About the course

The aim of the course is to give the student a broad knowledge of the Caucasus – a politically turbulent region with high ethnic diversity in a vulnerable geopolitical location. The course introduces students to the Caucasus region, its ethnic groups and languages, history, patterns of migration and recent political developments.

Caucasus Studies at Malmö University is an ‘area study’. It is based on the assumption that the history of the Caucasus matters for the understanding of contemporary political, social and economic developments and that the region’s unique geographical location is crucial for understanding the conflict dynamics in the region. 

The Caucasus region is located at the crossroads of Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. Historically the region has been dominated by different empires, including the Ottoman Empire, Persia, the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War the Caucasus region has obtained a new strategic significance. Regional great powers – Turkey, Iran, Russia – again compete for political influence in the region, which is also rich in energy resources and constitutes an important transit corridor for oil and gas from the Caspian basin to Western markets. New external actors, notably USA and the EU, compete with the ‘traditional’ regional powers for political influence in the Caucasus region and for control over its strategically important energy resources and pipeline routes.

The Caucasus is one of the most complex regions of the world in terms of ethnic and linguistic diversity. Contested borders divide similar ethnic groups and nationalities.  Feelings of national 'we' are weak, while sub-national identities (clan, ethnic groups, region) are strong. The Caucasus is also a meeting place for different Islamic, Christian and pre-Christian religious traditions. Our courses provide students with an understanding of the role of ethnicity, language and religion in the post-Soviet state- and nation-building processes.

Caucasus Studies at Malmö University is the only centre in Western Europe providing distance learning courses on this topic. The flexible online design makes it easy for students to follow the courses in their home country and even to combine them with other studies or work.

The multidisciplinary staff consists of researchers with solid knowledge of the particularities of the Caucasus region, combined with extensive experience from doing fieldwork in the region.

Caucasus Studies at Malmö University has tight links with academic institutions and scholars in the Caucasus Region, as well as other international institutions with Caucasus research. The centre often hosts academics from the region who stay at Malmö University campus and actively involve in Caucasus Studies courses and research.

Courses in Caucasus studies

Caucasus Studies includes a range of courses about peoples, cultures, and identities in the Caucasus Region. The flexible online courses make it easy to follow the courses in your home country and combine them with other studies or work.

Course content

Syllabus autumn 2024

Earlier syllabuses

Entry requirements and selection

Entry requirements

General entry requirements + English 6

Selection

Upper secondary grades 66%, Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (SweSAT) 34%

Well designed courses and supportive lecturers

Alex Calvo lives in Barcelona. He studied law at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), London University and became a corporate lawyer at a bank. Later he started his own practice and at the same time embarked on an academic career. He is currently an international relations professor, and...

Well designed courses and supportive lecturers

Alex Calvo lives in Barcelona. He studied law at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), London University and became a corporate lawyer at a bank. Later he started his own practice and at the same time embarked on an academic career. He is currently an international relations professor, and head of the department, at European University (Barcelona Campus). He is specialised in Asian security and defence.

How come you were interested in Caucasus studies and the region?

Although not my original focus of interest, I gradually came to realize its significance, both in historical terms and to understand many contemporary issues. I also happened to have a few students from the region. As I result, I felt I needed to at least gain a basic understanding of the area.

Why is Caucasus studies an interesting subject?

The region has, among other things, a rich history, interesting geography, and a complex and fascinating mixture of peoples, languages, and religions. As a result, the subject is suitable for all sorts of people.

Why did you choose Malmö University?

Because it offered me the possibility of studying online, and because the courses seemed to be comprehensive and well designed. Since I am currently working, it is difficult for me to attend lectures. On the other hand, I value the possibility of studying a number of subjects, presented in a logical order, and with the right coordination. The Caucasus Studies courses at Malmö are much more than a mere collection of subjects.

Do you speak any of the languages of the Caucasus?

Not really, I just have a very basic knowledge of Georgian, acquired in one of the modules in the courses.

How did you find studying and working at the same time?

It is a challenge, although an increasingly necessary one nowadays. However, the materials at Malmö University make the task much easier, and I always found the lecturers very supportive.

Was the course useful for you in your professional career?

Yes, indeed, since it allowed me to teach more effectively on many issues related to the region.

Do you have any advice for students doing online courses?

Effective time management is essential. There is no single magical solution, of course, but as a general rule, I would suggest drawing up a schedule and sticking to it. It is also useful to begin one’s background reading as soon as possible.

Course literature

The course literature will be made available to students online through the university library and the course website.

Introduction to the Caucasus Region

  • Coene, F. The Caucasus: an introduction. Routledge, 2009

The module includes additional online resources and articles of approximately 150 pages.

Post-Soviet developments in the Caucasus

  • Dudwick, Nora, Elizabeth Gomart, and Alexandre Marc. 2003. When Things Fall Apart: Qualitative Studies of Poverty in the Former Soviet Union. Washington DC: The World Bank. [Selected chapters]
  • Hunter, Shireen T. 2017. The New Geopolitics of the South Caucasus: Prospects for Regional Cooperation and Conflict Resolution. Lanham: Lexington Books
  • King, Charles. 2008. The Ghost of Freedom: A History of the Caucasus. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Malek, M. 2006. “The South Caucasus at the Crossroads: Ethno-territorial Conflicts, Russian Interests, and the Access to Energy Resources”. In: G. Hauser & F. Kernic (eds.) European security in transition. Aldershot, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2006, p.145-160.
  • Philip G. Roeder. 1998. “Liberalization and Ethnic Entrepreneurs in the Soviet Successor States” In: Beverly Crawford and Ronnie D. Lipschutz. (eds.) The Myth of “Ethnic Conflict”: Politics, Economics, and “Cultural” Violence. University of California at Berkeley. Pp. 78-107.

Additional online resources and articles will be added when relevant.

History of the Caucasus

  • Banerji, Arap. 2006. Notes on the Histories of History in the Soviet Union in Economic and Political Weekly 41 (9): 826-833.
  • Caucasus Analytical Digest. 2009. Writing National Histories: Coming to Terms with the Past.
  • Dudwick, Nora. 1990. The case of the Caucasian Albanians: Ethnohistory and ethnic politics in Cahiers du monde russe et sovie´tique 31 (2-3): 377-383.
  • Gammer, Moshe and Vera Kaplan. 2013. Post-Soviet Narratives of the Conquest of the Caucasus in Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas 61 (1): 26-46.
  • Garagozov, Rauf. 2012. Azerbaijani history and nationalism in the Soviet and post-Soviet periods: challenges and dilemmas in Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflicts 5 (2): 136-142.
  • King, Charles. 2008. The Ghost of Freedom: A History of the Caucasus. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Kolstø, Pål & Aleksander Rusetskii. 2012. Power Differentials and Identity Formation: Images of Self and Other on the Russian-Georgian Boundary in National Identities 14 (2): 139-155.
  • Rouvinski, Vladimir. 2007. "History Speaks Our Language!" A Comparative Study of Historical Narratives in Soviet and Post-Soviet School Textbooks in the Caucasus in Internationale Schulbuchforschung 29 (3): 235-257.
  • Suny, Ronald. 2009. Truth in Telling: Reconciling Realities in the Genocide of the Ottoman Armenians in The American Historical Review 114 (4): 930-946.

Additional online resources and articles will be added when relevant.

Migration in the Caucasus

  • Dermendzhieva, Zvezda. 2011. Emigration from the South Caucasus: who goes abroad and what are the economic implications? in Post-Communist Economies 23 (3): 377-398.
  • Holland, Edward. 2016. Economic Development and Subsidies in the North Caucasus in Problems of Post-Communism 63 (1): 50-61.
  • Judah, Ben. 2013. Russia’s Migration Crisis in Survival 55 (6): 123-131.
  • Kreiten, Irma. 2009. A colonial experiment in cleansing: the Russian conquest of Western Caucasus, 1856-65 in Journal of Genocide Research 11 (2/3): 213-241.
  • Lewis, Robert & Richard Rowland. 1977. East is West and West is East: Population Redistribution in the USSR and Its Impact on Society in The International Migration Review 11 (1): 3-29.
  • Martin, Terry. 1998. The Origins of Soviet Ethnic Cleansing in Journal of Modern History 70 (4): 813-861.
  • Polian, Pavel. 2004. Against Their Will: The History and Geography of Forced Migrations in the USSR. Budapest: Central European University Press.
  • Sammut, Dennis. 2001. Population Displacement in the Caucasus: An Overview in Central Asian Survey 20 (1): 55-62.

Additional online resources and articles will be added when relevant.

Course evaluation

Malmö University provides students who participate in, or who have completed a course, with the opportunity to express their opinions and describe their experiences of the course by completing a course evaluation administered by the University. The University will compile and summarise the results of course evaluations. The University will also inform participants of the results and any decisions relating to measures taken in response to the course evaluations. The results will be made available to the students (HF 1:14).

Contact

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