Global Security (POLM060)
This module description relates to the academic year 2011/2.
| Lecturer(s) | Dr Matthew Eagleton-Pierce |
|---|---|
| Module level | M |
| Credit Value | 30.00 |
| ECTS Value | 15 |
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Co-requisites | None |
| Duration of Module | One semester |
| Total Student Study Time | 300 hours (including 12 x 2 hour seminars and 276 hours independent study time) |
Aims
Aims
This module aims to encourage the students to explore the 'critical turn' in the study of global security relations by tracing the move away from the Realist orthodoxy in the 'Copenhagen', 'Welsh' and 'Paris' schools of thought. Such a move prompts a widening and deepening of what is meant by 'security' in international politics; not only to involve state-centred militarism but issues spanning economic, social, political and environmental spheres. Moreover, it allows for critical analysis of contemporary notions of insecurity such as the cultivation and management of fear and unease. A further objective is to enable students to develop an appreciation of contending theoretical approaches to security issues inspired by perspectives such as the Frankfurt School and post-structuralism. The aim is to put these perspectives to work, and illustrate and evaluate them against the backdrop of an array of emerging issues in contemporary security practices including: homeland security and the changing nature of borders; environmental degradation and resource scarcity; poverty and development; migration and human trafficking; health; and the War on Terror. The course will be global in scope and students will have the opportunity to examine such issues in the context of African, EU, UK and US politics and their interrelations.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Module-specific skills:
By the end of the course students should be able to:
- Discuss, analyse and critically evaluate competing theoretical perspectives in the study of security in world politics.
- Demonstrate a critical appreciation of the key concepts involved in such a study including the concept of security itself.
- Apply theoretical perspectives in order to analyse an array of emerging security practices and show awareness of the limitations and implications of each perspective.
- Provide evidence of in-depth knowledge and understanding of a particular theoretical perspective and emerging security issue.
- Demonstrate critical and imaginative thinking about what studying security in world politics might mean.
Discipline-specific skills:
By the end of the course students will have developed the following skills:
- The ability to grasp and apply a variety of theories found in Politics and International Relations in order to assess and/or critique each theory in its application to specific case studies.
- The ability to reflect on the wider importance of the concept of security in contending conceptualisations of global governance and political transformation; theories of the state and the realm of the international; and rival framings of world politics.
- The ability to identify and engage with an array of case study material, involving web based data, academic journals and research monographs, in order to develop in-depth knowledge of emerging security issues.
Personal and key skills:
By the end of the course students will have developed the following skills:
- Analytical abilities, patience and perseverance (through engagement with intellectually challenging literature).
- The ability to facilitate group discussions and debate, to explain and discuss their own ideas and to select material suitable for inclusion in discussion (through student-led seminar discussions).
- Experience of developing individual initiative in researching a topic, finding suitable material and producing an extended piece of written work (particularly through the second assessed essay).
Learning/Teaching Methods
Learning/Teaching Methods
Learning and teaching on this module involves weekly 2 hour seminars each focused on a specific theme (see syllabus plan beneath). In Part One the module will concentrate on introducing, exploring and assessing a variety of theoretical approaches to the study of security in world politics. From here Part Two will move on to the application of these theoretical approaches by looking at an array of emerging issues in the field of global security practices. The first seminar will be introductory but thereafter students will be expected to read in depth for each subsequent meeting in preparation for active discussion. Each seminar has required readings (most of which will be provided in a study pack). Students, generally in pairs or groups of three, will take it in turn to prepare a presentation for the seminar based on the prescribed reading and lead discussion in the seminar itself. Slots will be organised at the beginning of the semester. The use of slides and handouts are encouraged as are innovative and experimental approaches to leading the seminar.
Assignments
Essay 1 - 2500 words (30%)
Essay 2 - 2500 words (30%)
Essay 3 - 2500 words (30%)
Seminar presentation - 10 minutes with handout (10%)
Assessment
Essay 1 - 2500 words (30%)
Essay 2 - 2500 words (30%)
Essay 3 - 2500 words (30%)
Seminar presentation - 10 minutes with handout (10%)
Syllabus Plan
Possible topics include:
Introduction: What is 'security' anyway?
State Security: The Realist Orthodoxy
Securitization: The Copenhagen School
Emancipation and Security: The Welsh School
Liberty and Security: The Paris School
Homeland Security
Environmental Security
Development and Security
Migration and Security
Health and Security
The War on Terror and Insecurity
Indicative Basic Reading List
Buzan, B. People, States and Fear: An Agenda for International Security Studies in the Post-Cold War Era (London: Lynne Rienner, 1991)
Booth, K. Critical Security Studies and World Politics (London: Lynne Rienner, 2005)
Campbell, D. Writing Security: United States Foreign Policy and the Politics of Identity, revised edition (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998)
Dobson, A., Prokhovnik, R., and Huysmans, J. The Politics of Protection: Sites of Insecurity and Political Agency (London and New York: Routledge, 2005)
Duffield, M. Global Governance and the New Wars: The Merging of Development and Security (London: Zed Books, 2001)
Elbe, S. Strategic Implications of HIV/AIDS (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003)
Huysmans, J. The Politics of Insecurity: Security, Migration and Asylum in the EU (London and New York: Routledge, 2006)
Klare, M. Resource Wars: the New Landscape of Global Conflict (London and New York: Palgrave, 2001)
Krause, K. and Williams, M. Critical Security Studies: Concepts and Cases (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997)
