Teaching Group-Oriented Foreign Policy Analysis for Civic Engagement

• In Event: Civic Engagement Pedagogy Across the Globe

Abstract

The chapter introduces the concept of group-oriented foreign policy analysis and evaluates the impact that in-class exercises in group-oriented foreign policy analysis have on students’ civic engagement. Group-oriented foreign policy analysis is client-oriented advice relevant to a decision in the field of foreign policy, where the client is not necessarily a governmental institution, but any group influenced by particular issues of international affairs. The chapter demonstrates the relevance of in-class exercises in group-oriented foreign policy analysis in countries like Russia, where the authoritarian government encourages formation of two separate civil societies: those consisting of pro-government non-profits and of “foreign agent” non-profits. It provides a detailed description of such exercise and assesses the impact that taking part in the exercise has on students’ civic engagement. Students’ feedback collected in multiple forms during organization of exercises in group-oriented foreign policy analysis in 2008-2019 at a Russian university demonstrates that the exercise influences students’ civic engagement positively in multiple ways.

Author

• Dmitry Lanko, St. Petersburg State University