6 hour course by Anastassia Obydenkova (Uppsala University - IBEI)

• Schedule: 20, 21 & 22 June (11:30 - 13:30)
• Format: online

The ongoing war in Ukraine shocks the world. Threats to use nuclear weapons, bombing near nuclear plants, multiple death and brutalities, human and environmental consequences form a long list of disasters. Yet, Ukraine is not the only victim of Autocracy expansion led by Putin. Recent deaths and protests in Kazakhstan in 2022, multiple deaths and violations of human rights in Belarus since 2020 till now, provoked by Belarus migration crisis in 2021 – all these major political-social turbulences were all triggered by autocracy Russia and its´ consolidation and expansion in Eurasia through using its Regional International Organizations (RIOs). While studies and scholars and policy-makers debate focused on nation-level (e.g., on Russia, on Ukraine, on Belarus), the role and the impact of RIOs were left outside of the mainstream debates. This course aims to augment our understanding of the current events through focusing on their external triggers – Autocracies-Led RIO (phenomenon, that is also known as “authoritarian regionalism”). The influence of these RIOs set up by autocracies, however, is a global phenomenon and exist in other regions of the World. The influence of these RIO has radically increased in the last few years. The goal of this course is to analyze autocracy expansion and its external triggers related to neighboring autocracies (e.g., support from Belarus, Kazakhstan, or China). What is the role of Autocracies-led IOs in Eurasia and world-wide? The course aspires to answer this question through travelling to Eurasia and former Soviet States. Special attention will be paid to the implications and challenges faced by policy-makers in the EU’s Neighborhood and Eurasia in regard with ongoing situations.