Participation 10%

Presentation 40% (2500 words) Learning Outcomes 1-5

Essay 50% (3500 words) Learning Outcomes 1-5

The presentation and essay will provide the opportunity to demonstrate all five learning outcomes through focused questions that in each case will require knowledge of the practical implications of the subject matter at hand. The presentation and essay will require you to demonstrate the reading of relevant texts and the use of other appropriate materials to develop an analysis of the relevant issue.

This module is divided into three parts. It starts with an introduction to relevant theoretical approaches from International Political Economy which will be applied in the second and third part of this module in order to analyse the current and evolving Political Economy of Eurasia and Russia, and to analyse how energy and natural resources constitute an important factor not only in economic policy-making in wider Eurasia and Russia, but also in terms of the role and interests of international political and economic state and non-state actors in Eurasia. The second part of the module explicitly deals with the key challenges the economies and energy/natural resource sectors of Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia and the Caucasus are faced with, and how Eurasian economies are responding to these. Key issues in this context are the relationship between the economy and politics as well as foreign policy-making; economic modernisation; governance and corruption; regional economic integration and the role of the Eurasian Union. The module concludes with an analysis of energy security in Eurasia and Russia which also addresses the role of China and the European Union.

This module will be based on flexible learning materials delivered using the Blackboard virtual learning environment and selected readings provided in (a) a limited number of course texts (b) e-reading packs of selected articles and book chapters or (c) e-books, e-journal articles and online news coverage.

The Blackboard environment will provide a context for:
- Tutors to highlight key issues, problems and debates for discussion.
- Learners to undertake a range of structured activities which will involve, for example, problem-solving, literature search, engagement with group discussions, and scenarios.
- Tutors to provide guidance and advice.
- Learners to access guidance on on-line resources available via the web and the university's
e-resources pages.

The readings will provide:
- An essential knowledge base for the module which will be available to all learners.
- A resource for coursework and all assessed assignments.
- A point of departure for the structured activities set for learners.

Learners will be expected to engage fully and critically with the resources and activities that are
provided and to engage in detailed discussion with tutors and other learners. Tutors will give online academic support and guidance to learners throughout the lifetime of the module and will respond on a timely basis.

The module will run over 16 weeks; the latter will include 4 weeks set aside for learners to complete the assessed work.

University Library e-brary resources
Blackboard
Internet Access

Cooley, A. (2012) Great Games, Local Rules: The New Power Contest in Central Asia, New York: Oxford University Press.
Hale, H. (2014) Patronal Politics: Eurasian Regime Dynamics in Comparative Perspective, New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kuzemko, C. and A. Belyi (2012) Dynamics of Energy Governance in Europe and Russia, London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Molchanov, M. and T. Shaw (2015) Eurasian Regionalisms and Russian Foreign Policy, London: Ashgate.
Ozcan, G. (2015) The Political Economy of Central Asia, London: Routledge.

1. CRITICALLY UNDERSTAND THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF EURASIA AND RUSSIA.
[Knowledge and Understanding; Enquiry]

2. CRITICALLY UNDERSTAND ECONOMIC POLICY-MAKING IN EURASIA AND RUSSIA, AND THE LINKS BETWEEN ECONOMICS AND DOMESTIC AS WELL AS INTERNATIONAL POLITICS.
[Knowledge and Understanding; Enquiry]

3. CRITICALLY UNDERSTAND THE ECONOMIC HISTORY OF RUSSIA AND WIDER EURASIAN REGION, AND BE ABLE TO ANALYSE CURRENT KEY EVENTS AND ISSUES IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE COUNTRIES IN EURASIA AS WELL AS WITH EXTERNAL ACTORS SUCH AS CHINA AND THE EUROPEAN UNION.
[Analysis; Learning; Reflection]

4. CRITICALLY ASSESS EURASIA’S AND RUSSIA’S ROLE IN A WIDER ENERGY SECURITY ORDER.
[Analysis; Application]

5. SYSTEMATICALLY UNDERSTAND THE ABOVE (1-4) ACQUIRED THROUGH ONLINE DISCUSSION, DEBATE, TEXTUAL AND DATA ANALYSIS.
[Communication; Reflection; Problem Solving]