Political Science 1521 Ron Linden 648-7258
Fall Term 2006 (2071) 4436 Posvar Hall
TH 1:00-2:15 Office Hrs: Thurs. 2:30-3:30
linden@pitt.edu and by appointment
EAST EUROPE IN WORLD POLITICS
The states of Central and Southeast Europe are undergoing a transformation of their domestic political and economic systems and their international orientation. In doing so, they are dealing with the legacy of more than forty years of communist rule, the upheaval involved in changing political and economic systems, and the expectations of their new European and American allies. This course is aimed at exploring the background and dynamics of these challenges and the paths these states have taken.
The course will begin by moving quickly over the pre-World War II history of these states and will then discuss the establishment and workings of the communist systems in the region. We will spend time on the revolutions of 1989 and on the creation of democratic and market institutions that has followed. We will also consider the powerful role of resurgent nationalism especially its most tragic manifestation, the wars in what was formerly Yugoslavia.
A special theme throughout the course will be the region’s involvement in world politics; that is, the way it has affected and been affected by its international political, economic and security environment. Thus we will examine the impact in both directions of these states’ movement to join NATO and the European Union.
Expectations. It will be enormously helpful for a student in this course to have had a course on twentieth century European or East European history, Soviet/Russian politics, history or foreign policy or international relations, but these are not required. I will be happy to suggest additional readings to help students fill in gaps in their background knowledge.
It is expected that students will keep up with the reading, especially as it is not a burdensome amount, and that they attend class regularly. There will be a midterm exam, a final exam and a term paper. More information about these will be provided during the term.
Readings for the course take several forms.
At the bookstore. These items are available for purchase:
Joseph Rothschild and Nancy Wingfield, Return to Diversity, Third Edition,
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2000)
A Course Reader (articles marked Reader in the syllabus).
On Reserve at Hillman Library
One copy of Return to Diversity, as well as originals of the material copied into the Course Reader are available in hard copy on Reserve. In addition, electronic copies of some items marked "Electronic" in the syllabus are on Hillman electronic reserve. For those electronic items not available through electronic reserve, use method 1) or 2) below.
Electronic
copies of items (marked "Electronic").
These can be accessed in a number of ways:
1) Through Pittcat: Use an authorized Pitt-linked computer to get to Pittcat. Click on "Search by Author/Title/Subject," highlight "Journal Title", then put in the title of the journal, e.g. Problems of Post-Communism, Journal of Democracy, etc. In the search results click on the journal title (if there is more than one, use the one showing the availability of "electronic resources"). In the Long Record form, click on "Access for Pitt users...". That will bring you to the EBSCO page for that journal. Click or scroll to the year and date of the issue needed, then the article, which can be opened and downloaded in HTML or PDF format.
2) Through Courseweb: From Courseweb (http://courseweb.pitt.edu/ ) click on this course. Electronic items are linked through the "Course Documents" tab.
3) Through Hillman Library: Go to Pittcat, click on "Course Reserves" and then search under my name. When the course comes up, use the password I will give you in class to access a list of items available. For the electronically available articles you can click on the one you want to open it.
Topics
August 29 Introduction to the Course and the Region
31
Reading: Gale Stokes, Three Eras of
Political Change in
Eastern Europe, Chapter 1 (Reader)
Sept. 5, 7 Historical and Ideological Roots and Branches
12, 14
Richard Hudelson, The Rise and Fall
of
Communism, pp. 1-70 (Reader)
Sept. 19, 21 The Establishment of Communist Power
Reading: Rothschild and Wingfield, pp. 75-123
Sept. 26, 28 Challenges and Changes in Communist Power
Reading: Rothschild and Wingfield, pp. 125-90
Oct. 3, 5 The Search for a New Formula in East Europe and the USSR
Reading: Rothschild and Wingfield, pp. 191-226
Oct. 10. 12 The Revolutions of 1989: Domestic and International Factors
Reading: Rothschild and Wingfield, pp. 227-63
OCTOBER 17 MIDTERM EXAM
Oct. 19 A New East Europe in a New World
Reading: Rothschild and Wingfield, pp. 265-302
Oct. 24, 26 The Tragedy of Yugoslavia, and After
31
Reading: Stokes, Chapter 7 (Reader)
Matthew Longo, "The HDZ'z Embattled Mandate: Divergent Leadership Divided Electorate, 2003- 2006," Problems of Post-Communism (May/June,2006), Vol. 53., No. 3. (Electronic)
Aleksandar Mitic, "Serbia: The Silent Treatment," Transitions Online (5 May 2006). (Electronic)
Igor Jovanovic, "Serbia and the EU: Promising Mladic," Transitions Online (10 April 2006). (Electronic)
James Evans, Montenegro Chooses, History Today (May, 2006). (Electronic)
Eric Gordy, "Serbia After Djindjic: War Crimes,
Organized Crime, and Trust in Public Institutions,"Problems of Post-Communism, Vol. 51, Issue 3 (May/June, 2004). (Electronic)
Nov. 2, 7, 9 The United States and Europe in the Region:
Bosnia and Kosovo
Reading: Marius Søberg, "Empowering Local Elites in
Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Dayton Decade," Problems of Post-Communism (May/June, 2006), Vol. 53., No. 3. (Electronic).
Mirna Skrbic and T. K. Vogel, "Bosnia: Constitutional Reform Falters," Transitions Online (27 April 2006). (Electronic)
Lenard J. Cohen, "The Balkans Tens Years After:
From Dayton to
the Edge of Democracy," Current
History, Vol. 104, No. 685 (Nov., 2005). (Reader)
Fatmire Terdevci, "Kosovo: Long Division," Transitions Online (9 May 2006). (Electronic)
Misha Glenny, "Backsliding In The Balkans,"
The Nation, Vol. 280, Issue 14 (April 11, 2005)
(Electronic)
Nov. 14, 16 The United States and Europe in the Region:
21 The Enlargement of the EU and NATO
Reading: Heather Grabbe, "What the New Member States Bring Into the European Union," in
European Union Enlargement edited by Neill Nugent (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004),
pp. 70-83. (Reader)
Jiri Pehe, "Consolidating Free Government in the New EU," Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, "Beyond New Borders," and Zoltan Barany, "NATO's Peaceful Advance," in Journal of Democracy, Vol. 15, No. 1 (January), 2004, pp. 36-76. (Electronic)
Gerald Knaus and Marcus Cox, "The Helsinki Moment in South Eastern Europe," in Journal of Democracy, Vol. 16, Issue 1 (Jan., 2005).
(Electronic)
Nov. 28,30 The United States and Europe in the Region: Between Iraq
and a Hard Place
Reading: Ray Taras, "Poland's Diplomatic Misadventure
in Iraq," and Mieczyslaw Boduszynski and Kristina Balalovska "Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Croatia, Macedonia, and the Battle over Article 98," Problems of Post-Communism, Vol. 51, No. 1 (Jan.-Feb.) 2004, pp. 3-30. (Electronic)
Dec. 5,7 The Future of Central and Southeastern Europe
DECEMBER 15 FINAL EXAM 2:00-3:50 PM
Students with disabilities:
If you have a disability for which
you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact
both your instructor and Disability Resources and Services (DRS), 216 William
Pitt Union, 412-648-7890 or 412-383-7355 (TTY) as early as possible in the
term. DRS will verify your
disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course.