EIRSS 2009 – Module II
Empirical findings and case studies (21 hours)
The lectures and seminars that make up this module will focus on evidence produced by empirical inquiries into EU-Russian relations. This module allows participants to deepen their understanding of EU-Russian relations by following in-depth analysis of concrete cases or policy problems. Specifically, the lectures and seminars will focus on:
- the contemporary Russian political discourse on Europe; the articulation of conflict issues (visa regime, regional cooperation, symmetry and reciprocity, etc.) across the entire political spectrum (Ass. Prof. Alexander Astrov);
- the negotiation and eventual re-negotiation of the PCA; the Northern Dimension as a ‘microcosm’ of EU-Russia relations (Dr. Hiski Haukkala);
- energy policy; tension between the strategic level of EU-Russian relations and the Northern European EU-Russia interface (Dr. Pami Aalto);
- the applicability of the constructivist/poststructuralist paradigm to the study of contemporary Russia; the potential of the constructivist approach to illuminate the peculiar nature of relations between Russia and the Baltic states in the overall context of European integration; a poststructuralist interpretation of the significance of sovereign democracy for the global debate on universal values (Dr. Viatcheslav Morozov);
- cases exemplifying the recent Baltic-Russian ’memory wars’ (i.e. the ’Bronze Soldier’ crisis in Estonia; the 60th anniversary celebrations of the end of WWII in Moscow) and the recent war in Georgia, as well as their broader implications for the EU-Russia relations today (Dr. Maria Mälksoo);
- border disputes along the EU-Russia border; the impact of Schengen regulations on Baltic-Russian relations; the Baltic states as an energy transit corridor between Russia and the EU; EU-Russian interaction in the „shared neighbourhood”; assessment of progress under the four Common Spaces (Dr. Eiki Berg).