Module Identifier IP31820  
Module Title RUSSIAN SECURITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY  
Academic Year 2006/2007  
Co-ordinator Dr Jennifer G Mathers  
Semester Semester 1  
Other staff Mr Iraklis Oikonomou  
Course delivery Lecture   14 Hours. (14 x 1 hour)  
  Seminars / Tutorials   8 Hours. (8 x 1 hour)  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Exam2 Hours  60%
Semester Assessment Essay: 1 x 2,500 words  40%
Supplementary Exam Students may, subject to Faculty approval, have the opportunity to resit this module. For further clarification please contact the Academic Administrator in the Department of International Politics. 

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of this module students should be able to:

- Analyse the impact of Gorbachev on Russian security

- Analyse the major security debates which have taken place in Russia since 1992

- Discuss the security issues raised by Russia's wars against Chechnya

- Consider the contribution which peacekeeping makes to Russia's security

- Discuss the problems associated with the reform of the armed forces and the conversion of the defence industry in Russia   

- Consider the impact of 9/11 and the 'war on terror' on Russia's security and security policy

Brief description

This module provides an examination of a number of internal and external components which affect Russia's search for security in the post-Soviet period.

Aims

The aim of this module is to examine a range of contemporary security concepts and issues from a Russian perspective.

Content

This module begins by considering the legacy of the Gorbachev leadership, both in terms of the security concepts of New Political thinking and the impact of the collapse of Communist rule and the breakup of the USSR on the security of the Russian Federation. Students will discuss the debates within Russian policymaking and academic circles about the meaning of security in the post-Cold War world. Attention will be devoted to possible threats to Russian security from within (for example, challenges to Russia's territorial integrity such as that posed by Chechnya) as well as those which arise from outside the country's borders. Students will consider the nature and extent of Russian involvement in peacekeeping within the Commonwealth of Independent States and further afield. The issue of NATO enlargement and the future of arms control will be examined from the Russian perspective, and students will discuss the future of Russia's armed forces and its defence industry. Students will consider the impact of the events of 11 September 2001 and the 'war on terror' on Russia's security and security policy.

Transferable skills

Students taking this module will have the opportunity to develop and practice a wide range of transferable skills. In lectures students will develop listening and notetaking skills. In preparation for seminars students will develop their reading, notetaking and analytical skills. In seminars students will be required to do short (3-minute) presentations to the rest of the group to develop their presentation skills. In addition seminar discussions will help students to develop their listening, explaining and debating skills, as well as team work and problem solving. The essay which the students will write will encourage them to develop their independent research, writing and IT skills. The examination will test students' analytical and writing skills under time constraints.

10 ECTS Credits

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Pavel Baev The Russian Army in a Time of Troubles
Vladimir Baranovsky Russia and Europe: The Emerging Security Agenda

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6