37561 - National Political Movements in East-Central Europe

Learning outcomes

Students are expected to acquire a comprehensive picture of the national political movements that appeared on the political arena of East Central Europe in the post-socialist transitional years. As these movements were very relevant and might have endangered the democratic evolution of the societies, students - with a comparative methodological approach - will become aware of the process that made their attractiveness so crucial and why only in certain areas or countries they rooted while in others they remained peripheral phenomena.

Course contents

Breakup of the Communist Bloc: the main actors and theoretical tools for its’ analysis. The main theoretical perspectives of collective action. Political opportunity, collective action frames, mobilizing structures, new social movements.Theories of nationalism. Unobtrusive practices of contention. Gorbachevian reforms. Perestroika in Lithuania. The beginning of Sąjūdis. Dynamics of political opportunity in Lithuania. Collective action frames. Sąjūdis: resource mobilization and forms of protest. Mobilizing structures: organizing Sąjūdis. Typology of the revolutionary processes. Current sociopolitical developments in the Baltic states.

Readings/Bibliography

1. Beissinger, M.R. (1996). How Nationalisms Spread: Eastern Europe Adrift the Tides and Cycles of Nationalist Contention // Social Research. 1996. Vol.63. No.1.
2. Berglund S. and Aarebrot F. (1997) The Political History Of Eastern Europe In the 20th Century. Cheltenham: Edvard Elgar.
3. Bianchini, S. (2015) Eastern Europe and the Challenges of Modernity, 1800–2000 Routledge
4. Bulota, R (2008) National Movements in Central East Europe Kaunas, Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas.
5. Johnston, H. and C. Mueller (2001). Unobtrusive Practices Of Contention in Leninist Regimes // Sociological Perspectives. 2001. Vol.44. No.3.
6. Lapidus, G.W., V. Zaslavsky ir P. Goldman (red.) (1992). From Union to Commonwealth: Nationalism and Separatism in the Soviet Republics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
7. Lieven, A. (1994) The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the path to independence.
8. McAdam, D., McCarthy, J.D., Zald, M.N. (eds.) (1996) Comparative Perspectives on Social Movements Cambridge University Press
9. Norkus, Zenonas (2012) On Baltic Slovenia and Adriatic Lithuania: qualitative comparative analysis of patterns in post-communist transformation Vilnius: Apostrofa; Budapest: Central European University Press, 2012.
10. Senn, A. E. (1995) Gorbachev's failure in Lithuania. New York: St.Martin’s Press.
11. Snow, D.A., Soule, S.A., Kriesi H. (2007) The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements Wiley-Blackwell
12. Ulfelder, J. (2004) Baltic Protest in the Gorbachev Era: Movement Content and Dynamics // The Global Review of Ethnopolitics. 2004. Vol. 3. No. 3-4.
13. Vardys, S.V. and J.B. Sedaitis (1997). Lithuania: the Rebel Nation. Boulder: Westview Press.
14. Yurchak, A. (2005). Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More: The Last Soviet Generation Princeton University Press.

Teaching methods

Introducing students to the processes of national revivals in the former Communist Bloc countries.

Creating the synthetic theoretical perspective to analyze the uprising of nationalism and the breakup of the Communist Bloc. Theoretical and historical material is presented at the lectures. At each seminar presentation of the topic connected with the lecture is made by the students and discussed by the class. Students are receiving historical background of the processes in the former Communist Bloc and theoretical background in the theories of collective action and nationalism, getting analytical skills to use the synthetic theoretical perspective for explaining the national revival in the Central East Europe.

Assessment methods

Final paper and the presentation of chosen topic in the class. Presentation 30% of the final grade, final paper – 70%.

The outcome of the module will be averaged to that of the other module composing the integrated course in order to determine the final grade.

Teaching tools

Power Point, blackboard, class discussions, video materials.

 

Office hours

See the website of Rytis Bulota