Political transformation in the Eurasian states

general courses

Student understands the concept of systemic transformation, identifies the basic planes and stages of systemic changes in the post-Soviet space and factors modifying its course in individual regions (Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia) and selected states of the former USSR. He can place and explain current events in the context of the results of political changes and undertake independent studies of the policy of post-Soviet states in the 21st century.

The concept of transformation and its adequacy to the analysis of changes in the post-Soviet space. The concept of a quadruple transformation. Typology of development paths of post-Soviet states in the first decade of independence. Factors modifying political transformations in the second decade of independence (color revolutions in the CIS, financial crisis 2008-2009, Russia's geostrategic offensive and new reintegration concepts). Analysis of the results of the systemic transformation from the perspective of a quarter of a century of independence on the basis of selected examples from four groups of countries.

Student will learn about the concept of systemic transformation, developed in the 1970s and 1980s in South Europe and Latin America, the concept of the "third wave" of democratization, as well as the scope of their usefulness for the analysis of political transformations in Central Europe and the former USSR. They will learn the importance of structural, procedural and contextual factors. In a comparative approach, he will capture the differences in the extent of changes, the scale of difficulties and multiple challenges for a successful transformation in the post-Soviet space. They will learn about formal and informal factors in the processes of systemic transformation, as well as the phenomena of retreat from already implemented reforms or the formation of hybrid systems. He will diagnose the advancement of transformation processes in key areas at the end of the first and second decades of independence, identifying typical development paths.

The immediate and more distant consequences of the "color revolutions" in the CIS and their impact on the functioning of political systems in the countries of the region will be analyzed in detail. The last part of the considerations will focus on the intensifying geopolitical rivalry on the Eurasian continent, which influences the choice of system models. In the summary, the student will get acquainted with the diagnosis of the results of the transformation after a quarter of a century since the collapse of the USSR and with forecasts for the future.

D. Rustov, Transitions to Democracy. Toward a Dynamic Model, "Comparative Politics" 1970, vol. 2, no 3.

T. Carothers, The End of Transition Paradigm, "Journal of Democracy" 2002, vol. 13, no 1.

M. McFaul, Transitions from Postcommunism, "Journal of Democracy" 2005, vol. 16, no 3.

J. Ćwiek-Karpowicz, Zastosowanie teorii transformacji w wyjaśnieniu przemian ustrojowych w państwach poradzieckich, "Studia Politologiczne" 2009, vol. 14.

L.J. Diamond, Thinking about hybrid regimes, "Journal of Democracy" 2002, vo. 13, no 2.

R. Czachor, Postradzieckie reżimy polityczne w perspektywie neopatrymonialej, Wrocław 2015.

K. Kozłowski, Iluzje rewolucji. Rewolucja róż, rewolucja pomarańczowa, rewolucja tulipanów, Warszawa 2011.

K. Fedorowicz, Transformacja ustrojowa w Armenii w latach 1991-2016, Poznań 2016

„Nations in Transit”. Country reports 2018 , http:// freedomhouse.org. (selected countries)

KNOWLEDGE

K_ W03: Has in-depth knowledge of the nature, essence and forms of organization of political relations in post-Soviet countries.

K_ W5: Has in-depth knowledge of the nature and specificity of transformation processes in post-Soviet countries.

K_ W7: Has in-depth knowledge of transformation problems related to the functioning of democracy in post-Soviet countries.

SKILLS

K_U1: Has the ability to critically observe and interpret political phenomena of various nature and to notice their mutual relations and dependencies.

K_U3: Is able to in-depth and broadly use theoretical knowledge in the field of political systems in order to analyze and interpret phenomena and processes relevant to the political transformation of post-Soviet states.

K_U5: Can use the basic theoretical approaches and use research methods and techniques in order to diagnose and forecast various phenomena in the field of political transformation of post-Soviet countries, formulate independently research hypotheses.

COMPETENCES

K_K07: Can independently and critically supplement knowledge and improve knowledge and skills extended to an interdisciplinary dimension, understands the need for lifelong learning

Presence and active participation in over half of the classes.

Not applicable.