Spring 2001 Instructor: Petya Kostadinova
M, W, F: 12:20-01:10 558 Bellamy, ph. 644-1543
222 Bellamy Building Office Hours: M, W, F 10:00-11:00
& by appnt.
http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~pkk4685
Course Description
The year 1989 marked the end of several decades of communist rule in eastern Europe. It also set the beginning of an extremely difficult and unprecedented process, one of dual transition, towards market economy and liberal democracy. This course is designed to overview the recent and ongoing political developments in the former Soviet bloc, in the light of past historical events. One cannot understand developments in eastern Europe, without keeping in mind that for most of their existence the countries in the region have been dominated by an outside power. Thus, history constitutes a significant part of this class.
The scope of the class is the former Soviet bloc and Yugoslavia. The
countries covered are Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia (Czech and Slovak
republics), Hungary, Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia. Soviet Union and its
successor states are not directly covered in the lectures.
Course texts
All students are required to purchase the following books available at FSU bookstore and Bill's.
Crawford, Keith. 1996. East Central European Politics Today. Manchester University Press.
Rothschild, Joseph and Nancy Wingfield. 2000. 3rd edition. Return to diversity: a political history of east central Europe since World War II. Oxford University Press.
Additional readings (marked with an asterisk) are placed on reserve
in Strozier library.
Course requirements
Attendance and participation: Attendance will count for 5 % of the final grade. Sign-up sheet will be passed 10 randomly selected times during the semester. Class participation will not be graded. However, asking questions and active participation in the learning process are strongly encouraged.
Presentation: Everyone will be required to participate in a group presentation about the transition in the country of their choice. Details will be provided during the second week of the semester. The presentation will be worth 10 % of the final grade.
Exams: there will be three exams: one quiz, Midterm and Final. The quiz is scheduled for February 5, 2000 and is worth 15 % the final grade. It will include a map-test section and identifications. The Midterm (20 %) will be on March 7, 2000 and will consist of identifications, short answers and essay questions. Make ups for the quiz and the Midterm will be allowed only with the prior permission of the instructor and under well justified and documented circumstances. The Final Exam (30%) is scheduled for 10:00 am on April 26. It will have the same format as the Midterm and will be cumulative.
Paper: All students are required to write a research
paper, of about 2500-3000 words, on a politically relevant topic of
their choice concerning a country of their choice. This country must
be different from the one you will present on. For this assignment, selecting
one of the successor republics of the Soviet Union is acceptable. All papers
must be type-written and double-spaced, and are due no later than 5:00
p.m. on April 11. The paper will contribute 20 % to the final
grade. Late papers will be penalized one letter grade per
day. You are strongly encouraged to discuss your paper ideas with me, either
in person for via e-mail. I will be happy to read your drafts.
Students with disabilities should contact the instructor if they need special accommodation.
No cheating/plagiarism will be tolerated. Students should consult the FSU Student Handbook for FSU policy on cheating/plagiarism. Penalties up to, and including failure of the course will result.
Course mailing list is set up through Academic Computing and
Network System (ACNS). The address for the course is CPO-3614-01@garnet.acns.fsu.edu.
All students, registered for the course, with an ACNS account (garnet or
mailer) are added to the list. Those who do not have an ACNS account
are required to obtain one. The course mailing list will be frequently
used for communicating ideas and questions. In addition, this syllabus
and a copy of everything I will distribute in class could be found at my
webpage:
http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~pkk4685.
Final grades will be calculated using the following range:
A 93-100 B+ 87-89.9 C+ 77-79.9 D+ 67-69.9
A- 90-92.9 B 83-86.9 C 73-76.9 D 63-66.9
B- 80-82.9 C- 70-72.9 D- 60-62.9
F < 60
Curve: If necessary I will curve the exams and the final grades, so that the highest score gets 100 % credit.
Course schedule
The readings marked with asterisk are available on reserve at Strozier
library.
| Date | Topic | Readings |
| 8-Jan | Introduction | no readings |
| 10-Jan | Eastern Europe before the world wars | David Turnock. 1989. "The Century of Peace 1985-1914: Political Geography". In Eastern Europe: An Historical Geography 1815-1945." London & New York: Routledge, pp. 23-66 only. |
| 12-Jan | W.W.I and the Interwar Period | Rothschild ch. 1. |
| 15-Jan | MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY | NO CLASS!!!!! |
| 17-Jan | World War II | Rothschild ch. 2. |
| 19-Jan | The establishment of communist regimes | Rothschild ch. 3. |
| 22-Jan | Stalinism | Rothschild ch. 4. |
| 24-Jan | Film on 1953-1956 events | No readings |
| 26-Jan | Hungary rebels: reevaluation | Mark Kramer. 1998. "The Soviet Union and the 1956 Crises in Hungary and Poland: Reassessment and New Findings". Journal of Contemporary History 33:2:163-214. |
| 29-Jan | De-Stalinization | Rothschild ch. 5. |
| 31-Jan | After 1956 | Rothschild ch. 6. |
| 2-Feb | The Prague Spring | Jiri Valenta and Jan Moravec. 1991. "Could the Prague Spring Have Been Saved?". Orbis 35:4:581-601 |
| 5-Feb | QUIZ | |
| 7-Feb | Gorbachev and Perestroika | Henderson ch. 3 (pp 40-51). |
| 9-Feb | Life under communism | Special presentation. No readings. |
| 12-Feb | Theories of the collapse of communism | Crawford ch. 3 and Henderson ch. 1 |
| 14-Feb | Events in Poland
GROUP ONE PRESENTATION |
Rothschild ch. 7/section 2 and Henderson ch. 3, pp. 75-78. |
| 16-Feb | Events in Hungary
GROUP TWO PRESENTATION |
Rothschild ch. 7/section 4 and Henderson ch. 3, pp. 73-75 |
| 19-Feb | Events in Czechoslovakia
GROUP THREE PRESENTATION |
Rothschild ch. 7/section 3 and Henderson ch. 3, pp. 67-70 |
| 21-Feb | Events in Bulgaria
GROUP FOUR PRESENTATION |
Rothschild ch. 7/section 6 and Henderson ch. 3, pp. 65-67. |
| 23-Feb | Film on Ceausescu | No readings. |
| 26-Feb | Events in Romania
GROUP FIVE PRESENTATION |
Rothschild ch. 7/section 5 and Henderson ch. 3, pp. 78-80. |
| 28-Feb | Events in Albania
GROUP SIX PRESENTATION |
Rothschild ch. 7/section 7 and Henderson ch. 3, pp. 64-65. |
| 2-Mar | Events in Yugoslavia
GROUP SEVEN PRESENTATION |
Rothschild ch. 7/section 8 and Henderson ch. 3, pp. 81-85. |
| 5-Mar | REVIEW FOR THE MIDTERM EXAM | No readings |
| 7-Mar | MIDTERM EXAM | |
| 9-Mar | The transitions compared: theories of democratic transitions | Crawford ch. 4 |
| 12-Mar - 16-Mar | SPRING BREAK!!! | |
| 19-Mar | Founding elections in Eastern Europe, 1990 and electoral institutions | Henderson ch. 6 and Crawford ch. 9 |
| 21-Mar | New Parliaments | Crawford ch. 12 |
| 23-Mar | New Executives | Crawford ch. 13 |
| 26-Mar | Social Cleavages | Crawford ch. 8 |
| 28-Mar | A Decade of Elections | Crawford ch. 10 |
| 30-Mar | Parties and Party Systems | Crawford ch. 11 |
| 2-Apr | Economic Transition: the developing economies of Eastern Europe | TBA |
| 4-Apr | Who are the democrats
In Eastern Europe |
TBA |
| 6-Apr | Rise of Nationalism | Crawford ch. 6 |
| 9-Apr | The Break-up of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia | Crawford ch. 7 |
| 11-Apr | War in Bosnia. | Goldman ch. 11 |
| 13-Apr | Foreign Policy: EU and NATO. | TBA |
| 16-Apr | Catching up | Catch up with readings |
| 18-Apr | Conclusion and perspectives. | Crawford ch. 14. |
| 20-Apr | REVIEW FOR THE FINAL EXAM. | No readings |
| 26-Apr | FINAL EXAM: 10:00 AM- 12:00 (NOON). |
Note: reading assignments, due dates, class schedule and policies
are subject to change at the instructor's discretion.