Time Schedule:
Sophia Wilson
POL S 441
Seattle Campus
Ideological and historical bases of Soviet politics; Leninism; Stalinism; Gorbachev' s perestroika and the collapse of the USSR; the role of Yeltsin; problems of Russian state-building, market reform, and democratic transition; political parties and civil society; the relationship between the center and the regions; the problem of Russian national identity.
Class description
Description: This course will trace the development of the Soviet / post-Soviet world beginning from the Russian Revolution of 1917, looking at the factors behind the rise, 70-year durability and fall of the Soviet state. We will assess the challenges faced by Russian society in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse and compare different paths taken by the countries which were part of the USSR. Throughout this overview, we will focus on four theoretical approaches dominant in social science (structuralism, culturalism, rational choice and the Weberian approach) to analyze communist politics and its legacies. The course will conclude with evaluation of what the development of the post-Soviet world has taught us about the challenges involved in a transition to democracy and system of well-protected human rights.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Recommended preparation
Class assignments and grading
