Program Overview

Russia and the West: Conflicts and Interventions (POLS0105)

Key Information

• Faculty: Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences
• Teaching department: Political Science
• Credit value: 15
• Restrictions: Only open to PIR, PPE, and PolSci affiliate students. Pre-requisite: POLS0001 International Conflict and Cooperation (or equivalent for affiliate students)

Alternative Credit Options

There are no alternative credit options available for this module.

Description

Russian foreign policy and relations with the West are at the center of international concern. The module will explore why and when Russian policymakers consider military interventions necessary; how they are presented as legitimate and justifiable. It will investigate the widespread beliefs and ideas among the Russian political elite associated with intervention, state sovereignty, and the role of the West.

Indicative questions addressed on the module include:

• What makes Russian officials resist Western interventions yet present Russia's own military interventions as legitimate and justifiable?
• What are the widespread beliefs and ideas associated with intervention and state sovereignty among Moscow's foreign policy elite?
• How do these beliefs inform Russia's relations with the West and approaches to intervention? With what consequences for regional insecurity and violent conflicts?

Indicative topics:

• Russian military intervention in Georgia
• The Russian government's war in Ukraine
• Russian involvement in the 2014 Ukraine crisis and the annexation of Crimea
• U.S. interventions in Iraq
• NATO's military intervention in Libya
• Western intervention in Syria
• Russia-West relations in the post-Cold War period
• Theoretical debates on intervention and state sovereignty (e.g., realist, liberal, constructivist perspectives)

Teaching Delivery

The module is taught by 10 lectures and 10 seminars. Students are expected to read required texts before attending lectures and participate actively in seminars.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be able to:

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of Russian foreign policy, approaches to state sovereignty, and relations with the West
• Demonstrate critical thinking in evaluating the relative merits and limitations of contrasting scholarly arguments on Russia's policies in the post-Soviet space, the Middle East, and its relations with the West
• Apply theoretical knowledge and concepts in the analysis of different cases of intra-state conflicts
• Develop and communicate logical arguments on Russian and Western involvement in regional conflicts

Module Deliveries for 2026/27 Academic Year

• Intended teaching term: Term 1
• Undergraduate (FHEQ Level 6)

Teaching and Assessment

• Mode of study: In person
• Methods of assessment: 100% Coursework
• Mark scheme: Numeric Marks

Other Information

• Number of students on module in previous year: 59
• Module leader: Dr. Kalina Zhekova