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WiSe 16/17: Rise and Fall of Russian Global Power, 1815-2015

Timothy Nunan

Kommentar

Since at least the nineteenth century, Russia—whether in the form of the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union—has been a major player on the world stage. It was a leading member of the Congress of Vienna and a founding member of the United Nations. Reinvented as the Soviet Union, Russia under Bolshevik rule claimed leadership of the international socialist movement and maintained ties with left-wing movements in Europe and the Third World. Even in its diminished post-1991 incarnation, Russia remains the largest country in the world and possesses the capability to play spoiler in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia all at once. It remains a major developed economy and major player in world energy markets, and its nuclear arsenal makes it perennially relevant to international security. Understanding the history of Russia’s engagement is, therefore, essential to understanding the history of international order more broadly. This course examines the policies, strategies, and ideas that enabled the Russian Empire and, later, the Soviet Union to become great powers, as well as the post-1991 quest to secure recognition as a superpower in a multipolar world. Over the course of the semester, we will examine the grand strategy and key relationships of both the Russian Empire and the USSR from the Congress of Vienna to the Soviet collapse. Our final sessions will examine two recent case studies—Ukraine and Syria—where Russian power has forcefully shaped the world once again. This course does not assume any knowledge of the Russian language. Schließen

Literaturhinweise

Barbara Jelavich, A Century of Russian Foreign Policy (1964), Norman Naimark, The Russians in Germany. A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation (1995). David Schimmelpennick van der Oye.,Toward the Rising Sun. Russian Ideologies of Empire and the Path to War with Japan (2001). Stephen Kotkin, Armageddon Averted. The Soviet Collapse 1970-2000 (2001). Dominic Lieven. Empire. The Russian Empire and Its Rivals (2002). Michael Reynolds. Shattering Empires. The Clash and Collapse of the Ottoman and Russian Empires, 1908-1918 (2011). Artemy Kalinovsky. A Long Goodbye. The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan (2011). Mark Mazower. Governing the World. The History of an Idea (2012). Walter Laquer, Putinism. Russia and Its Future with the West, (2015). Schließen