Central and Eastern Europe in European and Global Context(SP370)
| Course Code | Course Name | Semester | Theory | Practice | Lab | Credit | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP370 | Central and Eastern Europe in European and Global Context | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Prerequisites | |
| Admission Requirements |
| Language of Instruction | English |
| Course Type | Elective |
| Course Level | Bachelor Degree |
| Course Instructor(s) | Melek Aylin özoflu melekaylinzoflu@gmail.com (Email) |
| Assistant | |
| Objective | This course explores the political, economic, social, and cultural dynamics of Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) within the broader context of European integration and globalization. Through an interdisciplinary approach, students will reach an understanding of the historical development of CEECs, the legacy of communism, post-Soviet politics, the political transition of CEECs, contemporary challenges, and prospects of CEECs in the context of their interactions with the key international actors including the European Union (EU), United States (US), Russia and China. The course is interdisciplinary: it draws on history, international relations, identity politics, political economy and geopolitics. |
| Content | Introduction to Central and Eastern Europe, Imperialism and Historical Legacy, Political Systems in Central and Eastern Europe, Post-Communist Transition, Return to Europe: The EU’s “Big Bang” Expansion, Economic Integration, Regional Cooperations, Current Issues in Central and Eastern Europe |
| Course Learning Outcomes |
By the end of the course, students will be able to: • Understand the historical, political, economic and geopolitical characteristics of the Central and Eastern European region. • Analyze the political systems and processes in Central European Countries in the aftermath of the post-communist transition. • Evaluate the economic development and integration of Central and Eastern Europe into the European Union and the global economy. • Assess the post-Soviet social and cultural transformations of Central and Eastern Europe in the context of globalization. • Critically engage with key debates and current issues shaping Central and Eastern European politics, society |
| Teaching and Learning Methods | Presentations, Homeworks, Discussions |
| References |
Hroch, Miroslav. "Nationalism and national movements: comparing the past and the present of Central and Eastern Europe." Nations and Nationalism 2, no. 1 (1996): 35-44. Fagan, Adam, and Petr Kopecky, eds. The Routledge Handbook of East European Politics. Abingdon: Routledge, 2018. White, S., Batt, J., and Lewis, P. G. (eds.) (2013) Developments in Central and East European Politics 5, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Rothschild, J., and Wingfield, N. M. (1999) Return to Diversity: A Political History of East Central Europe Since World War II, Oxford: Oxford University Press Kornai, Janos. The socialist system: The political economy of communism. Princeton University Press, 1992. Fowkes, Ben. The post-communist era: change and continuity in Eastern Europe. Springer, 1999. Sachs, Jeffrey. "The economic transformation of Eastern Europe: The case of Poland." Economics of Planning 25 Papadimitriou, Dimitris, Dorina Baltag, and Neculai-Cristian Surubaru, eds. The European Union and Central and Eastern Europe: Assessing Performance. Routledge, 2018. Schimmelfennig, Frank, and Ulrich Sedelmeier. "The Europeanization of Eastern Europe: the external incentives model revisited." Journal of European public policy 27, no. 6 (2020): 814-833. Papadimitriou, Dimitris, Dorina Baltag, and Neculai-Cristian Surubaru, eds. The European Union and Central and Eastern Europe: Assessing Performance. Routledge, 2018. Schimmelfennig, Frank, and Ulrich Sedelmeier. "The Europeanization of Eastern Europe: the external incentives model revisited." Journal of European public policy 27, no. 6 (2020): 814-833. Pridham, Geoffrey. "Patterns of Europeanization and transnational party co-operation: Party development in Central and Eastern Europe." In Party Development and Democratic Change in Post-Communist Europe, pp. 179-198. Routledge, 2024. Jancošekovà, Viktória. "Regional cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe and its implications for the EU." European view 16, no. 2 (2017): 231-238. Braun, Mats. "Postfunctionalism, identity and the Visegrad group." JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies 58, no. 4 (2020): 925-940. Schmidt, Andrea. "Friends forever? The role of the Visegrad Group and European integration." Politics in Central Europe 12, no. 3 (2016): 113-140. Soloveva, Polina. "The Evolution of the US Policy in Central and Eastern Europe Within NATO." PhD diss., National Research University Higher School of Economics, 2021. Ostrowski, Wojciech. "The twenty years’ crisis of European energy security: Central and Eastern Europe and the US." Geopolitics 27, no. 3 (2022): 875-897. Schüller, Margot. "The European Union's response to the Belt and Road Initiative." In The Belt and Road Initiative in Asia, Africa, and Europe, pp. 142-155. Routledge, 2022. Kizeková, Alica. "China’s engagements with Central and Eastern Europe: costs and benefits in the era of the Belt and Road Initiative." In Research Handbook on the Belt and Road Initiative, pp. 323-331. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021. Conley, Heather A., James Mina, Ruslan Stefanov, and Martin Vladimirov. The Kremlin Playbook: Understanding Russian Influence in Central and Eastern Europe. Rowman & Littlefield, 2016. Nizhnikau, Ryhor, and Arkady Moshes. "The war in Ukraine, the EU’s geopolitical awakening and implications for the “contested neighbourhood”." Policy Studies (2024): 1-18.Lorenz, Astrid, and Lisa H. Anders. Illiberal trends and anti-EU politics in East Central Europe. Springer Nature, 2021. Enyedi, Zsolt. "Right-wing authoritarian innovations in Central and Eastern Europe." East European Politics 36, no. 3 (2020): 363-377. Anna Vachudova, Milada. "Ethnopopulism and democratic backsliding in Central Europe." East European Politics 36, no. 3 (2020): 318-340. Santana, Andrés, Piotr Zagórski, and José Rama. "At odds with Europe: explaining populist radical right voting in Central and Eastern Europe." East European Politics 36, no. 2 (2020): 288-309 Varga, Mihai, and Aron Buzogány. "The foreign policy of populists in power: Contesting liberalism in Poland and Hungary." Geopolitics 26, no. 5 (2021): 1442-1463. Krastev, Ivan. "The refugee crisis and the return of the east-west divide in Europe." Slavic Review 76, no. 2 (2017): 291-296. Koß, Michael, and Astrid Séville. "Politicized transnationalism: The Visegrád countries in the refugee crisis." Politics and Governance 8, no. 1 (2020): 95-106. Drazanová, Lenka, and Andrew Geddes. "Attitudes towards Ukrainian refugees and governmental responses in 8 European countries." EU Responses to the Large-Scale Refugee Displacement 135 (2023). Minkenberg, Michael. "The European radical right and xenophobia in West and East: Trends, patterns and challenges." Right-wing extremism in Europe: Country analyses, counter-strategies and labor-market oriented exit strategies (2013): 9-33. |
Theory Topics
| Week | Weekly Contents |
|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to Central and Eastern Europe |
| 2 | Imperialism and Nationalism |
| 3 | Historical Legacies of the CEECs |
| 4 | Political Systems in the CEECs |
| 5 | Post-Communist Transition of the CEECs |
| 6 | The Return to Europe: Big Bang Enlargement of the EU |
| 7 | Economic Integration of the CEECs |
| 8 | Regional Cooperation among the CEECs |
| 9 | Central Eastern Europe in Global Affairs I. |
| 10 | Central Eastern Europe in Global Affairs II. |
| 11 | Contemporary Challenges in the CEECs |
| 12 | Contemporary Challenges in the CEECs II |
| 13 | Social and Cultural Transformations |
| 14 | General Reflections on the Politics of the CEEC |
Practice Topics
| Week | Weekly Contents |
|---|
Contribution to Overall Grade
| Number | Contribution | |
|---|---|---|
| Contribution of in-term studies to overall grade | 0 | 0 |
| Contribution of final exam to overall grade | 0 | 0 |
| Toplam | 0 | 0 |
In-Term Studies
| Number | Contribution | |
|---|---|---|
| Assignments | 0 | 0 |
| Presentation | 1 | 20 |
| Midterm Examinations (including preparation) | 1 | 30 |
| Project | 0 | 0 |
| Laboratory | 0 | 0 |
| Other Applications | 0 | 0 |
| Quiz | 0 | 0 |
| Term Paper/ Project | 0 | 0 |
| Portfolio Study | 0 | 0 |
| Reports | 0 | 0 |
| Learning Diary | 0 | 0 |
| Thesis/ Project | 0 | 0 |
| Seminar | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 1 | 50 |
| Make-up | 0 | 0 |
| Toplam | 3 | 100 |
| No | Program Learning Outcomes | Contribution | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 1 | Understanding the major theories, concepts, foundations, and methodologies used in the study of politics. | X | ||||
| 2 | Identifying the structure and operation of the political system in Turkey and other political systems in the world. | X | ||||
| 3 | Identifying and gathering information from credible primary and secondary sources; analyzing and synthesizing the acquired knowledge. | X | ||||
| 4 | Generating and testing empirically hypotheses about political processes, institutions, mechanisms and relationships. | X | ||||
| 5 | Designing, conducting and interpreting the results of original research in accordance with the scientific and ethical principles by using basic research methods. | X | ||||
| 6 | Showing awareness and sensivity towards issues related to democracy, human rights and social peace. | X | ||||
| 7 | Appraising the sources of societal conflict and how they can be resolved by political means. | X | ||||
| 8 | Examining critically the nature of change in the global political community, and the complex character of processes such as globalization. | X | ||||
| 9 | Taking a role in a teamwork in political science and general fields of other related disciplines. | X | ||||
| 10 | Following publications in foreign languages and communicating with the colleagues in the international environment by using French which is the language of education in Galatasaray University and English, the compulsory foreign language. | X | ||||
| 11 | Using required level of information and communication technologies. | X | ||||
| Activities | Number | Period | Total Workload |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class Hours | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Working Hours out of Class | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Assignments | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Presentation | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midterm Examinations (including preparation) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Project | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Laboratory | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Applications | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Final Examinations (including preparation) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quiz | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Term Paper/ Project | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Portfolio Study | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reports | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Learning Diary | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Thesis/ Project | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seminar | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Make-up | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yıl Sonu | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hazırlık Yıl Sonu | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hazırlık Bütünleme | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total Workload | 0 | ||
| Total Workload / 25 | 0.00 | ||
| Credits ECTS | 0 | ||