Course description

The aim of the discipline

The course “Contemporary Socio-Economic and Political Processes in Ukraine” is considered to be a leading, educational discipline for students of specialty “Country Studies”, which covers a wide range of directions, thematic blocks, general schemes of studying historical, geographical, ethno-demographic, socio-economic, political and other aspects of studies of Ukraine. The normative course “Contemporary Socio-Economic and Political Processes in Ukraine” allows students to gain a thorough and up-to-date knowledge of the various spheres of socio-political and economic life of our country. A good knowledge of various aspects of formation and improvement of the administrative and territorial structure, demographic processes, ethnic and religious relations, understanding of problems of improving the territorial and sectoral and organizational structure of production, formation of the party system and electoral processes, etc. allow students to be well guided in the important issue – place and role of Ukraine in the context of the world, pan-European and regional political and economic processes, understand the compelity of internal diversity of regional development.

The objective of the discipline is to familiarize students with the features of the geopolitical position and borders of Ukraine, the history of formation of the state territory and the administrative-territorial structure of the state, broad aspects of studying population of the country, features of natural resources, current state and problems of development of major branches of economy, as well as modern trends in socio-political development of the Ukrainian economy. During the course, students are exposed to the logic and cause and effect relationship between the tasks given, the means used and the results obtained in conducting research into contemporary socio-economic and political processes.

As a result of studying this course the student should know:

– object and subject of knowledge about current socio-economic and political processes in Ukraine,

– the main component-blocks of state functioning;

– main groups of factors that determine the mechanisms of functioning of the economic, political and legal system of Ukraine;

– understand the complexity, interdependence and contradiction of the links between the various components and factors of social development of the country.

As a result of studying this subject the student should be able to:

– use scientific terminology to analyze different spheres and directions of Ukrainian social life;

– establish a cause-effect relationship in the determinants, means, tools and consequences of different policy areas of Ukraine;

– identify the problematic situation of individual directions and spheres of social development of Ukraine and suggest ways to solve them;

– predict structural changes and rates of socio-economic development and political and legal processes in Ukraine.