210090 VO BAK15: SpezialVO East European Studies (2022S)

The Global Financial Crisis of 2008/20 and the COVID-19 crisis since 2020 have posed significant challenges to countries in Eastern Europe. In many countries, the Financial Crisis has ushered in political changes – such as the rise of populism and democratic backsliding. It has also put the region´s economic models – often heavily dependent on Western investors – under strain. The COVID-19 crisis has shown that hospitals are notoriously underfunded, and that there is a shortage of medical personal that has been reinforced by the free movement of labor in the EU. Moreover, as populations do not trust governments, crisis management often fails. Both the financial crisis and the COVID-crisis have also led to increasing geopolitical tensions among the EU, China and Russia over the influence in the region. The lecture course will take stock of these recent developments, exploring the vulnerabilities of countries in the region, and strategies how they cope with the challenges stemming from the multiple crises.