Master in Socioeconomic and Political Development of Modern Asia

This program trains young researchers to conduct interdisciplinary research, employing up-to-date methodologies to study the interaction of issues of politics, economics, sociology, culture, ethnicity, religions, and linguistics with regards to Asian countries and peoples. The program enables students to hone their knowledge and skills, preparing them for international careers in academia, diplomacy, or with non-governmental and governmental corporations. The program has a partnership with the City University of Hong Kong.

What are the benefits of the program?

This MA Programme has the distinction of being the sole Programme on Asian Studies in Russia, taught in the English language. It is also unique in using written sources in the languages of Asian regions as the fundamental teaching and research material. This is the only MA Programme focused on Contemporary Asian Studies. Students from different countries participate in this Programme, creating the benefit of global intellectual interaction.

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Why should I study Asia, after all?

Asia ranks number 1 among regions of the world ordered by population. The current population of Asia is about 4,567,427,540 as of January 2019, based on the latest United Nations estimates.

The world’s fastest-growing economies are being experienced across much of Asia and Africa. The Economy of Asia comprises more than 4.4 billion people (60% of the world population).

It’s just great to open up Asia!

If you want to study Asia and to know, “how Asia works”, we will teach you to analyze the roles of the state in a market economy, to examine different forms of government intervention into economic life, to understand socioeconomic transformation in East Asia. The course “State, Society, and Economy in East Asia ” investigates the theoretical as well as practical aspects of the roles of the State as an agent of economic development in East Asian countries.

If you want to study Asia and to know how to do business in Asia, the course “Business and Entrepreneurship in Asia” is for you. It designed to introduce the fundamentals of economics and business culture, investing, management, entrepreneurship, and running a business in China, South East Asia, Japan, Korea, and the Middle East, and South and Southeast Asia including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

If you want to study Asia and if you are interested in new trends in International Relations, the course "Contemporary International Relations in the Asia-Pacific Region" aims at equipping students majoring in Asian studies with a comprehensive understanding of classical and currently forming theoretical approaches as well as some of the main theoretical debates over issues that span the fields of International Relations, Comparative Politics, and Asian studies.

The course “Russia and Asian countries» deals with Russian policy with regard to China, Korea, and Japan.

The course “BRICS and the SCO States and Modern World Order” focuses on the main reasons for setting up political and trade Blocs in World and Regional framework giving prospects to shape general patterns of new Integration Process. The course examines BRICS and the SCO as a new pivotal global and regional system in the international context, focusing on security, economic ties, and transnational global relations.

If you want to study Asia and to know, where the roots of ethnic and religious conflicts and wars are, the course "Ethno-religious Processes in Asia" aims to deepen students’ professional knowledge in the area of ethnic and religious contradictions in Asia. It deals with the roots of ethnicity, ethnic and religious conflict, and war from a theoretical and critical perspective. It also develops students’ skills in researching and analyzing ethnic and confessional interactions from an Asian regional perspective.

If you study Asia, Asia may become closer!

Bridging Courses

Sociopolitical History of East and South-East Asia

The course focuses on the historical and social background in East and South-East Asia including the historical roots, the nature of state power, social forces, major power relationships, and the future of Asian geopolitics in the 21st century (Additional).

Basic Components

Methodology of Contemporary Asian Studies

This course will introduce students to sociopolitical research methods and familiarize them with the tools and techniques that scholars use to study the history of East Asia. Students will learn about the process of modern historical inquiry and gain a better understanding of the diverse resources that historians use to conduct research.

The Key Problems in Asian Studies Research

This course concentrates on the several important problems and issues of Asian Studies that are fundamental for the deeper understanding of classical and modern development of East Asia and focuses on the major theoretical and practical issues and problems in Asian Studies as a discipline

Components of Educational Program/Track

Basic Components

Modern Asian Political Processes

The proposed course belongs to the block of disciplines which provides theoretical training in Political Science, Political Institutionalism, Political Economy, and Social Anthropology.

Russia in East Asia

The course presents, in chronological order, the milestones of the development of Russian regional policy. The mainstay of this historical canvas is formed by international legislation that covered all spectrums of relations between these countries in the past, and which are still valid. Special attention is given to the Eastern countries’ diplomatic particularities as a function of their ethno-psychology.

Ethno-religious Processes in Asia

The course is aimed at a comprehensive examination of historical and contemporary problems of ethnic and religious contradictions in the Asian region, their origins, specific features, and factors influencing the emergence of conflicts in the local, regional and global context.

State, Society, and Economy in East Asia

The course examines different forms of government intervention into economic life in East Asia and looks at the effects of such interventions on the patterns of economic growth. This part also introduces students to the theories of the developmental state and evaluates the relevance of such theories for explaining the current economic situation in East Asia.

Elective Component

Entrepreneurship and Business in Asia

The course is focused on the main trends of doing business in China, SA and SEA from two perspectives: business environment taking into account the political, legislative, economic, socio-demographic, and cultural environment issues and internal companies’ environment, considering differences in national culture and its management implications on successful communications, team-building, leadership, decision making, motivation, and negotiation processes with business in this region.

Contemporary International Relations in the Asia-Pacific Region: An Advanced Course

The course addresses the role of theoretical knowledge in the social studies and humanities and surveys major social science research programs such as rational choice and historical institutionalism.

Urbanization in Modern Asia

The main objective of the course: to provide students with a comprehensive knowledge of the history of Islam and its influence on the socio-economic and political development of Eastern countries.

Post-Totalitarian China and Political Economy of Transition

The course has its focus on the market reforms and socio-political restructuring in the People’s Republic of China against the background of the history and outcomes of market reforms introduced in East-European former socialist countries and the USSR in the second part of the XX century.

BRICS Countries and the Emerging Global Order

This course focuses on the main reasons for setting up political and trade Blocs in World and Regional framework giving prospects to shape general patterns of new Integration Process.

University Pool Courses (MAGO-LEGO)

Recommended MOOC

Internships and Research

Project Seminar

Science and Research Internship

Research seminar 'New Approaches to Sociopolitical and Economic Development of Asia"

The course introduces the classical and cutting-edge trends in Asian Studies methodology and ways of their application to Master’s level research. The seminar implies a detailed critical analysis of the main components of a Master’s thesis to be completed by the end of the second year, exploring the key techniques of effectively collecting and analyzing various data, as well as the theoretical and practical support of the paper completion process.

Course paper presentation

Graduation Thesis Defence

Students who graduated from our Master’s program "Socio-economic and Political Development of Modern Asia" are highly demanded in:

• Governmental organizations which are closely related to the countries of Asia and Africa. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Education and Science, Governing Institutions of the Regions).
• International and intergovernmental organizations, in particular, the departments of the SCO and the UN;
• Expert, industrial, and governmental research organizations, which are involved in the analysis of the political and economic environment of the East.
• Institutions of the higher education associated with the countries of Asia and Africa.
• Informational agencies and mass media. (ITAR-TASS, RIA-Novosti, “The Voice of Russia”, VGTRK, “Russia Today” etc).
• Organizations of the science and research. (Institute of Oriental Studies (of the Russian Academy of Sciences), Institute of Far Eastern studies (RAS), IMEMO, etc.).
• Сompanies that have an economic interest in broadening our cooperation with the East. (Gazprom, Lukoil, Transneft etc.).