POLI 4498 Ethnopolitics in Eastern Europe

This course is class-restricted to juniors, seniors, and graduate students. Eastern Europe has long been the site of nationalist dreams and dystopian nightmares. This class explores the ways in which ethnopolitics has shaped the region, giving rise to the most extraordinary political developments of the modern era. A late-comer to the nation-state, Eastern Europe's wars and revolutions begat fascism, communism, and genocide. The class employs Comparative Politics theories on nation formation, ultra-nationalism, multiethnic states, and ethnic conflict to try to understand and learn from these experiences. Topics covered include the Springtime of Nations in the 19th-century, the Ethnic Cleansing episodes of the mid-20th century, and the post-communist Ethnic Wars of the early 21st century.