31201

SoSe 15: Different Norms and Realities: Russia and Western Values

Klaus Segbers

Information for students

Good English language capabilities are necessary This lecture uses the E-learning platform Blackboard. Please register under: http://lms.fu-berlin.de. The password will be given during the first lecture. Additionally, please also register under http://www.oei.fu-berlin.de/politik/anmeldungsformular/index.html. close

Comments

In the last 18 months, it became ever clearer that the assumption that in and around Europe values, institutions and habits are converging toward some general denominator was a fallacy. While the EU is still a dominant success story after the Second World War, including stabilizing the environments and spreading values like secularization, pluralism and liberalism, the situation in what used to be called Eastern Europe is different. The clearest case here is Russia. In the official political discourses, in the bookstores, but also when talking to 'ordinary people', one gets the clear message that European (or 'western') values are not only not shared, but actually addressed often in an explicit and contemptuous way. Democracy, individuality and pluralism are despised, and replaced by more collective orientations, based on certain interpretations of history, on sobornost', and on an often aggressive rejection of deviation (like in the case of gay lifestyles). This seminar aims at first looking at indicators and data for diverging and similar values. In a second step, it will be looked at the policy side: when it should turn out that values distinctions and institutional settings between orthodox Slavic societies, like Russia, and Western societies are significant, what options are available to co-exist or even cooperate in a pan-European framework? During the east-west conflict, the OSCE process, and the post-soviet history up to 2013, such a framework was taken as a given. We will explore if this is still the case. close

13 Class schedule

Regular appointments

Thu, 10:00 - 12:00 13 Class schedule

Thu, 2015-04-16 10:00 - 12:00

Lecturers:
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Klaus Segbers