Kurzus nemzetközi vendég- és részidős hallgatóknak

Kar

Pedagógiai és Pszichológiai Kar

Szervezet

PPK Pszichológiai Intézet

Kód

PSZM21-104:22

Cím

The psychology of Putin's warfare

Tervezett félév

Mindkét

ECTS

4

Nyelv

en

Oktatás célja

Aim of the course Aim of the course: This course approaches the current war in Ukraine from a multidisciplinary approach (psychology, political science, economy, international relations). The course will analyze the background of the conflict as well as its escalation. The attack of Russia against Ukraine in 2014 and 2022, and the ongoing hybrid warfare made it blatantly clear that Russia’s efforts in Europe cannot be described anymore with the concept of “soft power.” The goal of Russian foreign policy – not only in the post-Soviet space but beyond as well – is to invoke fear instead of raising sympathy. This fits a general trend among authoritarian superpowers who are increasingly using new instruments and modern technology to change the behavior of other countries. “Sharp power” is an approach to international affairs that typically involves efforts at censorship, coercion, misinformation, and the use of manipulation to sap the integrity of independent institutions. In line with this approach, Russian foreign policy and geopolitical efforts increasingly aim at undermining democratic institutions – especially in the “near abroad,” but also in the Western World. This is especially true for Central and Eastern Europe. This region belonged to the sphere of influence of the European Union and now mainly consists of countries that belong to the Western alliances (EU and NATO). Using the works of leading scholars and experts in this field as our own research, we aim to reveal the economic, political, and informational dimensions of sharp power influence and its channels, patterns, goals, and functions. At the same time, we will also draw the limits of such influence, analyzing the reasons for the failures of Russia in some cases to change the behavior of political leaders in Central Eastern Europe – for example, when it comes to the EU sanctions policy. The impact of the Ukraine crisis on the relationship between Central Eastern European countries will be also discussed and analyzed. Given that most of the contemporary practices of interfering into political and policy processes are not new, we will discuss the historical roots and continuities for the modus operandi of influence (e.g. the “active operations” of the Soviet Union and then of the Russian Federation). Based on our assumption that mainstream political forces can impose a more substantial influence on political processes than players on the fringes, we will examine the inter-governmental, diplomatic, and business relations between CEE countries (mainly EU member states) and the Russian Federation. Given that several political and policy processes are driven by leaders’ willingness to gain more popularity, we will analyze the patterns of public attitudes towards Russia in several EU Member States (with a special focus on CEE) and vice versa, Russian public opinion towards EU Member States (plus the United States). As historical legacy plays a crucial role in shaping contemporary relations with Russia, we aim to analyze the historical ties between CEE countries and Russia. Given that we will discuss contemporary political tendencies and their pragmatic implications during the course, beyond the “crystallized” academic literature,  we will read and discuss think-tank reports, policy papers, and even critical commentary in the press, interviews, and videos to get a deeper understanding on the tendencies of the influence of Russia. Also, we will have at least two online guest lecturers who will contribute to discussing these topics. Learning outcome, competences knowledge: attitude: skills: responsibility/ autonomy:

Tantárgy tartalma

Content of the course Topic of the course 1). Introduction. Topics of the course Russia and the West 2) Russia as an informational autocracy (see the debate on the Budapest forum. Russia as a “postmodern dictatorship” or an “informational autocracy” .The legitimizing role of disinformation and conspiracy theories in Russia. Guriev, S., & Treisman, D. (2019). Informational autocrats. Journal of economic perspectives, 33(4), 100-127. Pomerantsev, P., & Weiss, M. (2014). The menace of unreality: How the Kremlin weaponizes information, culture and money. Interpreter. Yablokov, I. (2018). Fortress Russia: Conspiracy theories in the post-Soviet world. John Wiley & Sons. 3) Online asynchron:  Diplomatic and economic (incl. energy) ties between Russia and the West (and Central and Eastern European counties in particular) after the fall of the Soviet Union: an overview (incl. essential agreements such as the Budapest Memorandum) until the Ukrainian War Bugajski, J. (2020). Political parties of Eastern Europe: a guide to politics in the post-communist era. Routledge. Deák, A. G., Szabó, J., & Weiner, C. (2022). New Dynamics of Great-Power Energy Politics in South-Eastern Europe: The EU versus the US and Russia?. Politologicky Casopis, 29(1), 32-49. Orenstein, M. A., & Kelemen, R. D. (2017). Trojan horses in EU foreign policy. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 55(1), 87-102. Online asynchrony: The concept dimensions, and tools of sharp power: economic, political, informational Walker, C., Kalathil, S., & Ludwig, J. (2020). The cutting edge of sharp power. Journal of Democracy, 31(1), 124-137. Walker, C., & Ludwig, J. (2021). A Full-Spectrum Response to Sharp Power. https://www.ned.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/A-Full-Spectrum-Response-to-Sharp-Power-The-Vulnerabilities-and-Strengths-of-Open-Societies-Walker-Ludwig-June-2021.pdf Galeotti, M. (2016). Hybrid, ambiguous, and non-linear? How new is Russia’s ’new way of war’?. Small Wars & Insurgencies, 27(2), 282-301. Investments in Central Eastern Europe with a political purpose or side effects: “Corrosive Capital.” Belton, C. (2020). Putin's people: how the KGB took back Russia and then took on the West. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Hála, M. (2020). A New Invisible Hand. Authoritiarian Corrosive Capital https://www.ned.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/New-Invisible-Hand-Authoritarian-Corrosive-Capital-Repurposing-Democracy-Hala.pdf Public opinion in Central and Eastern Europe towards Russia – before and after the 2022 invasion Van Herpen, M. H. (2015). Putin's Propaganda Machine: Soft Power and Russian Foreign Policy. Rowman & Littlefield. Topical Polls of Pew, Ipsos, Gallup, Eurobarometer. Levada Authoritarian inflation: disinformation, influence operations and the impact of Russia on the West Krekó, P. (2021). How Authoritarians Inflate Their Image. Journal of Democracy, 32(3), 109-123. Bechev, D. (2017). Rival power. Yale University Press. Shekhovtsov, A. (2017). Russia and the Western far right: Tango Noir. Routledge. Snegovaya, M. (2022). Fellow travelers or Trojan horses? Similarities across pro-Russian parties’ electorates in Europe. Party Politics, 28(3), 409-418. The Russian invasion and its impact The psychology of dictatorship and Putin’s Russia Kimmage, M. (2018). The People's Authoritarian: How Russian Society Created Putin. Foreign Aff., 97, 176. Greene, S. A., & Robertson, G. B. (2019). Putin v. the People: The Perilous Politics of a Divided Russia. Yale University Press. Russia and Ukraine: evolving antagonism, stereotypes and prejudices. Kuzio, T. (2019). Russian stereotypes and myths of Ukraine and Ukrainians and why Novorossiya failed. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 52(4), 297–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postcomstud.2019.10.007 Grigoryev, D., Fiske, S. T., & Batkhina, A. (2019). Mapping Ethnic Stereotypes and Their Antecedents in Russia: The Stereotype Content Model. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01643 Hagendoorn, L., Drogendijk, R., Tumanov, S., & Hraba, J. (1998). Inter-ethnic preferences and ethnic hierarchies in the former soviet union. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 22(4), 483–503. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-1767(98)00020-0 The social psychology of mass conflicts and genocide Quénivet, N. (2022). The Conflict in Ukraine and Genocide. Journal of International Peacekeeping, 25(2), 141-154. Newman, L. S., & Erber, R. (Eds.). (2002). Understanding genocide: The social psychology of the Holocaust. Oxford University Press. The traumatic experiences of war Jawaid, A., Gomolka, M., & Timmer, A. (2022). Neuroscience of trauma and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Nature Human Behaviour, 1-2. 12. Guest lecturer: the long-term impact of the war on the Russian and Ukranian societies Learning activities, learning methods

Számonkérés és értékelés

Evaluation of outcomes Learning requirements, mode of evaluation and criteria of evaluation: Requirements: written exam (test+essays) at the end of the course OR a 5-pages long paper (upon discussion) Mode of evaluation: Criteria of evaluation:

Irodalomjegyzék

Reading list Compulsory reading list See topics of the course Recommended reading list

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