Abstract
Russian universities offer many international and area studies for Bachelor's or Master's programs for students intending to work in the sphere of international cooperation. There has been, however, limited research into how these programs meet the learning needs of students in international and area studies. The rationale for conducting this research is to provide insights to educators on how they might design courses to develop better professional skills. A review of the literature highlights the concerns of academics and practitioners about the balance in curriculum emphasis between political theory and international cooperation practice. This study examined the merits of different pedagogical approaches through the experiences of educators from different tertiary offerings. It is argued that there are some categories of proficiencies that are required to sustain a career in the field of international and area studies. Based on the findings, recommendations have been provided in arranging curriculum and academic activities. Critical thinking, writing, political analysis, role-play, and public speaking are highly recommended to be incorporated into the area studies curriculum.
Highlights
Russia's foreign policy, due to its size, history, and resource potential, has always been active and ambitious
The foreign policy of post-Soviet Russia was entirely focused on the West
We should note that in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union the career diplomat training system was elite, and it produced highly cultured intellectuals who had an excellent command of several foreign languages, were able to toughly defend their country's national interests
Summary
Russia's foreign policy, due to its size, history, and resource potential, has always been active and ambitious. In different periods of its history, Russia defined its national interests on the world stage in different ways. Against the background of deteriorating relations with the West, fraught with the constantly imposed sanctions, the country's foreign policy took a turn to the East because of political factors but of purely economic ones as well. Russia's pragmatic interests are to ensure its cooperation with the Asian economies to attract massive investment from China and other leading countries, as well as to develop cooperation with the Asian countries to mitigate the effect of the Western sanctions on the Russian economy. Russia's regional interests are to gain its foothold as a powerful economic, political, and security actor in East and South Asia. Russia's global interests are to counterbalance its foreign policy course which has been previously focused on the Western countries through
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
