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 Course

East European Studies

Economic Systems

7213a_MA120

  • Economies of Russia, Eastern Europe and Eurasia

    7213aB1.1
    • 31601 Basic Course
      Empires & the Rise of Nations (Theocharis Grigoriadis)
      Schedule: Mo 12-14 (Class starts on: 2025-10-13)
      Location: Garystr.55/121 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)

      Additional information / Pre-requisites

      Regular participation 75 percent attendance. Active participation Empires and the Rise of Nations: Collective presentation (12 slides per person, 15 minutes per person) in the last three weeks of the semester. Strategies and Institutions: Presentation of a solution to a problem Grade Final Exam: Economics and Public Economics Masters Students. Research Paper: East European Studies/Political Science/IR Masters Students.

      Comments

      Empires and the Rise of Nations is a course on economics and history with focus on imperial formations and nation-building in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The first part of the course will focus on the economic organization and nationalities structures of the Russian, Ottoman, German and Habsburg Empires as well as their socialist equivalents such as the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, while providing an overview of theories of nationalism and nation-building. The second part of the course will concentrate on comparative cases from Eastern Europe and the Middle East by combining economic, historical and social science advances in the literature and setting the ground for innovating thinking in the contemporary and historical political economy of nationalism. The third part of the course will present the main debates that emerge from the first two parts and will be taken over by students.

      Active participation: Collective presentation (12 slides per person, 15 minutes per person) in the last three weeks of the semester

    • 31603 Practice seminar
      Strategies & Institutions: Exercises in Game Theory (Margarita Maximova)
      Schedule: Mo 14-16 (Class starts on: 2025-10-13)
      Location: Ihnestr.22/UG 1 Seminarraum (Ihnestr. 22)

      Comments

      Strategies and Institutions constitutes an introduction in intermediate game theory with an explicit focus on institutional and political games. Economics/Public Economics students must take both parts of this module to fulfill the School of Business and Economics requirements, while East European/Political Science/IR may take them separately according to their learning and schedule preferences within the School of Political and Social Sciences. Slides, which have been graciously provided by Gérard Roland (UC Berkeley), will be used to facilitate the learning process. The course grade is defined by a final exam/research paper (depending on degree program pursued).

      Active participation: Presentation of a solution to a problem

  • Selected Topics in Economics

    7213aB1.4
    • 10144108 Advanced Lecture Course
      Methods in Economic Theory (V) (Peter Mohr)
      Schedule: Mo 08:00-10:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-13)
      Location: Hs 102 Hörsaal (Garystr. 21)

      Comments

      Zu den Kommentaren der Veranstaltung
    • 10144111 Seminar
      Methods in Economic Theory (S) (Peter Mohr)
      Schedule: Di 08:00-10:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: Hs 102 Hörsaal (Garystr. 21)

      Comments

      Zu den Kommentaren der Veranstaltung
    • 10144908 Advanced Lecture Course
      International Macroeconomics: EU Integration (V) (Theocharis Grigoriadis)
      Schedule: Di 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: Hs 108a Hörsaal (Garystr. 21)

      Comments

      Zu den Kommentaren der Veranstaltung
    • 10144909 Specialization Seminar
      International Macroeconomics: EU Integration (S) (Ali Reza Rahimi)
      Schedule: Mi 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-15)
      Location: Hs 104a Hörsaal (Garystr. 21)
    • 32710 Advanced seminar
      International Trade, Migration and Health (Luca Stella)
      Schedule: Mo 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-13)
      Location: 319 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)

      Comments

      This course provides a graduate-level introduction to the study of international economics, covering some of the most important theories and applications of international trade, health, and migration. Each week, the presentation of theorethical contributions is accompanied by a comprehensive overview of the corresponding empirical validations. The course is divided into three parts. During the first part, we will introduce the basics of international trade. Current debates surrounding globalization and international trade are assessed against the concepts and empirical evidence taught in class. In particular, we will investigate the determinants of trade patterns, the Ricardian model and its empirical applications, the employment effect of the China shock, and study the causes and effects of trade policy. The objective is to gauge how international trade and globalization affect welfare, firms, labor markets and wages. During the second part, we will illustrate how economists analyze the production of health and the delivery of health care services. Substantial attention is given to socio-economic determinants of health and health consequences of the digital revolution. This part will emphasize the link between economic theory and health policy introducing students to topical issues such as the economics of sleep. During the third part, we will introduce the basics of the economics of immigration. Topics to be covered include: selection in immigration, immigrant assimilation, labor market effects of immigration, and the effects of immigration on various outcomes (e.g., health, attitudes, voting, crime, and fertility). For active participation: regular attendance of lectures and seminar presentations. All students are required to present one of the different seminar papers or to summarize an assigned chapter. Presentations should be 20 minutes long and outline the content of the article/topic to be discussed. In cases of research papers, this includes identifying the research question, methodology, and findings. Presenters should be prepared to answer questions related to the reading. For a grade: written final examination. The final exam will cover all topics discussed in class. Once you have been accepted to the seminar you will be added to the second part of the lecture shortly after the registration period ends. Attendance at the first session is mandatory.

    • 32711 Seminar
      International Trade, Migration and Health - Case Studies (Luca Stella)
      Schedule: Mo 16:00-18:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-13)
      Location: 319 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)

      Comments

      This course provides a graduate-level introduction to the study of international economics, covering some of the most important theories and applications of international trade, health, and migration. Each week, the presentation of theorethical contributions is accompanied by a comprehensive overview of the corresponding empirical validations. The course is divided into three parts. During the first part, we will introduce the basics of international trade. Current debates surrounding globalization and international trade are assessed against the concepts and empirical evidence taught in class. In particular, we will investigate the determinants of trade patterns, the Ricardian model and its empirical applications, the employment effect of the China shock, and study the causes and effects of trade policy. The objective is to gauge how international trade and globalization affect welfare, firms, labor markets and wages. During the second part, we will illustrate how economists analyze the production of health and the delivery of health care services. Substantial attention is given to socio-economic determinants of health and health consequences of the digital revolution. This part will emphasize the link between economic theory and health policy introducing students to topical issues such as the economics of sleep. During the third part, we will introduce the basics of the economics of immigration. Topics to be covered include: selection in immigration, immigrant assimilation, labor market effects of immigration, and the effects of immigration on various outcomes (e.g., health, attitudes, voting, crime, and fertility). For active participation: regular attendance of lectures and seminar presentations. All students are required to present one of the different seminar papers or to summarize an assigned chapter. Presentations should be 20 minutes long and outline the content of the article/topic to be discussed. In cases of research papers, this includes identifying the research question, methodology, and findings. Presenters should be prepared to answer questions related to the reading. For a grade: written final examination. The final exam will cover all topics discussed in class. Once you have been accepted to the seminar you will be added to the second part of the lecture shortly after the registration period ends. Attendance at the first session is mandatory.

    • 33050a Lecture
      Development theories and concepts (Sergio Costa, Manuel Santos Silva)
      Schedule: Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-10-27)
      Location: 201 (Seminarraum), Rüdesheimer Str. 54-56, 14197 Berlin

      Information for students

      "Hinweise für Studierende des FB Wirtschaftswissenschaften: Für Studierende der neuen SPO ist der begleitende Kurs für diese Vorlesung das Seminar vom Dr. Christian Ambrosius: "Migration and Development: Latin America in a Global Context". Modul Anrechenbarkeit: ""Area Studies in Economic Theory"". Anmeldung: Campus Management, Modulprüfung: Hausarbeit (ca. 15 Seiten); in der Regel wird die Hausarbeit im begleitenden Seminar geschrieben.

      Comments

      In dem Kurs werden die wichtigsten Ansätze zur ökonomischen und gesellschaftlichen Entwicklung in Lateinamerika während des 20. Jahrhunderts vorgestellt. Im Mittelpunkt stehen das Pendeln zwischen liberaler Weltmarktintegration und Binnenmarktentwicklung, das die wirtschaftspolitischen Strategien der lateinamerikanischen Länder bis heute prägt, sowie die damit verbundenen politischen Regime, die verschiedene Formen zwischen demokratischen und autoritären Prägungen eingenommen haben.

      Suggested reading

      Bertola, Luis/Ocampo, Jose Antonio (2013): El Desarrollo Económico De América Latina Desde la Independencia, Fondo De Cultura Económica (México). - Franko, Patrice (2007): The Puzzle of Latin American Development, 3. Auflage. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

    • 33053b Advanced seminar
      Migration and Development: Latin America in a Global Context (Christian Ambrosius, Luisa Feline Freier)
      Schedule: Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-10-15)
      Location: 201 (Seminarraum), Rüdesheimer Str. 54-56, 14197 Berlin

      Information for students

      Mögliche Prüfungsleistung im M.A. Interdisziplinäre Lateinamerikastudien: Hausarbeit (ca. 15 Seiten). Hinweise für Studierende des FB Wirtschaftswissenschaften: Dieses Seminar ist der begleitende Kurs für die Vorlesung „Entwicklunstheorien und -konzepte“. Modul Anrechenbarkeit: "Area Studies in Economic Theory". Anmeldung: Campus Management, Modulprüfung: Hausarbeit (ca. 15 Seiten).

      Comments

      Latin America´s rich and diverse migration history offers an ideal scenario to explore the complex relationships between human mobility and development, with important lessons for current migration debates. In this seminar, we examine the historical and contemporary patterns of migration and displacement within, towards, and from Latin America, highlighting their interplay with socioeconomic, political, and cultural development processes, and studying migration both as a result and driver of different dimensions of development. After an empirical overview of migration trends in the region, the course introduces key theoretical approaches to the migration-development nexus. Students will engage critically with a range of case studies, including intra-regional (forced) migrations, outward emigration from Latin America, as well as forced returns. By combining empirical data with conceptual frameworks, the seminar provides a comprehensive understanding of how migration shapes—and is shaped by— the social, political and economic development in Latin America and beyond.

      Suggested reading

      "De Haas, H., Castles, S., & Miller, M. J. (2019). The age of migration: International population movements in the modern world. Bloomsbury Publishing. Chapter 7: The Americas. Jorge Durand, and Douglas S. Massey. 2010. ""New world orders: Continuities and Changes in Latin American Migration."" The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 630 (1): 20-52 De Haas, H. (2020). Paradoxes of migration and development. In Routledge Handbook of Migration and Development (pp. 17-31). Routledge."

    • 33091a Elective Lecture
      Finance and Development (Christian Ambrosius, Barbara Fritz)
      Schedule: Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-10-17)
      Location: 201 (Seminarraum), Rüdesheimer Str. 54-56, 14197 Berlin

      Information for students

      Anrechenbarkeit: Für Studierende des FB Wiwiss Modul Area Studies in Empirical Economics Anmeldung: Campus Management Prüfungsleistung: Das Modul setzt sich aus einer Vorlesung und einem Seminar zusammen. Eine benotete Prüfungsleistung ist nur durch Belegen dieser Kombination möglich. Modulprüfung Hausarbeit (ca. 15 Seiten) Kontakt: christian.ambrosius@fu-berlin.de

      Comments

      How does the financial system shape economic development? The course provides a broad overview of key topics and the specific challenges faced by countries of the Global South. At the macro level, we study patterns of financial development and economic growth; the historical role of finance in state-led development strategies; financial crises; as well as debates around exchange rates and capital account management. We also study topics at the household level, and challenges related to financial access among low-income households. Students engage with both classic theories and current debates, gaining a critical understanding of how finance can drive or hinder development. The lecture offers an overview of key issues, while the accompanying seminar teaches research methods and guides students in writing a term paper on a topic of their choice.

      Suggested reading

      Ocampo, J. A. (2025): Financing for Development. The Global Agenda. Published online by Cambridge University Press. Thirlwall, Anthony P. and Pacheco-Lopez (2017): Economics and Development Theory and Evidence. Palgrave Macmillan.

    • 33092a Wahlveranstaltung
      Finance and Development (Christian Ambrosius, Barbara Fritz)
      Schedule: Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-10-17)
      Location: 201 (Seminarraum), Rüdesheimer Str. 54-56, 14197 Berlin

      Information for students

      Anrechenbarkeit: Für Studierende des FB Wiwiss Modul Area Studies in Empirical Economics Anmeldung: Campus Management Prüfungsleistung: Das Modul setzt sich aus einer Vorlesung und einem Seminar zusammen. Eine benotete Prüfungsleistung ist nur durch Belegen dieser Kombination möglich. Modulprüfung Hausarbeit (ca. 15 Seiten) Kontakt: christian.ambrosius@fu-berlin.de

      Comments

      How does the financial system shape economic development? The course provides a broad overview of key topics and the specific challenges faced by countries of the Global South. At the macro level, we study patterns of financial development and economic growth; the historical role of finance in state-led development strategies; financial crises; as well as debates around exchange rates and capital account management. We also study topics at the household level, and challenges related to financial access among low-income households. Students engage with both classic theories and current debates, gaining a critical understanding of how finance can drive or hinder development. The lecture offers an overview of key issues, while the accompanying seminar teaches research methods and guides students in writing a term paper on a topic of their choice.

      Suggested reading

      Ocampo, J. A. (2025): Financing for Development. The Global Agenda. Published online by Cambridge University Press. Thirlwall, Anthony P. and Pacheco-Lopez (2017): Economics and Development Theory and Evidence. Palgrave Macmillan.

  • Selected Topics in East European Studies

    7213aB1.5
    • 16408a Seminar
      Laboratorien der Zukunft. Literarische Reisen nach Zentralasien in der Zwischenkriegszeit (Marina Sivak)
      Schedule: Di 16:00-18:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: KL 29/207 Übungsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)

      Comments

      Wie wurde Zentralasien in der Zwischenkriegszeit imaginiert? In diesem Seminar gehen wir literarischen Reiseberichten aus Europa, der Sowjetunion und Nordamerika nach, die zwischen 1920 und 1940 Zentralasien zum Schauplatz diskursiver Neuvermessungen machen. Im Fokus stehen Darstellungen Afghanistans, Tadschikistans und Usbekistans – Regionen, die in imperialen wie revolutionären Erzählungen gleichermaßen als Randzone und Projektionsfläche fungieren.

      Zentrale Fragen sind: Welche Zukunftsentwürfe werden auf die zentralasiatische Region projiziert? Wie verschränken sich (post-)koloniale, sowjetische und modernistische Blickregime? Und wie wird das Reisen selbst literarisch inszeniert?

      Wir arbeiten mit diskursanalytischen und literaturhistorischen Zugängen und behandeln Reiseberichte von Egon Erwin Kisch, Julius Fucík, Annemarie Schwarzenbach, Ella Maillart, Larisa Rejsner und Langston Hughes. Einzelne Quellen liegen auf Englisch oder Deutsch vor; alle Lektüren werden in deutscher Sprache bereitgestellt. Ergänzend können Dokumentarfilme aus der Zeit hinzugezogen werden.
    • 31403 Seminar
      Threats and Repressions in Authoritarian Regimes (Anna Abalkina)
      Schedule: Di 12-14 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: Garystr.55/105 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)

      Comments

      Authoritarian regimes employ political violence at various levels, ranging from threats to repressions. The goal of this course is to investigate the reasons behind political repressions in authoritarian regimes and analyze their consequences for society and the durability of the regime. Special attention will be given to the strategies used to legitimize political repressions. Additionally, the course will cover topics such as the role of repressions and co-optations as pillars of regime stability, electoral violence, and the dynamics between repressions and protests.

      Active participation: discussion sessions, individual presentation

    • 31406 Seminar
      Development Assistance Policy in Post-Soviet Countries (Anna Abalkina)
      Schedule: Di 14-16 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: Garystr.55/105 Semarraum

      Comments

      The goal of the course is to give an analysis of development assistance priorities of Russia and ex-Soviet countries. The course will be focused on the evolution of the concept of development cooperation and its role in promoting the economic and political interests of a state. In the class we’ll explore the phenomenon of (re)emerging donors; economic and political priorities of development aid policies; the role of Russia in multilateral organizations; Russia’s policy in the post-Soviet area and participation of business in development cooperation programs; ex-Soviet countries as an area of cooperation and competition of donors in Central Asia. A special attention will be given to the contemporary assistance to Ukraine.

      Active participation: discussion sessions, presentation of a case-study

    • 31204 Seminar
      Borderlands and Border-Making in Eastern Europe (Ruslana Bovhyria)
      Schedule: Di 10-12 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: Garystr.55/101 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)

      Comments

      This seminar examines the historical processes of border-making in Eastern Europe from the early modern period until the early 20th century. Focusing primarily on the interactions between the Habsburg, Russian, Ottoman, and Persian Empires, it investigates how imperial authorities conceptualized, demarcated, negotiated, and contested territorial boundaries - often through diplomacy, cartography, ecological intervention, or legal tools of property. The course also pays close attention to the local populations who inhabited these zones of ambiguity and flux, exploring how they navigated shifting sovereignties and developed forms of agency, resistance or accommodation. The seminar engages with a rich body of theoretical literature on frontiers, drawing from political geography, historical anthropology, and critical border studies. Through this lens, students will critically assess how imperial regimes used borders both as tools of governance and as mechanisms to shape identities.

      Suggested reading

      Charles Maier, Once Within the Borders: Territories of Power, Wealth, and Belonging since 1500. Cambridge 2016. Lauren Benton, A Search for Sovereignty: Law and Geography in European Empires, 1400-1900. Cambridge 2014. Kate Brown, A Biography of No Place: From Ethnic Borderlands to Soviet Heartland. Cambridge 2003.

    • 31304 Seminar
      Stadtplanung im Sozialismus (Clemens Günther)
      Schedule: Di 12-14 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: Garystr.55/B Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)

      Information for students

      Anforderungen für akt. und reg. TN: Anlage eines Portfolios zu einer selbst gewählten Stadt in Osteuropa mit anschließender Präsentation in Form eines Blogbeitrags.

      Comments

      Sozialistische Städte sind uniform und unwirtlich, monoton und grau. Ihre Architektur befördert die Atomisierung der Gesellschaft und zerstört den öffentlichen Raum als Grundlage demokratischer und freiheitlicher Strukturen. So weit das Klischee, das dieses Seminar in Frage stellen möchte. In einem Rundgang durch die Städte und Siedlungen des Sozialismus von Eisenhüttenstadt bis Taschkent, von Vilnius bis Baku wollen wir uns mit den Utopien und Visionen, den Plänen und Praktiken, den Straßen und Plätzen, dem Erbauen und dem Erbe der sozialistischen Stadt von ihren Anfängen im 19. Jahrhundert bis in die Gegenwart auseinandersetzen. Welche Ideen und Prinzipien prägten die Stadtplanung? Wo und in welcher Form kam es zu ideologischen und sozialen Konflikten? Und wie prägt das architektonische Erbe die Gesellschaften bis heute? Das sind nur einige der Fragen, die wir gemeinsam erkunden wollen. Wir lesen Romane, schauen Filme, betrachten Pläne, durchstreifen Siedlungen und rekonstruieren historische Debatten. Am Beispiel der Stadtplanung wollen wir so Einblicke in die Verfasstheit der sozialistischen und postsozialistischen Gesellschaften Osteuropas erlangen und fragen, wie die großen historischen Transformationen ihren Niederschlag im Stadtbild gefunden haben.

    • 31305 Seminar
      Osteuropa und die blue humanities (Clemens Günther)
      Schedule: Di 16-18 (Class starts on: 2025-10-13)
      Location: Garystr.55/101 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)

      Information for students

      Anforderungen für akt. und reg. TN: 10-15 minütiges Inputreferat in einer der Seminarsitzungen

      Comments

      Blue humanities, oceanic turn oder critical ocean studies sind nur einige der theoretischen Paradigmen, deren Aufkommen in den letzten Jahren ein neues Interesse am Wasser und seinen Wasserwelten signalisiert. Dieses erstreckt sich nicht nur auf die Weltmeere, Flüsse und Ozeane als Ökosysteme, sondern auch auf geopolitische und ökonomische Fragen. Osteuropa spielt in diesen Diskussionen bislang allenfalls am Rande eine Rolle. Dieses Seminar möchte dies ändern und bei seinen Teilnehmenden die Sehnsucht nach dem Meer wecken. Wir tauchen ein in die Tiefsee, statten Hafenstädten einen Besuch ab, begeben uns auf Kreuzfahrt, errichten Wasserkraftwerke und beobachten Atomwaffentests. Wir segeln in verschiedenen disziplinären Fahrwassern, nehmen Texte und Passagiere aus Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaft ebenso wie aus der Sozialwissenschaft auf und bereisen Flüsse und Seen, Meere und Ozeane in Osteuropa und darüber hinaus. Dies alles dient nicht (nur) der Unterhaltung, sondern soll uns helfen neue Einblicke in zentrale Fragen unserer Zeit zu erhalten: in die menschengemachte Veränderung unserer maritimen Umwelt und ihre Folgen, in die geopolitische Instrumentalisierung der Weltmeere und in die Muster künstlerischer Repräsentation, die am Grund unserer Beschäftigung mit dem Wasser liegen.

    • 31404 Seminar
      War, Empire and the Post-Soviet Cinema (online) (Alexander Libman)
      Schedule: Blockveranstaltung Termine: 06.11; 13.11; 20.11; 04.12; 11.12; 18:12 (Class starts on: 2025-10-16)
      Location: online-Seminar

      Comments

      This is a class taught jointly with the Hebrew University Jerusalem. Our focus is to provide an interdisciplinary perspective on how war and empire were reflected in the Soviet cinema and in the post-Soviet one. Most of our sessions consist of discussion of movies we are going to watch in advance, as well as debates on how they could be interested from the political science and from the humanities perspective. Due to the international nature of the class, it will be taught entirely online. Discussions of the Russian and Soviet perspectives will be augmented by a comparative analysis of the cinema from other authoritarian regimes (in particular, the Third Reich). The participation requirement for the class includes watching all movies selected by the organizers and intensive discussion of their content.

    • 31405 Seminar
      Authoritarian Politics (Ekaterina Schulmann)
      Schedule: Mo 18-20 (Class starts on: 2025-10-13)
      Location: Garystr.55/121 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)

      Comments

      This seminar studies authoritarian political systems by focusing on their decision-making strategies and mechanisms and the role of legislation in maintaining control. Drawing from political science, law theory, political history and sociology, participants will analyze how autocratic regimes utilize bureaucratic machinery and legislative changes to enforce policies and suppress dissent. To understand that, basic theories of political systems as decision-making and decision-implementation mechanisms will be explored. Essential to the course is the understanding of the agent-principal theory, commonly applied in administrative and policy studies to analyze situations where the agent may have incentives that differ from those of the principal, leading to potential conflicts of interest or agency problems. Institutions in non-democracies will be studied from the structural functionalist approach. Additionally, the course will explore bureaucratic history, the concept of the authoritarian international and its implications for post-Soviet spaces.

    • 31407 Seminar
      Repressions and political control (Guram Kvaratskhelia)
      Schedule: Mi 16-18 (Class starts on: 2025-10-15)
      Location: Ihnestr.21/E Seminarraum (Ihnestr. 21)

      Comments

      This seminar examines state repression as one of several strategies of political control used to shape public opinion, enforce compliance, and ensure regime stability. Adopting a comparative approach, the course traces the historical emergence, underlying logic, consequences, and long-term legacies of tools such as political violence, indoctrination, and propaganda. We begin by defining core concepts and exploring how states have expanded and deepened their power over time. Next, we analyze the use of political violence, legal authority, surveillance systems, emergency powers, and policing to maintain order and subdue political challenges. We then turn to media control and censorship, education and propaganda as instruments of indoctrination, and the mechanics of political persuasion, with a particular focus on authoritarian contexts. Finally, we investigate how social movements might challenge entrenched authority and examine the interplay between violent repression and societal resistance. To attain a certificate of participation, students have to submit one response paper (at least 1500 words) – individually or in pairs – on a weekly topic.

    • 31503 Seminar
      New Cold War. State Models and Ressource Conflicts (Mihai Varga)
      Schedule: DO 10-12 (Class starts on: 2025-10-16)
      Location: Ihnestr.22/UG 5 Seminarraum (Ihnestr. 22)

      Comments

      The class discusses the debate over competing socio-economic development models and the claim that there is a ‘new Cold War’ dividing the West from Russia and China and catching much of Eastern Europe, the Southern Caucasus, and Central Asia in a struggle between these power centers. The class focuses on the competing energy and transport infrastructure projects developing from the Caspian to the Black Sea and their implications for ‘green transition’ and other developmental plans; how the European Union engages with Moldova, Ukraine, and the Southern Caucasian and Central Asian countries; the ‘weaponization’ of trade routes and energy infrastructure following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine; and Eastern European strategic infrastructural initiatives such as the Three Seas Initiatives. The goal of the class is to familiarize students with a grand current debate and encourage them to develop their own research interests.