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YORK UNIVERSITY

Department of Politics

AP/POLS 4280.06A

RUSSIA IN WORLD AFFAIRS

Fall/Winter 2019

Wednesdays, 11:30-14:20

Instructor: Sergei Plekhanov

Office: 701 Kaneff Tower, phone: (416) 736-2100, ext.46013

Email: splekhan@yorku.ca, website:

Office hours: Wednesday, 15:00 -17:00, and by appointment

Russia is the world’s largest state with a unique Eurasian identity and a wide range of regional and global interests. Russia’s relations with the outside world have unfolded primarily in the regions around it: East-Central Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East (including Transcaucasia), Central Asia, and the Far East. This breadth of regional interests made Russia a major world power by the 19th century. In the 20th century, communist ideology and nuclear weapons added major new dimensions to Russia’s global role, making it one of the two superpowers. After the fall of Soviet communism, Russia’s world role has changed under the impact of multiple factors, domestic and international.

This course consists of two parts. Part One deals with the historical context: a brief review of the history of the Russian Empire, followed by a study of the roles the Soviet Union played in world affairs in 1917-1991. It focuses on the formation of the Soviet Union as a result of the Russian revolution of 1917, the evolution of Soviet foreign policy under successive leaderships from Lenin to Gorbachev, as the USSR turned from a revolutionary state into a status-quo power locked in a protracted global conflict with the West, and on the radical changes in Soviet foreign policy enacted under Mikhail Gorbachev. Part Two focuses on the international relations of post-Soviet Russia as the main successor state of the USSR. It examines the impact of Russia’s transition crisis of the 1990s on the country’s status and role in the post-Cold War world; the resurgence of Russia as a great power since the 2000s; the transformation of its relations with its neighbours, the United States, Europe, the Middle East, South and East Asia.

Course requirements:

Fall Term:

Class presentation or a short essay (8 pp.) - 10%

Research paper (12-15 pp.) - 30%

Participation - 10%

Winter Term:

Class presentation or a short essay (8 pp.) - 10%

Research paper (12-15 pp.) - 30%

Participation - 10%

Each student is expected to choose topics for the two research papers. Please see lists of suggested topics at the end of the syllabus. The deadline for submitting Fall Term papers is November 27. The deadline for submitting Winter Term papers is April 1.

Please see the list of required readings below. The syllabus also includes a list of relevant websites. Also, the course website ()

contains a select bibliography on Soviet and post-Soviet international relations, designed to help the students find the additional readings for written and oral assignments.

The Post-Communist Studies Collection located at the Resource Centre on the 6th floor of York Research Tower contains over 1,000 books (most in Russian) available for your research.

COURSE SCHEDULE

Sept. 4:

INTRODUCTION

-“Power, Politics, and Putin’s Russia’s Role in the World Order – AJC Global, June 6, 2017 -

-“On the brink? America vs. Russia.” – The National Interest, September-October 2019 -

PART ONE. THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SOVIET UNION

Sept. 11 and 18:

THE RUSSIAN STATE: A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW. The Eurasian context of Russia’s origins. The costs of security and development. The cycles of Russian history. The geopolitical expansion of Russia under the Romanov Dynasty. The evolution of Russia’s national, regional and global interests. The logic of empire and autocracy. The crisis of the Russian political-economic system at the turn of the 20th century.

Required readings:

-Donaldson and Nadkarni, Chapters 1 and 2

-Trenin, The End of Eurasia. Introduction and Chapter 1: The Spatial Dimension of Russian History –



Additional readings:

- Friedman, George. The Geopolitics of Russia. Stratfor, 2008 -

-“History of Russia”. -

-“Russia Engages the World: 1453-1825”. A multimedia exhibit at the New York Public Library.

Sept. 25 and Oct. 2:

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION AND THE FORMATION OF THE USSR. The Russo-Japanese War and World War I as catalysts of the fall of the Romanov Empire. 1917: the February and October Revolutions. The Russian Civil War and its consequences. The Soviet Union as the new Russian state. The basic problem of Soviet foreign policy: reconciling the commitment to world revolution with the USSR’s national interests.

Topics for class reports:

The 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between Soviet Russia and Central Powers.

Why did the West come to recognize the Soviet Union as the Russian Empire’s successor state?

Required readings:

-Donaldson and Nadkarni, Chapter 3

-“The Decree on Peace, November 1917” -

-“The Peace Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, March 3, 1918” -

-Jacobson, Jon. When the Soviet Union Entered World Politics. University of California Press, 1994. Introduction, Chapter 1: The Ideological and Political Foundations of Soviet Foreign Policy, Chapter 2: Internationalizing the October Revolution -



Additional readings:

-Nation: Black Earth, Red Star, Chapters 1-3 (3)

-Dennis, Alfred. The Foreign Policies of Soviet Russia. New York, Dutton, 1924 – eResources, Scott Library

Oct. 9 and 23:

THE SOVIET UNION IN WORLD WAR II. The rise of fascism, the existential threat to Soviet Russia. Hitler’s plans for a new German empire. Japan’s imperial plans in Asia-Pacific. Stalin’s desperate drive to prepare Russia for war. Soviet attempts to create an anti-Hitler coalition. Western and Soviet appeasement of Hitler. 1941: the Nazi invasion of the USSR. The formation of the Grand Alliance against the fascist Axis. The defeat of the Axis and the founding of a new world order.

Topics for class reports:

The Spanish Civil War of 1936-39.

The Yalta and Potsdam conferences of 1945.

Required readings:

-Donaldson and Nadkarni, Chapter 3

-Roberts, Geoffrey. Stalin’s Wars: From World War to Cold War, 1939-1953. Yale University Press, 2006. Chapter 1. Introduction: Stalin at War.-



-“The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, 1939” -

-“Modern History Sourcebook: The Yalta Conference, Feb. 1945” -

Additional readings:

-Roberts, Geoffrey. Stalin’s Wars, Chapter 2, Unholy Alliance: Stalin and Hitler, Chapter 3, Grand Illusions: Stalin and 22 June 1941 -



-Wettig, Gerhard. Stalin and the Cold War in Europe: The Emergence and Development of East-West Conflict, 1939-1953. Rowman and Littlefield, 2008. Chapter 2, Prelude to Postwar East-West Conflict –



Oct. 30 and Nov.6:

THE ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR. Ideological and geopolitical causes of the Soviet-Western rift after 1945. Stalin's goals in the Cold War. The US strategy of “Containment of Communism”. The Cold War in Europe and Asia, 1946-1953. The Soviet-Chinese alliance.

Topics for class reports:

The German Question as a factor in the unleashing of the Cold War.

The Korean War (1950-53) and its international consequences.

Required readings:

-Donaldson and Nadkarni, Chapter 4

-Leffler: Chapters I and II

-George Kennan’s Long Telegram, February 1946 -

Additional readings:

-Roberts, Geoffrey. The Soviet Union in World Politics, Routledge, 1999, Chapters 1,2

eResources, Scott Library

-Zubok, Vladislav and Konstantin Pleshakov: Inside the Kremlin’s Cold War, Harvard University Press, 1996. Prologue, Chapters 1-4

eResources, Scott Library

-Mastny, Voitech: The Cold War and Soviet Insecurity, Oxford University Press, 1996 eResources, Scott Library

Nov. 13 and 20:

THE ARMS RACE AND PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE. Changes in Soviet foreign policy after Stalin's death. Contradictions in Khrushchev's foreign policy: support of revolutionary movements and peaceful coexistence with the West. The role of nuclear weapons in the Cold War. The space race. The Cuban Missile Crisis and the start of nuclear arms control.

Topics for class reports:

The logic of the Cold War arms race.

The role of Cuba in Soviet foreign policy.

Required readings:

-Donaldson and Nadkarni, Chapter 4

-Leffler: Chapter III

Additional readings:

-Roberts, Geoffrey. The Soviet Union in World Politics, Chapter 3

eResources, Scott Library

-Zubok and Pleshakov: Inside the Kremlin’s Cold War, Chapters 6-8

eResources, Scott Library

-Harrison, Hope. Driving the Soviets up the Wall: Soviet-East German Relations, 1953-61. Princeton University Press, 2003 -

Nov. 27:

THE RISE AND FALL OF DETENTE. The war in Vietnam and the decline of American hegemony. Consolidation of US-Soviet strategic parity. Conservative retrenchment in Moscow and Washington. The China factor. Why détente unraveled. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Topic for class report:

The Helsinki Accords of 1975 and their historical significance.

Required readings:

-Donaldson and Nadkarni, Chapter 4

-Leffler: Chapter IV

Additional reading:

-Roberts, Geoffrey. The Soviet Union in World Politics, Chapter 3

eResources, Scott Library

-Suri, Jeremi. Power and Protest: Global Revolution and the Rise of Détente. Harvard University Press, 2005 –



PART TWO. POST-SOVIET RUSSIA IN A POST-COLD WAR WORLD

Jan. 8 and 15:

THE END OF THE COLD WAR AND THE DISSOLUTION OF THE USSR. When did the Cold War end? The Reagan Presidency and the new anticommunist crusade. 1983: the world on the brink of war. 1985: Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the top Soviet leader. Glasnost and perestroika. New Political Thinking: the motives and goals of Gorbachev's reform of Soviet foreign policy. Major progress in nuclear and conventional arms reduction. The Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. The “Sinatra Doctrine”. The fall of Communist regimes in Eastern Europe. The crisis of the Gorbachev government, the August 1991 coup, and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Topic for class report:

Gorbachev and the re-unification of Germany.

Required readings:

-Donaldson and Nadkarni, Chapter 4

-Leffler: Chapter V

Additional readings:

-The Cambridge History of the Cold War. Volume 3: Endings, ed. by Melvyn P. Leffler and Odd Arne Westad. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010, Chapters:

2. The World Economy and the Cold War, by Giovanni Arrighi

12. The Gorbachev Revolution and the End of the Cold War, by Archie Brown

13. US Foreign Policy under Reagan and Bush, by Beth A. Fischer

15. The East European Revolutions of 1989, by Jacques Levesque -

eResources, York Library

Jan. 22 and 29, February 5:

RUSSIA AFTER THE USSR. The international consequences of the dissolution of the USSR. Russia’s transition crisis and its impact on Russian foreign policy. Moscow’s adaptation to its loss of power and to American hegemony. The Putin Presidency and Russia’s resurgence as a world power.

Topics for class reports:

Evolution of Russia’s foreign policy and security doctrines, 1992 - 2019.

The eastward expansion of NATO: was it a mistake?

Required readings:

- Lavrov, Sergei. Russia’s Foreign Policy: Historical Background. Russia in Global Affairs, March 3, 2016 -

-Donaldson and Nadkarni, Chapters 5, 7

-Tsygankov: Chapters 1-4

Additional readings:

-Lundestad, Geir (ed.). International Relations since the End of the Cold War: New and Old Dimensions. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013 –

e-Resources, York University

-Cohen, Stephen F. Failed Crusade: America and the Tragedy of Post-Communist Russia. W.W. Norton, 2001 (11)

- Nation, R. Craig and Dmitry Trenin. Russian Security Strategy under Putin: US and Russian Perspectives. Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College. Carlisle, 2007 –



Feb. 12 and 26, Mar. 4 and 11:

RUSSIA IN THE NEW EURASIA. Relations between Russia and the post-Soviet new independent states. Russia’s partnership with Western Europe. Russia’s new role in the Middle East. China, Russia and the development of Eurasian economic networks (The Belt and Road Initiative, Eurasian Economic Union, etc.). Russia-China security cooperation. Russia’s new Arctic strategy.

Topics for class reports:

Ethnopolitical conflicts in the Caucasus after the Cold War.

Competition for access to Caspian energy resources.

Russia and radical Islamism.

The Belt and Road Initiative: a plan for Chinese domination of Eurasia?

Required readings:

-Donaldson and Nadkarni, Chapters 6, 8

-Tsygankov, Chapters 3-7

Additional readings:

-Makarychev, Andrey. Russia’s Engagement With Asia-Pacific. Rising Powers Quarterly, February 2017. “Rising Powers in Global Governance” – an international project at Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey -

-“Russia’s Turn to the East: Seeing Is Believing” – a series of articles published by Valdai Discussion Club, 2019 -

-Sladden, James et al. Russian Strategy in the Middle East. Santa Monica: RAND Corporation, 2017 -

Mar. 18 and 25, April 1:

RUSSIA IN THE MULTIPOLAR WORLD. The end of the “unipolar moment” and the rise of new world powers. Russia’s opposition to American hegemony and advocacy of polycentrism in world politics. The Ukraine Crisis and the start of Cold War 2.0. Prospects for reform of the world order.

Topics for class reports:

Turkey’s eastward drift.

Russian-Iranian relations in the 21st century.

The new containment of Russia (2014-19): is it working?

Required readings:

-Donaldson and Nadkarni, Chapters 8-10

-Tsygankov, Chapter 8

-“Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation, Approved by President of the Russian Federation V. Putin on November 30, 2016” - Moscow: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, 2016 –



Additional readings:

-“Ukraine and Russia: People, Politics, Propaganda and Perspectives”. Edited by: Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska & Richard Sakwa. E-International Relations, March 6, 2015 –



-Suslov, Dmitry. The Russian Perception of the Post-Cold War Era and Relations with the West. Harriman Institute, Columbia University, November 9, 2016 -

-Russian President Vladimir Putin. The World Order: New Rules or a Game without Rules? Valdai International Discussion Club XI session, Sochi, Russian Federation, October 24th, 2014

-“Russia’s Dual Roles in Global Politics as a Traditional Great Power and a Rising Power” – Rising Powers Quarterly, Vol. 2, No.1, Feb. 2017 -

-Ponarin, Eduard and Boris Sokolov. The Russian Elite’s View of Global Politics. A Survey of 1993-2012 Polls. Russia in Global Affairs, December 18, 2014. -

-Kissinger, Henry. Kissinger on Russia: Insights and Recommendations. Russia Matters, March 3, 2017 -

-O’Hanlon, Michael. If Trump really wants to improve relations with Russia, he should persuade NATO to stop expanding. Brookings, April 14, 2017 -

-“Global Revolt and Global Order. Valdai Discussion Club Report”, Moscow, March 3, 2017 -

-Friedman, George. Is There a Global War Coming? – The Brain Bar, July 7, 2017

REQUIRED BOOKS

Donaldson, Robert H, and Joseph L. Nogee and Vidya Nadkarni. The Foreign Policy of Russia: Changing Systems, Enduring Interests. 6th edition. M.E.Sharpe, 2018

Leffler, Melvyn. For the Soul of Mankind: The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War. Hill and Wang, 2008

Tsygankov, Andrei. Russia's Foreign Policy: Change and Continuity in National Identity. 5th edition. Rowman and Littlefield, 2019

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

Bubnova, Natalia (ed.), 20 Years without the Berlin Wall. Moscow Carnegie Center, 2011 -

Roberts, Geoffrey K. The Soviet Union in World Politics : Coexistence, Revolution, and Cold War, 1945-1991. Routledge, 1999 – eResources, Scott Library

RESOURCES FOR RESEARCH

1.Journals (available online directly or via eResources, York Library):

Journal of Cold War Studies

Europe-Asia Studies

Problems of Post-Communism

Communist and Post-Communist Studies

Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics

Foreign Affairs

Foreign Policy

World Policy Journal

International Security

Orbis

The National Interest

2.Web Sources

Russian, in English

“Russia in Global Affairs” -

Valdai Discussion Club -

Russian International Affairs Council -

President of Russia, official website -

Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs -

Russian Ministry of Defense -

US and other Western, non-government

The Program on New Approaches to Research and Security in Eurasia (PONARS Eurasia), Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES), Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University (GW) -

“Irrusianality”, blog by Prof. Paul Robinson, University of Ottawa -

“The Kremlin Stooge”, blog by Mark Nesop -

The National Security Archive, George Washington University, Washington, DC -

Cold War International History Project, Wilson Center, Washington, DC –



CFR Education, Council on Foreign Relations, New York -

Carnegie Moscow Center -

“Eurasia Net” -

“Inside Russia and Eurasia” -

“Eurasia Review” -

Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University -

US Government

“Russia”. US Department of State -

US Department of Defense -

US Embassy in Moscow -

3. Post-Communist Studies Book Collection, Resource Center, Room 624, York Research Tower

4. Select Bibliography – see the list on the course website

TOPICS FOR SHORT ESSAYS AND RESEARCH PAPERS

The Fall Term

I. Short essays

1. Motives and results of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War: 1918-1922.

2. The idea of “world revolution” in early Soviet foreign policy.

3. Why was Russia not represented at the Paris Peace Conference?

4. The Soviet-Polish war of 1919-1921: causes and consequences.

5. Soviet-Afghan relations during the reign of King Amanullah (1919-1929).

6. The international significance of the Rapallo Treaty between Russia and Germany (1922).

7. What impact did Soviet support of the German Communist Party have on relations between Weimar Germany and the USSR?

8. Soviet policies towards the Baltic states, 1918-1941.

9. Soviet-Japanese conflicts in the 1930s.

10. Diplomatic struggles over the opening of the Second Front against Nazi Germany.

11. What were the political aims of the American atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

12. George Kennan’s concept of containment and its implementation in the Truman Administration’s foreign policy.

13. The impact of the Korean War on international relations in the 1950s.

14. The Soviet concept of “peaceful coexistence.”

15. The Soviet role in the Vietnam War.

16. The anti-ballistic missile issue in arms control negotiations, 1960s – 1970s.

17. The SALT-II Treaty fiasco.

18. Gorbachev’s 1986 disarmament program: utopian or practical?

19. Moscow, Washington, and the reunification of Germany: the diplomatic endgame.

20. The Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty and its legacy.

II. Research papers

1. How did the Russian Revolution affect Russia’s role in the international system? Which aspects of Russia’s international status changed with the transition to the communist regime - and which didn’t?

2. How did the Soviet Union and the Comintern react to the rise of fascism in Europe? To what extent did Soviet blunders and miscalculations contribute to the outbreak of World War 2?

3. Stalin’s policies toward Germany before and after the Nazi takeover.

4. How did the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39 affect the evolution of Soviet foreign policy?

5. Why was the Soviet Union considered a welcome ally by many anti-colonial movements in Asia?

6. What were the main ways by which Moscow managed to maintain diplomatic relations with foreign governments while simultaneously supporting revolutionary movements seeking the overthrow of those governments?

7. Why did the attempts to forge an international alliance to prevent Hitler’s aggression fail?

8. Why did it take the United States longer than any other Western country to officially recognize Soviet Russia? Why did Washington finally decide to recognize it in 1933?

9. Could the Stalin-Hitler pact of 1939 have become the basis of a long-term alliance between the USSR and the Third Reich? Develop arguments pro and contra.

10. What attempts were made by the USSR, US, and Britain to conclude separate peace agreements with Hitler during World War II? Why did those attempts fail?

11. Did Stalin have a strategic plan to conquer Europe after 1945?

12. What were the main causes of frictions between Stalin and Mao?

13. Analyze the main varieties of the policy of “Containment of Communism” developed by the US in 1946-49. How did the official policy evolve? What alternatives were offered by political forces outside the Truman Administration?

14. Compare the strengths and weaknesses of the USSR and USA at the initial stage of the Cold War. How did the two sides’ perceptions of their strengths and weaknesses influence their thinking and behaviour?

15. What were the goals of Soviet policy in Latin America during the Cold War?

16. How did Soviet nuclear strategy evolve during the Cold War?

17. What was the logic of the shifts in US foreign policy toward détente in the early 1970s and back to confrontation later?

18. Soviet policies with regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict during the Cold War.

19. Why did the US and USSR shift from the uncontrolled nuclear arms race to arms control negotiations and treaties?

The Winter Term

I. Short essays

1. Russia and the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabagh.

2. The Kosovo War of 1999 and its impact on relations between Russia and the West.

3. Russia’s response to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

4. The evolution of relations between Russia and OPEC.

5. Russia’s policy on the Iranian nuclear program.

6. The main institutions of Russian foreign policy-making, their functions and interactions.

7. The settlement of the border issues between Russia and China.

8. How did Russia become the sole owner of the Soviet nuclear arsenal?

9. Russia and the conflict in Afghanistan, 2001-2019.

10. The Transdniestria conflict and Russia’s role.

11. Russian interpretations of the concept of spheres of influence.

12. Russia’s trade relations with Eastern Europe after the fall of communism.

13. Motives of Russia’s critique of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

14. The Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, 1992-2015: why did it die?

15. The Russia-Georgia war of 2008: causes and consequences.

16. Russia in the BRICS.

17. Russia and Canada in the Arctic: cooperation or conflict?

18. The Collective Security Treaty Organization: its origins, goals and role.

19. Russian-Belarusian relations since the 1990s.

20. World War II ended in 1945. Why have Russia and Japan still not signed a peace treaty?

Research papers

1. How did Russia’s transition to capitalism affect Russian foreign policy?

2. The threats of the Second Nuclear Age and the main issues in nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.

3. In 1989-91, Germany was reunited, while the Soviet Union collapsed. Analyze the development of Russian-German relations in the post-Soviet era.

4. The use of geopolitical concepts in post-Soviet Russian foreign policy.

5. The evolution of Russia’s responses to NATO’s expansion.

6. The balance between cooperation and competition in Russia-China relations since the 1990s.

7. Russia’s relations with South Caucasian states since 1991.

8. Post-Soviet Central Asia as an area of international competition and cooperation.

9. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization and its role in international relations in Asia.

10. Russia’s policy in Latin America has become more active in recent years. Analyze Russia’s motives and most important policy moves.

11. How have Russia’s relations with the European Union evolved since the early 1990s?

12. A conservative Russia vs. the liberal West: how deep is the new ideological rift between East and West?

13. Foreign policy as an issue in Russian domestic politics (a general overview or an analysis of a specific policy area).

14. Zbigniew Brzezinski remains one of the major intellectual influences on US policy toward Russia. Analyze his most important publications and statements on Russia since the USSR’s collapse.

15. Oil and gas as tools of Russian foreign policy.

16. Public opinion as a factor in Russian foreign policy-making.

17. Russia’s role in the Syrian conflict.

18. Russia’s policies on international terrorism.

19. “Eurasianism” as an ideological influence on Russian foreign policy.

20. The use of geopolitical concepts in post-Soviet Russian foreign policy.

21. Russian-Iranian relations since the fall of the USSR.

22. The crisis in US-Russian relations, 2014-…

23. Russia’s relations with North and South Koreas since the 1990s.

24. The collapse of arms control treaties, and its implications for international peace and security.

25. The Ukraine Crisis of and its impact on Russia’s relations with the West.

26. If the world is in a new Cold War nowadays, how is it different from the original Cold War?

27. Post-Soviet Russia’s policies in Africa.

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