Central & East European Studies

Background

The University of Glasgow has been teaching Central and East European Studies (CEES) at undergraduate level for over ten years, building on the University’s strong reputation in the subject at postgraduate level, where it has been taught for more than 50 years. The Honours programme which can be taken as either a Single and Joint honours degree reflects many of key questions and issues that have been asked about the region throughout the 20th Century. These include the Russian Revolution and the rise of communism. More significantly, following the emergence of independent states across Central and Eastern Europe in 1989 and the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 the subject has taken on a new and vital importance. What happens in the region has an important bearing on the shape of the world in the 21^st Century in terms of politics, international relations, society, culture and economics and our staff teaching on the programme are at the forefront of research across all of these areas.

Key questions examined within the undergraduate programme include:

• Where does the future lie for countries not integrated into the European Union?
• How has migration from Eastern Europe created a brain drain?
• What impact will the emergence of Russia as a major economic power have on the world in the 21st century?
• How important is energy to the international political and economic relations of countries from the Central and East European Region?
• How have the countries of Central Europe impacted on the development of European Union policy?
• What was the environmental legacy of communism?

The University of Glasgow leads the way in the study, research and teaching of these and other questions which make up this important subject area.