Politics and Government in the Baltic States
Course code
RIT6036.YK
old course code
Course title in Estonian
Poliitika ja valitsemine Balti riikides
Course title in English
Politics and Government in the Baltic States
ECTS credits
6.0
Assessment form
Examination
lecturer of 2024/2025 Spring semester
Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.
lecturer of 2025/2026 Autumn semester
Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.
Course aims
Provide an overview of the main features of politics and governance in the Baltic States and important contemporary developments. Develop the analytical skills to study and compare political and social processes in the different Baltic countries.
Brief description of the course
A brief overview of the history of the Baltic States - differences and similarities. The Singing Revolution (1988-1991) and its legacies and implications for Baltic politics today. The constitutions and the main democratic institutions. Political culture, civil society and its peculiarities. Political parties and party systems and their evolution. Electoral systems and elections. Socio-economic development since the 1990s. Social problems and the welfare state. Ethnopolitics and the Russian minority. Integration with the Euro-Atlantic organizations (the European Union and NATO). The Baltic States and international security – the small countries next to Russia.
Learning outcomes in the course
Upon completing the course the student:
- knows the major features of politics and governance in the Baltic countries and how democracy functions in those countries;
- can recognize and analyze the main similarites and differences between the three Baltic States regarding their politics and democratic governance;
- comprehends the Baltic States' main challenges in the contemporary world regarding democracy, democratic governance and geopolitics.
- knows the major features of politics and governance in the Baltic countries and how democracy functions in those countries;
- can recognize and analyze the main similarites and differences between the three Baltic States regarding their politics and democratic governance;
- comprehends the Baltic States' main challenges in the contemporary world regarding democracy, democratic governance and geopolitics.
Teacher
Tõnis Saarts
Study programmes containing that course