Working languages: Armenian, English, Russian

Duration: July 8 - August 19, 2020 (six weeks)

The CI launches a 6-week free online course on politics in times of crisis using the South Caucasus as a study case. The course focuses on ways in which crises, exemplified by the ongoing pandemic, influence countries’ political, economic and societal institutions and development trends.

By the end of the course the participants will

-        build capacity to analyse political, social and economic contexts and developments;

-        deepen understanding of political decision-making, political systems and institutions;

-        practice multi-disciplinary approaches to collecting and interpreting data in political and social science;

-        learn more about the South Caucasus region and its countries.

The lecturers are:

• Georgi Derluguian, Professor of Social Research and Public Policy at New York University Abu Dhabi
• Alexander Iskandaryan, Political Scientist, Director of the Caucasus Institute, Yerevan
• Hrant Mikayelyan, Demographer and Economist, Senior Researcher at the Caucasus Institute, Yerevan
• Marina Muskhelishvili, Professor at the Department of Social and Political Sciences at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University
• Edgar Elbakyan, Junior Fellow at the Scientific-Research Laboratory of Strategic Research, Yerevan State University
• Gor Petrosyan, Political Scientist, Researcher at Caucasus Institute, Yerevan

The course will interpret developments in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia during the 2020 COVID pandemic in the light of sustainability and quality of institutions; decision-making procedures; political checks and balances; the interplay of economic, societal and political risks and benefits; political culture; social expectations and populist politics. The course will include a comparative historical perspective on the way crises in general and epidemics in particular translate into political, economic and societal trends.

Lectures will be held on Wednesdays on the Zoom platform.  Students will receive weekly tasks and tests to complete. In a closed Facebook group, students will be able to ask questions, discuss assignments and share ideas.

Each week students will be invited to write blog posts on topics related to the course theme. The best posts will be posted on the CI blog, http://blog.c-i.am/. The authors will get small rewards.

Participants who complete the course will receive online certificates of completion that can be listed in their CVs.

To enrol in the course, please register by filling in this form by June 28. The number of participants is limited. The results of the call will be announced on July 3.

The project is implemented by the Caucasus Institute with the support from the Embassy of Switzerland in Armenia.