Unit name | International Security |
---|---|
Unit code | POLIM3012 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Professor. Herring |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit introduces the student to the subject of international security. It investigates in particular the involvement of liberal democracies with international security issues, and discusses the various explanations of this involvement as necessary self-defence in a dangerous and insecure world. This unit also considers the successes and failures of the global spread of liberal democracy, especially in relation to ethnic and religious conflict. In addition, it examines the implications of the maintenance of a sharp north-south security divide for the emergence of new forms of global terrorism and trans-national violence. The dominant mode of interpretation is that problems in international security are caused by illiberal, undemocratic actors 'out there'. Another interpretation is that liberal democracies have also been involved in bringing about international security problems, escalating them and prolonging them. The student is taught to think critically about both modes of interpretation. This unit is only available to students registered for MSc/Diploma degrees in the Department of Politics. Please note that the Department does not permit the auditing of any of its units.
This unit aims:
On successful completion of this unit the student should have:
Teaching will be delivered through a one-hour lecture plus a one-hour seminar per group. The following methods will be outlined and used in the seminars:
Formative assessment: an oral presentation supported by a handout Summative assessment: a 3,500 - 4,000 word essay
A full statement of the relationship between the programme outcomes and types/methods of assessment is contained in accompanying Programme Specifications and section B7 of the Major Change to Current Programme forms for the programmes of which this unit is a part. The assessment for each unit is designed to fit within and contribute to that approach in terms of intellectual development across each of the two teaching blocks, and in relation to knowledge and understanding, intellectual skills and attributes, and transferable skills.