Syllabus: Following the collapse of the USSR in 1991, fifteen former Soviet republics emerged as sovereign states.  All of them have struggled to evolve working political systems and maintain sovereignty and internal cohesion. The newly independent states have been under pressure from Russia, China and the USA competing for geopolitical influence and, in a number of cases, control over extensive energy resources. Most of them have experienced economic decline, armed conflicts, terrorism, civil violence, organised crime and separatism of minority groups.  The West today perceives post-Soviet Eurasia, with a population of approximately 300 million, as a zone of chronic instability posing threats to regional and global security. 

The course will seek to analyse topical developments and highlight long-term trends in security choices of the former Soviet Union. Emphasis will be placed on the issues of great power rivalry, ethno-nationalism, and conflict management. The course will discuss security dilemmas at multiple levels, ranging from state policies to sub-state actors and transnational issues, but special attention will be given to regional security complexes involving Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Recognise the successor states to the USSR, their peoples, geography, culture, and politics.
2. Reflect on, and discuss the key concepts, themes, and schools of thought pertaining to Geopolitics, the Regional Security Complex Theory, and ethnic conflict studies.
3. Analyse international relations, security dilemmas, and crisis situations in Eurasia, using these intellectual tools.
4. Identify sub-state, interstate, regional, and transnational security threats affecting the former Soviet republics.
5. Locate and collate materials on a topic relevant to the post-Soviet political space, and present findings in a coherent manner on paper and orally.

One 3,000-word essay (50%) (assesses LO 2-5), and either a two-hour examination or a 2000 word essay (40%) (assesses LO 1, 3 and 5.

Tutorial assessment (based on reading and performance) (10%) (assesses LO 1 and 5).

Two lectures and one tutorial per week

First year courses to the value of 12 units from Arts or Asian Studies, or with permission of the Director of the Centre.

Ariel Cohen (ed.) Eurasia in Balance. The US and the Regional Power Shift. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005.

Olga Oliker and Thomas S. Szayna (eds.) Faultlines of Conflict in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Santa Monica: RAND, 2003.

This course is considered compatible with Security Studies and Asian Politics and International Relations fields of study.