210151 SE M9: East European Studies (2018W)

To have an opportunity to choose their representatives in decision-making assemblies is usually seen as the ultimate symbol of democracy. In this regard the presence of a political alternative, e.g. ‘opposition,’ is important, if not crucial. The roles of both elections and opposition in non-democratic contexts, however, have proven to be different from those in democracies. This course explores what role(s) these institutions play in non-democracies and how this deviation affects regime stability or change.

The course starts with a review of literature on ‘electoral authoritarianism,’ ‘color revolutions’ and authoritarian stability. The purpose of this is to familiarize students with key theoretical approaches and debates on the role of elections in this type of context. This will entail critical engagement with academic work on how elections contribute to strengthening authoritarian regimes as well as studies focused on elections as an instrument of democratization. It will also feature research specifically problematizing the concept of ‘opposition’ and its role in autocratic consolidation processes and regime survival beyond electoral cycles.

The second part of the course is devoted to the application of the theoretical knowledge to the post-Soviet space and the cases of Azerbaijan and Belarus in particular. To this end the course provides a unique opportunity to learn about and the oscillation between hybridity and authoritarianism regime in states that after gaining independence have gone towards authoritarian consolidation rather than democratization. We will zoom in on relations between ‘opposition and state’, ‘opposition and society’ and ‘opposition and external actors’ and analyze how the dynamic of these relations can be said to have contributed to consolidation of the authoritarian regime. This will deepen the students’ knowledge about the regional and domestic political situation in Azerbaijan and Belarus and also provide an understanding of how opposition and elections in authoritarian contexts may be both a driver of stability and change. In addition the course will familiarize students with a number of useful theoretical approaches and concepts applicable to other cases in the region or similar contexts elsewhere.

The seminars will include short introductions to the topic, but build primarily on the students’ active partaking. Students are required to have completed the readings before class and come prepared to engage in seminar discussions that will take place both in small working groups and the class as a whole.