Law/Disordr Fr Soclsm-Post Soc

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor, Undergraduate

Western media have often portrayed the former Communist states of Europe and Eurasia as being mired in a peculiar mix of corruption, crime and chaos. The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the legal cultures, institutions, and practices fostered under Soviet style socialism and then analyze with them what happened to efforts to establish new legal systems. We will address the role of law (and criminality) in both the emerging democracies and new illiberal regimes among the states of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. We will give special attention to the influence of Western ideas and institutions, popular attitudes toward mobilizing the law, and current instances where political actors are again degrading human rights and weaponizing law against opponents.