Security Issues:Russia/Eurasia

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

The security challenges facing Russia and the Eurasian states appear to be increasing in number and in complexity. This course seeks to examine how these states are addressing such concerns, either individually or through collective approaches. In order to better understand the security dynamics of the broader Eurasian space, we will review how “security” was framed during the Soviet period and at the end of the 20th century. We will then look at how the respective states have adapted and/or altered this approach; specifically Russia, the Western states (Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova), the Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan), and Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan). The latter part of the course will evaluate how current threats and issues are being addressed in the region, including energy and economic security, military development, terrorism and trafficking, and the presence of external powers in the region. There will be two written assignments and a final examination in the course.