Russian Politics

ECTS Credits

10 credits

Level of Study

Bachelor

Teaching semester

Spring

Place of Instruction

Bergen

Objectives and Content

This course offers a multidisciplinary overview of contemporary Russian politics, with a particular focus on historical legacies, political economy, and identity politics. In the process, students will learn about theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches that scholars have used to explain political outcomes in both Russia and the rest of the world. Equally important, students will also learn about the shortcomings of these approaches and their consequences.

Learning Outcomes

A student who has completed the course should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

• Demonstrate understanding of trends and events in Russian history
• Show general knowledge of Russia´s political structure and key forces in contemporary Russian politics
• Show evidence of deep comprehension of the important social-scientific concepts, approaches and theories used to understand Russian politics. These concepts, approaches and theories include, but are not limited to, historical political economy, constructivist theories of identity politics and the transition paradigm.

Skills

• Demonstrate an ability to use social-scientific concepts, approaches and theories to investigate political phenomena; show awareness of limits and shortcomings of these concepts, approaches and theories.
• Use scientific approaches to evaluate causal claims about political phenomena

General competence

• Critically and scientifically evaluate the implications of theory, establish scope conditions and express uncertainty about claims regarding political phenomena; both abstractly and with regard to the Russian case
• Use the Russian case to engage with broader debates in political science, e.g. those regarding the long-term implications of historical events and the relationship between identity and political behavior

Required Previous Knowledge

None

Recommended Previous Knowledge

SAMPOL105, SAMPOL106, SAMPOL107, SAMPOL115 and MET102

Credit Reduction due to Course Overlap

None

Access to the Course

Open to all students at the University of Bergen

Teaching and learning methods

Form: Lectures

Hours per week: 2

Number of weeks: 10-12

Compulsory Assignments and Attendance

2 obligatory multiple choice tests.

The compulsory requirements must be approved before the student can take the exam. Approved compulsory requirements have no time limit.

Forms of Assessment

Take home exam, 10 hrs

Grading Scale

Grading A-F

Assessment Semester

Assessment in teaching semester

Reading List

The reading list will be ready before 1 June for the autumn semester and 1 December for the spring semester.

Course Evaluation

All courses are evaluated according to UiB's system for quality assurance of education

Course Administrator

The Department of Comparative Politics at the Faculty of Social Sciences has the administrative responsibility for the course and the programme.