Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL3214: Disrupting Western Hegemony: Insurgency and Counterinsurgency Post-WWII

This module descriptor refers to the 2022/3 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover for example the following topics:

  • Definitions of insurgency and counterinsurgency;
  • Classic theories of insurgency/guerrilla war;
  • Classic theories of counterinsurgency;
  • Historical and contemporary case studies of insurgency/counterinsurgency campaigns.

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
221280

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity2211 x 2-hour seminars
Guided Independent Study50Private study – reading and preparing for seminars
Guided Independent Study78Preparation for assessments – including researching and collating relevant sources; planning the structure and argument; writing up the essay and presentation brief; preparing and rehearsing presentation.

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

  • Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy: https://centreforfeministforeignpolicy.org/
  • Complex Terrain Laboratory: http://www.terraplexic.org/
  • Consortium on Gender, Security & Human Rights: https://genderandsecurity.org/
  • Costs of War Project, https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/
  • Stockholm International Peace Research Institute: http://www.sipri.org/
  • Combating Terrorism Centre (Westpoint): http://ctc.usma.edu/sentinel/
  • UK Defence Academy: http://www.da.mod.uk/podcasts
  • ‘MERLIN’ US National Defence University: http://merln.ndu.edu/
  • US Institute of Peace: http://www.usip.org/
  • Institute for War and Peace Reporting: http://www.iwpr.org
  • US Army War College: http://www.carlisle.army.mil/
  • International Studies Association web resources: http://www.isanet.org/links/
  • US Naval Postgraduate School: http://www.nps.edu/
  • RAND Corps: http://www.rand.org/
  • Center for Strategic and International Studies: http://csis.org/
  • Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies: http://www.rusi.org
  • Chatham House (Royal Institute for International Affairs): http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk
  • International Institute for Strategic Studies: http://www.iiss.org
  • Brookings Institute: http://www.brookings.edu/
  • Bitter Lemons: http://www.bitterlemons.org/
  • Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies: http://www.ciss.ca/
  • Centre for Defence Information: http://www.cdi.org/
  • CIA Factbook: http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
  • Human Rights Watch http://www.hrw.org/
  • International Crisis Group: http://www.icg.org/home/index.cfm
  • Peace Pledge Union: https://www.ppu.org.uk/
  • Rand Corporation: http://www.rand.org/
  • The Costs of War Project: https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/

Other Learning Resources

Other materials and resources will be identified by the module convener in lectures and via ELE and by tutors in tutorials.