Secessionist and Statehood Bids in Times of Crises

About

With wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Karabakh dominating contemporary international relations the study of secessionist bids and the quest for statehood and recognition becomes paramount. Students of International Relations can benefit from a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the concepts and practices of secessionism as well as the way in which these aspects impact international order. Questions regarding peace and violence in secessionist bids as well as the possible outcomes of secessionist wars continue to dominate both academic and policymaking debate, making this topic worthwhile for discussion and study.

This course highlights fundamental questions of sovereignty and statehood in the context of secessionist conflicts. It offers an insight into the topics such self-determination and sovereignty practices, survival pathways, incomplete and negotiated secessions. We will also explore the topics of “frozen conflicts” and de-facto states and their agency. We then turn to analysing the politics of recognition, counter-secession strategies and engagement without recognition as well as the success and failure of secessionist movements. This course relies mostly on first hand research and is comparative in nature, with students having the opportunity to explore different cases of secessionist bids from across the world through a combination of teaching, independent work as well as discussions based on various films and a fieldtrip to Narva. A separate part of the course will be dedicated to a simulation exercise in where students will have the chance to gain first-hand experience of negotiation techniques as well as practical knowledge of the Israel-Palestine conflict

Course leader

Eiki Berg, Professor of International Relations at the University of Tartu

Target group

MA/PhD

Course aim

Upon completing the course, learners will:

1. Be able to understand the various concepts and theoretical debates related to secession and statehood in International Relations
2. Explore and analyse various cases of secessionist bids across the world
3. Have practical understanding of negotiations in self-determination disputes

Fee info