INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF JAPAN Graduate School of International Relations Academic Year: 2016/2017 Term: Winter Course Course code REC6450 Course title International Relations in Eurasia Name of Instructor Vida Macikenaite Credit Number: 2 credit Instructor s contact Information Class Schedule Day / Time Office# Office Hours E-mail: 208 Upon appointment vida@iuj.ac.jp [to be decided] Course Description: In this course, we mainly focus on the post-soviet countries and China, but, whenever relevant, we include other countries in the continent and also European Union (EU) and NATO. While our major interest is contemporary international relations in the area, we cover the period since the collapse of the Soviet Union or the end of the Cold War. Learning Objectives: This course is designed to enhance the students knowledge of multilateral and bilateral engagements in the region, which often stays outside of the mainstream studies of international relations. In our weekly sessions, we take different countries or specific issues in the region one by one to understand the dynamics in this area. Career Relevance: In the increasingly global interdependent world, understanding of the dynamics in the post-soviet space and also extending it to ever-significant China, is essential for a wide range of careers, may it be at national governments, international organizations, NGOs, or international corporations. Course Context or Rationalization: This course puts international relations in the post-soviet space and China in a wider context of international relations also considering the implication for the EU and NATO, rather than offering study of isolated bilateral or multilateral interactions in the region. Delivery Methods: The course is based on interactive lectures, followed by seminars. The seminars are organized around students presentations and presenter-led class discussions afterwards. Assessment: Class participation: 20% Presentation and follow-up class discussion: 30%
Mid-term exam: 20% Final assignment (take-home exam): 30% Prerequisite: General basic knowledge of IR. Textboo Required: N/A k(s) Reference books/journal Articles: For readings suggested for each topic see the weekly schedule below. 1. Contessi, Nicola P. Foreign and Security Policy Diversification in Eurasia: Issue Splitting, Co-alignment, and Relational Power. Problems of Post-Communism, vol. 62, no. 5 (2015): 299-311. 2. Dellecker, Adrian and Thomas Gomart. Russian Energy Security and Foreign Policy. Routledge, 2011. 3. Hahn, Gordon M. Caucasus Emirate Is a Growing Threat to Russia. Moscow Times, December 14, 2014. Available from http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/caucasus-emirate-is-a-growing-threat-t o-russia/513275.html 4. Hanh, Gordon M. Russia s Islamic Threat. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007. 5. Kaczmarski, Marcin. Domestic Sources of Russia s China Policy. Problems of Post- Communism, vol. 59, no. 2 (March/April, 2012). 6. Katz, Mark N. Russia and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Moscow s Lonely Road from Bishkek to Dushanbe. Asian Perspective, vol. 32, no. 3 (2008). 7. Kramer, Mark. Russian Policy Toward the Commonwealth of Independent States. Problems of Post-Communism, vol. 55, no. 6 (November/December, 2008). 8. Kulhanek, Jakub. The Fundamentals of Russia s EU Policy. Problems of Post-Communism, vol. 57, no. 5 (September/October, 2010). 9. Laruelle, Marlene. Russia as a Divided Nation, from Compatriots to Crimea: A Contribution to the Discussion on Nationalism and Foreign Policy. Problems of Post- Communism, vol. 62, no. 2 (2015): 88-97. 10. Light, Margot. Russian and Europe and the Process of EU Enlargement. In Elana Wilson Rowe and Stina Torjesen, eds. The Multilateral Dimension in Russian Foreign Policy. New York: Routledge, 2009. Ch. 6, pp. 83-96. 11. Makarychev, Andrey. The Caspian Sea Region: Local Dynamics, Global Reverberations. PONARS Policy Memo No. 139 (2011). 12. Mankoff, Jeffrey. The Politics of US Missile Defense Cooperation with Europe and Russia. International Affairs, vol. 88, no. 2 (2012). 13. Raiklin, Ernest. The Chinese Challenge to Russia in Siberia and the Russian Far East. Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies, vol. 33, no. 2 (2008). 14. Saivetz, Carol R. Reset? Russian Perspectives on US-Russian Relations. In Graeme Gill and James Young, eds. Routledge Handbook of Russian Politics and Society. Routledge, 2012. Pp. 454-467. 15. White, Stephen, Ian McAllister and Valentina Feklyunina. Belarus, Ukraine and Russia:
East or West? British Journal of Politics and International Affairs, vol. 12, no. 3 (2010). Also other Instructor-assigned articles from The Economist, New York Times, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, and others as needed. Class Outline WEEK 1 1-2. Course introduction and requirements. Comparative overview of the countries studied in the course: how are they similar or different? WEEK 2 3-4. Foreign policy making in Russia: domestic debate on Russia s place in the international system; Russia s foreign action as a function of its identity. Determinants of Russian foreign policy. 1. Lukyankov, Fyodor. Russian Dilemmas in a Multipolar World. Journal of International Affairs 63, 2 (2010) : 20-32. 2. Bulldogs Fighting under the Rug: The Making of Russian Foreign Policy. In Russian Foreign Policy: the Return of Great Power Politics by Jeffrey Mankoff, 53-96. Plymouth: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009. 1. Trenin, Dmitry. Russia s Spheres of Interest, Not Influence. Washington Quarterly 32, 4 (2009). 2. Tsygankov, Andrei P. Understanding Change and Continuity in Russia s Foreign Policy. In Russian Foreign Policy: Change and Continuity in National Identity. Plymouth: Rowman & Littlefield, 2013. WEEK 3 5-6. Understanding Russia through the realist lens: (1) its traditional sphere of influence and NATO enlargement into Eastern Europe in 2004, Georgia-Russia war in August 2008. (2) Boundaries of EU enlargement: Ukraine, Moldova, and the Russian approach. EU Eastern Partnership initiative. Genesis and dynamics of the Ukraine crisis. 1. Mearsheimer, John J. Getting Ukraine Wrong. March 13, 2014. New York Times. Available from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/14/opinion/getting-ukraine-wrong.html 2. Mankoff, Jeffrey. Russian Foreign Policy: the Return of Great Power Politics. Plymouth: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009, pp. 255-264 ( The Caucasus: Georgia s Challenge ). 3. Sherr, James. The Implications of the Russia-Georgia War for European Security. In The Guns of August 2008: Russia s War in Georgia, edited by Svante Cornell and S. Frederick Starr, Routledge 2015. 1. Mearsheimer, John J. Don t Arm Ukraine. February 8, 2015. New York Times. Available from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/09/opinion/dont-arm-ukraine.html?_r=0 2. Adomeit, Hannes. Inside or Outside? Russia s Policies towards NATO. In Elana
Wilson Rowe and Stina Torjesen, eds. The Multilateral Dimension in Russian Foreign Policy. New York: Routledge, 2009. Ch. 7, pp. 97-120. 3. Berend, Ivan T. Toward Better Times: the European Union and its Policy of Eastward Enlargement. In From the Soviet Block to the European Union: The Economic and Social Transformation of Central and Eastern Europe since 1973. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Ch. 3, pp. 79-106. 4. Cornell, Svante, and S. Frederick Starr. The Guns of August 2008: Russia s War in Georgia. Armonk, 2009. 3. Cooley, Alexander, and Lincoln A.Mitchell. Engagement without Recognition: A New Strategy toward Abkhazia and Eurasia s Unrecognized States. Washington Quarterly vol. 33, no. 4 (2010): 59-73. 4. Laruelle, Marlene. Russia as a Divided Nation, from Compatriots to Crimea: A Contribution to the Discussion on Nationalism and Foreign Policy. Problems of Post- Communism, vol. 62, no. 2 (2015): 88-97. 5. Redding, Andrew. Georgian and Ukrainian Conflicts: The Limitations of NATO. Brown Journal of World Affairs, vol. 15, no. 2 (2009): 171-181. 6. De Haas, Marcel. The Russian-Georgian Armed Conflict of August 2008. In Russia s Foreign Security Policy in the 21 st Century: Putin, Medvedev and Beyond. Oxon: Routledge, 2010. Pp.135-155. WEEK 4 7-8. China-Russia relations against the background of Central Asia: how could they be defined? Russia s engagement of Central Asia through multilateral frameworks (CISFTA; Eurasian Economic Union, CSTO) and China. Silk Road and Economic Belt: Chinese economic strategy in Central Asia. Other drivers of China s engagement with the region (SCO security cooperation). 1. Marantidou, Virginia, and Ralph A.Cossa. China and Russia s Great Game in Central Asia. The National Interest. October 1, 2014. Available from http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/china-russias-great-game-central-asia-11385?pa ge=2 2. Wilhelsen, Julie, and Geir Flikke. Chinese Russian Convergence and Central Asia. Geopolitics 16 (2011): 865 901. 3. Kolpakova, Tatyana V., and Tatiana N. Kuchinskaya. China s New Regionalism as a Mechanism to Strengthen the Influence of China in the Global Integration Processes: An Example of Eurasian Economic Union. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues 5 (2015): 109-115. WEEK 5 9-10. Energy in Russia s foreign policy Russia s energy card and the Baltic countries, Russia-Belarus, Russia-Ukraine energy disputes. Energy relations between other EU member states and Russia. China s entrance to the Central Asian energy markets and China-Russia relations. Other economic tools in Russian foreign policy strategy. 1. Newnham, Randall. Oil, Carrots, and Sticks: Russia s Energy Resources as a
Foreign Policy Tool. Journal of Eurasian Studies 2 (2) (2011): 134-143. 2. Sotiriou, Stylianos A. The Enigmatic Russo-Chinese Energy Relations. In Russian Energy Strategy in the European Union, the Former Soviet Union Region, and China. Lexington Books, 2015, Ch.6 3. Sotiriou, Exploring Eurasia. In Russian Energy Strategy, Ch.1 1. Nies, Susanne. The EU-Russia Energy Relationship: European, Russian, Common Interests? In Russian Foreign Policy in the 21 st Century, edited by Roger E.Kanet. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, Ch.13, pp. 266-286 (background reading). WEEK 6 11-12. The threat of terrorism in the region and other nontraditional security threats: Separatist movements, radical Islamic movements and the threat of terrorism. Their international links. The problem of drug-trafficking, the drug-terror nexus and the drug-state nexus. Non-traditional security cooperation in the region. 1. Stein, M. The Goals of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Its Impact on Central Asia and the United States. Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Defense, 2013. 2. Cornell, Svante E. The Narcotics Threat in Greater Central Asia: From Crime-Terror Nexus to State Infiltration? China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly 4(1) (2006): 37-67 3. Song, Weiqing. Interest, Power and China s Difficult Game in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO. Journal of Contemporary China 23 (85) (2014): 85-101 (skim the text, focus further on from p. 93. How efficient is the SCO framework?). 4. Cohen, Ariel. Russia s Counterinsurgency in North Caucasus: Performance and Consequences. Carlisle Barracks: US Army War College Press, 2014. 1. De Damieli, Filippo. Beyond the Drug-terror Nexus: Drug Trafficking and State0crime Relations in Central Asia. International Journal of Drug Policy 25 (2014): 1235-1240. 2. Stepankov, Valery. Ethnic Tensions and Separatism in Russia. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 26(2) (2000): 305-332. WEEK 7 13-14. Military reform in Russia. Changes in European and NATO security policy. 1. Gressel, Gustav. Russia s Quiet Military Revolution, and European Agenda. European Council on Foreign Relations, Policy Brief (ECFR 143), October 2015. Available from http://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/russias_quiet_military_revolution_and_what_it_ means_for_europe4045 2. Lanozska, Alexander. Russian Hybrid Warfare and Extended Deterrence in Eastern Europe. International Affairs vol. 92, no. 1 (2016), 175-195 (what is hybrid warfare? Why would post-soviet countries be more susceptible to it?).
3. Szymanski, Piotr. Between Continuation and Adaptation: The Baltic State s Security Policy and Armed Forces. OSW (Center for Eastern Studies) Commentary, November 24, 2015. Available from http://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/osw-commentary/2015-11-24/between-continuation -and-adaptation-baltic-states-security. 4. Landler, Mark and Helene Cooper. U.S. Fortifying Europe s East to Deter Putin. The New York Times, February 2, 2016. Available from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/02/world/europe/us-fortifying-europes-east-to-deter-puti n.html. 1. Active Engagement, Modern Defence: NATO s New Strategic Concept. Adopted by Heads of State and Government at the NATO Summit in Lisbon, November 2010. 2. Croft, Adrian. Tensions with Russia Could Prompt NATO Strategy Rethink. Reuters, July 6, 2015. 3. A Secure Europe in a Better World. European Security Strategy, December 2003, Brussels. WEEK 8 15-16. Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh and Russian policy. Transnistria War in 1992 and remaining issue of its sovereignty; Russia s presence in and influence over Transnistria, relations with Moldova. 1. Bruce, Chloe. Power Resources: The Political Agenda in Russo-Moldovan Gas Relations. Problems of Post-Communism, vol. 54, no. 3 (2007): 29-47. 2. Devyarkov, Andrey. Russian Policy toward Transnistria. Problems of Post-Communism, vol. 59, no. 3 (2012): 53-62. WEEK 9 15-16. Fieldtrip. Visit to (1) the Embassy of Russian Federation and (2) the Embassy of Armenia. WEEK 10 19-20. States of limited recognition in the region and Russian policy toward them: South Ossetia and Abkhazia, independence of and Russian policy toward secessionist movements in its territory. Community for the Democracy and Rights of Nations. 1. Cooley, Alexander and Lincoln Mitchell. Engagement without Recognition: A New Strategy toward Abkhazia and Eurasia s Unrecognized States. Washington Quarterly, vol. 33, no. 4 (2010 ). 2. Abkhazian Conflict: Nine Questions and Answers - Andrew Andersen s Assertions and George Hewitt's Responses. October 15, 2008. Available from http://abkhazworld.com/aw/conflict/743-nine-questions-and-answers 3. Sakwa, Richard. Great Powers and Small Wars in the Caucasus. In Matthew Sussex, ed. Conflicts in the Former USSR. Cambridge University Press, 2012.
4. Shaffer, Brenda. The Geopolitics of the Caucasus, Brown Journal of World Affairs, vol. 15, no. 2 (2009). Others (if any) Suggested readings for further study: 1. Snetkov, Aglaya. Russia s Security Policy under Putin. Routledge, 2015. 2. Ro I, Yaacov. Islam in the Soviet Union: From the Second World War to Gorbachev. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.