Decode post-Soviet conflicts and political transformations

Post-Soviet Conflicts and Political Transformations: A Comprehensive Study

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The course will provide students with an in-depth understanding of the political, social, and military conflicts in post-Soviet states, exploring their historical roots, geopolitical implications, and the role of international actors. We will focus on the last variety episodes: Russian-Ukrainian war, Azerbaijan-Armenia war with a special attention to the situation in Moldova and Georgia. Through critical analyses, students will gain insights into the mechanisms of conflict, postcolonial theory, and propaganda in the digital age, and assess the impact of these dynamics on global stability. Students will study the nature, consequences and narratives of armed conflicts and centres of military and political tension in the states that emerged from the collapse of the USSR.

Course description

The course focuses on a number of armed conflicts and hotbeds of military and political tension in the states that emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a result of the collapse of the USSR.

In particular, we are talking about 20 episodes of military conflicts, including revolutions for the last 34 years in former Russian colonies in East Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia (full list will be provided in the course syllabus). This episodes took place inside, between former colonies and in between Russia and former colonies.

We will focus on the last variety episodes that took place during last years: Russian-Ukrainian war, Azerbaijan-Armenia war, Fergana Valley conflicts (Central Asia) with special attention to the situation in Moldova and Georgia.

The subject of the course is the study of the nature, consequences and narratives of armed conflicts and centres of military and political tension in the states that emerged from the collapse of the USSR. An important aspect is the definition of conceptual approaches to understanding political, ethnic, socio-cultural processes within these conflicts. In particular, in the context of the concepts of neo-imperialism in the information and digital age, ‘waves of democratisation’, conflict of civilisations, post-communist transformations, democratic transit, etc.

One of the focuses is postcolonial studies on the example of Russia/USSR as an empire, in particular in the post-Soviet period, in the process of the collapse of the USSR.

Another focus is the study of the possibilities of propaganda and information influence in the digital society to provoke pockets of military and political tension in post-colonial countries and societies.

Continue reading below for more information.

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Course level

Advanced

Contact hours

Language

English

Tuition fee

€545 - €1035

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course students will:
1. Apply theoretical frameworks: utilize key theoretical frameworks such as postcolonial theory, neo-imperialism, and waves of democratization to understand the transformation and conflict dynamics in the region.
2. Critique information warfare: Evaluate the role of digital propaganda and information warfare in shaping political outcomes and provoking conflicts within post-Soviet and post-colonial societies.
3. Develop critical and soft skills: Enhance critical thinking, teamwork, and communication skills through group discussions, and blog assignments, applying these to real-world case studies and conflict scenarios.
Course syllabus

Here you will be able to download the course syllabus for 2025.
^{*Please note that this is a preliminary syllabus and that it can still change before the start of the course.}
Forms of tuition and assessment

Forms of tuition
We plan to use active blended learning approach to mix working in class with online activities. We also plan to use onsite interactive lectures on campus in class, with guest lecturers, group work based on videos, real-life experience sharing, and case study discussions. General plan: morning sessions will consists of lectures, guest lectures and afternoon session will be devoted to practical exercises and self-study.

Assessment
To achieve a passing grade for the course, students will need to pass at least 50%+ of all assignments (1-10 scale grade at the end of the course). The results consist of: 1) the Blog is 40% (1st day to chose the topic and 4th day deadline); 2) peer review of the blog is 30% (the 4th day, afternoon); 3) a quiz is 30% (5th day, afternoon). Individual Blog assignment: Each participant should write a blog about 1 of the topics/lectures. A blog will be shared with all participants digitally. A table and schedule will be provided on the first day who will write a blog and how peer review of blogs will be practically implemented. The final graded quiz will focus on the assess whether the required hours of self-study are met by the students.
About the course organisers

Dr. Oleksandr Khyzhniak, the project manager at the Centre for International Cooperation (CIS-VU), has broad experience in international collaboration, management project education, and research. He prefers to use interdisciplinary approaches and is open to international relations that grounds on his two MA degrees in Sociology and International Economics at Karazin University (Ukraine). During his academic research career, he did his internships in 2009 at Warszawa University (Poland) for the PhD devoted to tolerance issues and at Ariel University (Israel) in 2016-2017 for the post-doc project devoted to collective actions and its determination. During his work experience, he combined educational, research, and management activities. In 2010 he started lecturing at Applied Sociology and Social Communication Department As a project manager at CIS-VU, now he focuses on the implementation of international projects in Global South countries and developing new fields and opportunities in Central Asia and East Neighborhood countries.
Dr. Maksym Folomieiev, PhD in political sciences, associate professor in applied sociology and social communications. Нead of the Department of Public Relations and International Cooperation of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance (Ukraine), Associate Professor of the Department of Social Communications of Mariupol State University, developer of the master's program in public communications for Mariupol State University (with the support of the US Embassy in Ukraine). In 2022-2023 - consultant on communications and branding of the Fulbright Program in Ukraine He taught courses on democratic governance and culture of peace, political communications, history of world and Ukrainian culture, communication technologies in social networks and the Internet, communication strategies in the digital age, socio-cultural risks of Internet communications. Member of the Sociological Association of Ukraine and The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine.
The course will be taught by the team of professionals lecturers and experts that worked on international projects in different countries with strong ties to presented case studies all over the world. Each invited lecturer has academic (PhD and/or higher) and practical background, presenting concrete domain of her/his expertise.