Royal Holloway, U of London

This course explores the related topics of war and security. It is divided into three parts. The first part will look specifically at the idea of war, particularly how the idea of war has been conceptualised within the field of strategic studies and the tactics of war. The second section will consider how these traditional notions of war and security have been questioned; specifically, it will look in depth at two key issues that have challenged traditional perceptions of war and security. These are the rise of non-state threats (i.e. terrorism) and the concept of human security. The third section will look at a range of contemporary issues in security studies, such as nuclear proliferation, genocide and cybersecurity. Learning Outcomes: Explain how war and international security have been understood and evaluate the issues surrounding that understanding Critically analyse strategic and theoretical approaches to war and other forms of insecurity Examine the ideational differences between traditional strategic security paradigms and the expansion of critical approaches within security studies e.g. human security Describe and critically discuss a range of key issues within security studies Critique theoretical approaches to understanding terrorism, particularly the difference between state and non-state security
Required Materials: Click here for the reading list system
Technical Requirements: The total number of notional learning hours associated with course are 150. These will normally be broken down as follows: 10 hour(s) of Lectures across 10 week(s) 10 hour(s) of Seminars across 10 week(s) 130 hour(s) of Guided Independent Study Summative Assessment Essay 70% 2000 Words Essay 30% 1000 Words