Vladimir Putin first became President of the Russian Federation in 2000, but Mark Galeotti believes that many in the West still fail to understand the man behind the myth. Galeotti, a British expert on Russian security affairs and transnational crime, has sought to address and dispel many of the misperceptions of Putin, and shows us how to anticipate the threats that Putin poses to the West. In this course, we will briefly consider Galeotti’s career and writings, and then examine the structure and main arguments of Galeotti’s book: We Need To Talk About Putin: How The West Gets Him Wrong.

This class will be delivered online via the online platform Zoom. Enrolling students need to ensure they have an email, a reliable internet connection, microphone/speakers and access to a tablet, smartphone or computer.

SUGGESTED READING

• Daniel Beer, We Need to Talk About Putin and Putin v the People review – a gut-level patriot, The Guardian (April 18, 2019). https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/apr/18/we-need-to-talk-about-putin-v-the-people-review
  
  

COURSE OUTLINE

• The author and his work: Mark Galeotti – British expert on Russian security affairs and transnational crime
• The structure of: We Need To Talk About Putin: How The West Gets Him Wrong
• The key arguments of: We Need To Talk About Putin: How The West Gets Him Wrong
  
  

PLANNED LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Understand the contribution of Mark Galeotti to the study of Russian and international security affairs.
2. Comprehend the structure of: We Need To Talk About Putin: How The West Gets Him Wrong.
3. Appreciate the arguments of: We Need To Talk About Putin: How The West Gets Him Wrong.