ethnic conflict in Nagorno Karabakh bears on the theories of ethnic conflict we will discuss in class which theory does it support and which theory does it undermine. The paper should, of course, cite at least one source from the required readings, and at least 5 respectable sources on the country of your choice. The paper should be pages long, Times New Roman 12 font, double-spaced with standard margins. A one-half to one page statement of the paper topic and preliminary bibliography is due in class on November 23. The final paper is due in my office by 5pm on Monday, December 13, in hard copy only. 5) Final exam (30%). The format of the final will be similar to the format of the mid-term. The final will not be cumulative; it will cover material from the mid-term only. Time and location as specified on the schedule of finals. On academic integrity: Tufts University values academic integrity. All students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences by familiarizing themselves with The Academic Integrity booklet available at and also on Blackboard. If a student s work is suspected of not being original, Turn-it-in.com will be used to investigate the case. Per Tufts policy, any instance of suspected academic dishonesty will also be reported to the Dean of Student Affairs office. Late policy: Extensions will be given and make-ups allowed only when a legitimate and documented excuse exists (such as serious illness, family or personal emergency, university business). Students experiencing such circumstances should inform the instructor as far as possible in advance. Special needs: Please inform me in advance of any special needs. Possible changes to the syllabus. This syllabus may change as the semester progresses. Any updates will be announced in class, and updated syllabus will be posted to the course website on Blackboard. Please treat the online syllabus on Blackboard as the most recent, most definitive version. Course readings 1. Books. We will be using the following books extensively in the course. They can be purchased at the campus bookstore. The books will also be placed on reserve at Tisch. Mary McAuley, Soviet Politics (Oxford University Press, 1992). Valerie Bunce, Michael McFaul, Kathryn Stoner-Weiss, Democracy and Authoritarianism in Post-Communist World (Cambridge UP, 2010). Paul D Anieri, Understanding Ukrainian Politics (ME Sharp, 2007) Stephen Kotkin, Armageddon Averted: The Soviet Collapse, (Oxford University Press, 2001). 2

3 Ronald Grigor Suny, ed., The Structure of Soviet History: Essays and Documents (Oxford University Press, 2003). 2. Additional required readings are posted on Blackboard course site. They are marked BB in the syllabus. 3. Useful web sites. Starting in October, we will analyze contemporary political, economic, and social developments in the newly independent countries that once were part of the Soviet Union. I will assume some basic familiarity with the current events on your part. To keep up with the news I recommend that you read either a daily paper with good foreign coverage such as the New York Times or the Washington Post, or a weekly magazine such as the Economist. In addition, you can follow current events in the region through one or several of the web sited that specialize in news and analysis of the former Communist states. I will post a list of suggested sites on the course website Blackboard under External links button. Schedule of topics, readings, and assignments Readings should be completed *before* the start of the class for which they are assigned. #1. Tue, Sept 7. Introduction to the course. No readings assigned. The Soviet experiment ( ) # 2. Thur, Sept 9. The old regime, Marxism, and the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. [34pp]. 1. McAuley, ch. 1, pp [11] 2. Suny, pp ( The Revolution of ) [18]. 3. Suny, pp (V.I. Lenin, The Task of the Proletariat in the Present Revolution ( April Theses ) [3]. 4. Suny, pp (Lenin, Letter to Central Committee Members. ) [2]. # 3. Tue, Sept 14. The creation of party-state under Lenin and Stalin: from pluralism to totalitarianism. [23pp] 1. McAuley, ch. 2, pp [9]. 2. Suny, pp (The dissolution of the Constituent Assembly) [4]. 3. Suny, pp (Lenin s letter to V.V. Kuraev et. al.) [1]. 4. Suny, pp (Iulii Martov s letter to A.N. Stein) [5]. 5. Suny, pp (Resolution of the 10 th Party Congress On Party Unity. ) [2] 6. Suny, pp (Lenin s testament ) [2]. #4. Thur, Sept 16. Shaping economy and society under Lenin and Stalin: industrialization, collectivization, and famine. [52pp]. 1. McAuley, ch. 3, pp [15]. 2. Suny, pp (The Stalin Revolution) [11]. 3. Suny, pp (Lev Kopelev, The Last Grain Collections. ) [10]. 3

4 4. Andrea Graziozi, Why and in What Sense Was the Holodomor a Genocide? in Lubomyr Luciuk, ed. Reflectsion on the Great Famine of in Soviet Ukraine (Kingston, Ontario, 2008), pp [16] (BB). #5. Tue, Sept 21. Stalin to Khrushchev: terror to thaw. [50pp]. 1. McAuley, ch. 4, pp ; ch. 5, pp [23]. 2. Suny, pp (Nadezhda Mandelshtam, A May Night. ) [7]. 3. Suny, pp ; (Nikolai Bukharin s letter to Stalin. Interview with Nikolai Bukharin s widow and Bukharin s last letter) [10]. 4. Suny, pp (Khrushchev s Secret speech at the 20th Communist Party Congress, February 1956) [10]. #6. Thur, Sept 23: Khrushchev to Brezhnev: optimism to stagnation. [56pp]. 1. McAuley, ch. 6, pp [13]. 2. Kotkin, pp (until The unavoidable generation shift ) [43]. #7. Tue, Sept 28. Everyday life in the late Soviet era [18pp]. * In-class film Little Vera. * 1. Suny, pp (John Bushnell, The New Soviet Man Turns Pessimist. ) [9]. 2. Suny, pp (James Millard, The Little Deal: Brezhnev s Contribution to Acquisitive Society. ) [9]. #8. Thur, Sept 30. Gorbachev and reforms: the beginning of the end. [63pp]. 1. McAuley, ch. 7, pp [17]. 2. Kotkin, pp [32]. 3. Mikhail Gorbachev s 31 July 1986 speech at the conference of the aktiv of the Khabarovks Party Organization [4] (BB). 4. Suny, pp (Nina Andreeva, I Cannot Give Up My Principles ) [7]. 5. Suny, pp (Boris Yeltsin resigns from the Communist Party) [3]. #9. Tue, Oct. 5. The rise of nationalism in the republics [80pp]. 1. Suny, pp (Terry Martin, An Affirmative Action Empire: The Emergence of Soviet Nationalities Policy, ) [9]. 2. Ronald Suny, Revenge of the Past (Stanford UP, 1993), ch. 4, pp [33] (BB). 3. McAuley, ch. 8, pp [12]. 4. Kotkin, pp [26]. #10. Thur, Oct. 7. Collapse of the USSR: theories of the inevitability, probability, and chance. [47pp]. 1. Kotkin, pp [13]. 2. Martin Malia, A Fatal Logic, The National Interest, No. 31 (Spring 1993): 80 [8] (BB). 3. Myron Rush, Fortune and Fate, The National Interest, No. 31 (Spring 1993): 19 [5] (BB). 4. Peter Reddaway, The Role of Popular Discontent, The National Interest, No. 31 (Spring 1993): 57 [5] (BB). 5. Vladimir Kontorovich, The Economic Fallacy, The National Interest, No. 31 (Spring 1993): 35 [8] (BB). 4

5 6. Mark Beissinger, Nationalist Mobilization and the Collapse of the Soviet State (Cambridge University Press, 2002), pp [8] (BB). Tue, Oct. 12 No class (Monday schedule) Approaches to understanding post-soviet trajectories #11. Thur, Oct. 14. Post-Soviet diversity. In-class group presentations. Group topics: 1. Variation in democratic performance. 2. Variation in economic performance. 3. Ethnic diversity and conflict (or lack thereof). 4. Membership in international organizations and foreign alliances (EU, NATO, CIS). #12. Tue, Oct 19. Analytical perspectives on post-communist transitions 1: Transitology and post-soviet Eurasia. [47pp]. 1. Valerie Bunce, Comparing East and South, Journal of Democracy, v. 6, no. 3 (July 1995), pp [13] (BB). 2. Thomas Carothers, The End of the Transition Paradigm, Journal of Democracy, v. 13, no. 1 (January 2002), pp [16] (BB). 3. Michael McFaul, The Fourth Wave of Democracy and Dictatorship: Noncooperative Transitions in the Postcommunist World, World Politics, vol. 54 (January 2002), pp and ONLY [18] (BB). #13. Thur, Oct. 21. Analytical perspectives on post-communist transitions 2: historical legacies vs political choices vs ideologies vs international influences. [76pp]. 1. Grigore Pop-Eleches, Historical Legacies and the Post-Communist Regime Change, Journal of Politics, vol. 69, no. 4 (November 2007), pp [18] (BB). 2. Keith Darden and Anna Grzymala-Busse, The Great Divide: Literacy, Nationalism, and the Communist Collapse, World Politics, vol. 59, no. 1 (2006): [32] (BB). 3. Bunce, McFaul, Stoner-Weiss, ch. 1, pp (Michael McFaul, The International System as the Link between Third and Fourth Wave Models of Democratization. ) [26]. #14. Tue, Oct. 26. IN-CLASS MID-TERM Nation-building, nationalism, and ethnic conflict #15. Thur, Oct. 28. Explaining war and peace in the former Soviet space. [69pp]. 1. David Laitin, Secessionist Rebellion in the Former Soviet Union, Comparative Political Studies, v. 34, no. 8 (October 2001), pp [22] (BB). 2. Svante Cornell, Autonomy as a Source of Conflict: Caucasian Conflicts in Theoretical Perspective, World Politics, v.54, no.2 (January 2002), pp [22] (BB). 3. Paul D Anieri, Ethnic Tensions and State Strategies: Understanding the Survival of the Ukrainian State, Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, vol. 23, no. 1 (2007), pp [25] (BB). 5

6 #16. Tue, Nov 2. Challenge of nation-building in Russia 1: managing center-region relations. [36pp]. 1. Jeff Kahn, What is New Russian Federalism? in Archie Brown, Contemporary Russian Politics. A Reader (Oxford UP, 2001), pp [9] (BB). 2. Kotkin, pp ( Eighty-nine fiefs section) [4]. 3. Nikolai Petrov and Darrell Slider, The Regions under Putin and After, in Herspring, ed., After Putin's Russia: Past Imperfect, Future Uncertain (Rowman & Littlefield, 4 th edition, 2009), pp [23] (BB). #17. Thur, Nov. 4. Challenge of nation-building in Russia 2: inventing the nation. [79pp] 1. Ronald Suny, Provisional Stabilities: The Politics of Identities in Post-Soviet Eurasia, International Security, v. 24, no. 3 (Winter 1999/2000), pp ONLY [13] (BB). 2. Vera Tolz, Russia: Inventing the Nation (Oxford UP, 2001), ch. 8 (National identity and nation-building after the USSR), pp [34] (BB). 3. Oxana Shevel, Russian Nation-Building from Yeltsin to Medvedev: Civic, Ethnic, or Purposefully Ambiguous? Europe-Asia Studies (forthcoming 2011) [32] (BB). #18. Tue, Nov. 9. Dilemmas of nation-building in the non-russian post-soviet states. [80pp]. 1. Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan, Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America, and Post-Communist Europe (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996), ch. 2 ( Stateness, nationalism, and democratization ), pp ONLY (From Nation-States and Democratization: Inconvenient Facts ) [13] (BB). 2. Ronald Suny, Provisional Stabilities: The Politics of Identities in Post-Soviet Eurasia, International Security, v. 24, no. 3 (Winter 1999/2000), pp ONLY [26] (BB). 3. Lowell Barrington, Eric Herron, Brian Silver, The Motherland is Calling: Views of Homeland among Russians in the Near Abroad, World Politics, v. 55, no. 1 (January 2003), pp [23] (BB). 4. Oxana Shevel, The Politics of Citizenship Policy in New States, Comparative Politics, Vol. 41, No. 3 (April 2009), pp [18] (BB). The politics of economic reforms. #19. Thur, Nov. 11. Reform choices and strategies. [~100pp]. 1. Stephen Fish, The Determinants of Economic Reforms in the Post-Communist World, East European Politics and Societies, v. 12, no. 1 (Winter 1998), pp [46] (BB). 2. Kotkin, pp [27]. 3. Jessica Allina-Pisano, Sub Rosa Resistance and the Politics of Economic Reform. Land Redistribution in Post-Soviet Ukraine, World Politics, v. 56 (July 2004), pp (read pp and , skim the rest) [27] (BB). # 20. Tue, Nov. 16. Economic reforms and democratization: the challenge of simultaneous transition. [74pp]. 1. Leslie Amijo, Thomas Biersteker, Abraham Lowenthal, The Problems of Simultaneous Transition in Larry Diamond and Marc Platter, eds. Economic Reform and Democracy (Johns Hopkins UP 1995), pp [14] (BB). 2. Joel Hellman, Winners Take All: The Politics of Partial Reform in Postcommunist Transition, 6

7 3. Timothy Frye, The Perils of Polarization: Economic Performance in the Postcommunist World. World Politics, v. 54 (April 2002), pp [29] (BB). #21. Thur, Nov. 18. Consequences of economic reforms. [50pp]. 1. Marshall Goldman, Petrostate: Putin, Power, and the New Russia (Oxford UP 2008), pp [26] (BB). 2. Keith Darden, The Integrity of Corrupt States: Graft as an Informal State Institution, Politics and Society, Volume 36, No. 1 (March 2008), pp [24] (BB). Post-communist regime types and trajectories of development #22. Tue, Nov. 23. Explaining post-soviet authoritarianism. [72pp]. 1. Kotkin, pp [19]. 2. Steven Fish, Democracy Derailed in Russia (Cambridge UP 2005), pp [24] (BB). 3. Stephen Hanson, The Uncertain Future of Russia s Weak State Authoritarianism East European Politics & Societies, Vol. 21, No. 1 (February 2007), pp [14] (BB). 4. Kathleen Collins, Clans, Pacts, and Politics in Central Asia, Journal of Democracy, v. 13, no. 3 (July 2002), pp [15] (BB). Thur, Nov 25. NO CLASS Thanksgiving break #23. Tue, Nov. 30. Explaining post-communist hybrid regimes. [83pp]. 1. Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way, The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism, Journal of Democracy, v. 13 no. 2 (2002), pp [14] (BB). 2. D Anieri, ch. 2, pp ; ch. 10, pp [40]. 3. Bunce, McFaul, Stoner-Weiss, ch. 9, pp (Lucan Way, Resistance to Contagion: Sources of Authoritarian Stability in the Former Soviet Union ) [23]. 4. Keith Darden, Blackmail as a Tool of State Domination: Ukraine under Kuchma, East European Constitutional Review, v. 10, no. 2/3 (Spring/Summer 2001) [6] (BB). #24. Thur, Dec. 2. Causes of colored revolutions: Streets or elties? Domestic determinants of international diffusion? [89pp]. * In-class film Orange Revolution * 1. Bunce, McFaul, Stoner-Weiss, ch. 7, pp (Cory Welt, Georgia s Rose Revolution: From Regime Weakness to Regime Collapse ) [34]. 2. Bunce, McFaul, Stoner-Weiss, ch. 8, pp (Michael McFaul, Importing Revolutions: Internal and External Factors in Ukraine s 2004 Democratic Breakthrough. ) [39] 3. Joshua Tucker, Enough! Electoral Fraud, Collective Action Problems, and Post-Communist Colored Revolutions, Perspectives on Politics, v. 5, no. 3 (September 2007), pp [16] (BB). #25. Tue, Dec. 7. Causes of colored revolutions (continued). [72pp]. 1. Michael McFaul, Transitions from Postcommunism, Journal of Democracy, v. 16, no. 3 (July 2005), pp [14] (BB). 2. Lucan Way, The Real Causes of Color Revolutions, Journal of Democracy, v. 19, no. 3 (July 2008), pp [14] (BB). 7

8 3. Henry Hale, Democracy or Autocracy on the March? The Colored Revolutions as Normal Dynamics of Patronal Presidentialism, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, v. 39, no. 3 (September 2006), pp [24] (BB). 4. Bunce, McFaul, Stoner-Weiss, ch. 10, pp (Stoner-Weiss, Comparing Apples and Oranges: The Internal and External Dimensions of Russia s Turn away from Democracy ) [20]. #26. Thur, Dec. 9. Consequences of colored revolutions: democratization, backsliding, and enduring autocracies. [~70pp]. 1. Katya Kalandadze and Mitchell Orenstein, Electoral Protests and Democratization: Beyond the Color Revolutions Comparative Political Studies, Volume 42, Number 11 (November 2009), pp [22] (BB). 2. Alexander Cooley, These Colors May Run: The Backlash Against the US-Backed Democratic Revolutions in After the Colored Revolutions: Regime Change and Democracy Promotion in Eurasia (July 2010, PONARS Eurasia), pp [5] (BB). 3. D Anieri, ch. 11, pp [16]. 4. Analytical debate on whether Ukraine under Yanukovych is still a democracy. Read the first two articles and skim the rest of the debate (BB): a. Alexander Motyl, Ukrainian Blues. Yanukovych s Rise, Democracy s Fall, Foreign Affairs, July/August b. Adrian Karatnytsky, Orange Peels: Ukraine after Revolution, The American Interest, November/December c. Motyl Ukraine's Leadership: Why Yanukovych Does Not Deserve the Benefit of the Doubt. d. Karatnytsky, Orange Peels: Follow-up. e. Motyl, Ukraine's Leadership: Follow-up. f. Hrytsak, Ukraine Boosts State Control. g. Shevel, No Sympathy for Yanukovych. RESEARCH PAPER: DUE BY 5PM MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, IN MY OFFICE. Hard copy only, submissions will not be accepted. FINAL EXAM: TIME AND LOCATION AS SPECIFIED ON THE SCHEDULE OF FINALS (Monday, December 20, 3:30-5:30). The final exam is not cumulative, it will cover material after the mid-term only. 8