31201

SoSe 22: Before Nord Stream 2 and All That: German-Russian/Soviet Economic Relations in the Long 20th Century

Robert Kindler

Information for students

“Aktive Teilnahme”: - Regular attendance at class - Readings and related written assignments (five short reading responses during the semester) - Participation in group discussions and group presentations close

Comments

While the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has gained much prominence in current public debate, the longer trajectory of German-Russian/Soviet economic relations is largely ignored, if not forgotten. This is more than lamentable, as these relations not only were at times a key component for both countries, but caused anxiety and fear in the wider European context. From the treaty of Rapallo via the Molotov-Ribbentrop-Pact, West German “Wandel durch Annäherung” to Gerhard Schröder’s embracement of Putin’s Russia, economic aspects were deeply intertwined with bilateral political relations. This seminar reconstructs the long history of German-Russian/Soviet economic relations between ~1900 and the post-Soviet era. Its first part will be devoted to theoretical and methodological basics regarding the political economy of international relations, actors and structural features. In the second part, students will conduct small group projects to reconstruct German-Russian/Soviet economic relations in chronological order. The seminar will be jointly organized by Martin Lutz (HU) and Robert Kindler (FU). close