Russia Security Eurasia/Beyond

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

This course explores Russian security from domestic, regional, and international perspectives, including an examination of Russia’s security interests in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Ukraine. For the first decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russians and Americans viewed the country through a prism of relative decline. However, Russia’s undeclared war against Ukraine and its meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election has shown Russia is to reinsert itself into global affairs and seek to dismantle a world order that has been dominated since 1991 by the United States and its allies. In the eyes of both the West and its immediate neighbors, Russia’s security policy has shifted from a defensive position of holding off encroachments by the West (or China) to a more assertive direction, as indicated by the war with Georgia in August 2008, the annexation of Crimea and war in Ukraine since 2014, Russia’s intervention in Syria and Russian attempts to sway public opinion and political processes in Europe, North American, and elsewhere. Is Russia’s quest for “great power status” an end in itself, or a reflection of growing domestic pressures that strain Russian economic and political security? How firm a hold does the Kremlin have on the reins of power, particularly as the Russian economy stumbles under the dual weight of low oil prices and sanctions? How much do Russian internal domestic concerns impact its security strategy and posture in Eurasia, and with the West? How is Russia reacting to emerging threats, such as cyber, organized crime, and terrorism/extremism (both at home and abroad)?