210123 SE M9: East European Studies (2022W)

Dependency theories have emerged in Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s to make sense of the unequal effects of global economic relations. Studying the terms of trade, sectoral inequalities, and the main economic actors of their time – most importantly Multinational Firms - these theories draw attention to the structural asymmetries of the world economy, as manifested in core-periphery relations. While the focus on dependency has since come somewhat out of fashion, its research agenda keeps inspiring analyses of international inequalities. In Europe, the eastern enlargement of the European Union (EU) and the re-emergence of core-periphery relations in the wake of the eurozone crisis have inspired political economy analyses that draw heavily on dependency theory. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian war in Ukraine have highlighted situations of dependency – on migrant care work and on fossil fuels – that have not been part of earlier dependency theories.
This course seeks to evaluate in how far the analytical framework of dependency theories can be useful to understand contemporary core-periphery relations and situations of dependency in Europe. To this aim, we will first review the classical dependency debate, as well as more recent reformulations and applications. We then move on to concrete analyses of core-periphery relations in Europe, and to issues of energy dependency and care chains. The course ends with a workshop where we will discuss first ideas of students’ research papers.

Aims and Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students should have a basic understanding of the dependency debate, including its advantages and shortcomings, its applications to contemporary Europe, and possible extensions. The course seeks to enhance students’ critical-analytical thinking as well as basic academic skills – i.e. writing, presenting and providing constructive feedback.