Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL2082: Changing Character of Warfare

This module descriptor refers to the 2020/1 academic year.

Module Aims

Without shying away from the conceptual and political challenges of thinking about armed conflict, this module will aim to:

Introduce you to the practical and operational realities faced by decision-makers and actors that have dealt with the conventional and sub-conventional warfare challenges since the end of the Cold War;
Enable you to analyse, by looking at earlier or more current conflicts, how state and non-state actors have gone about fighting in them;
Enable you to examine how Western militaries have adopted new modes of operational thinking, structures, and postures often as result of their military culture, organizational biases, and societal pressures and also as a reaction to the asymmetric challenges that they have increasingly confronted as a result of their conventional military superiority;
Enable you to explore in particular the problems and challenges stemming from the growing trend of military intervention in international relations, and the conduct of the ‘Global War on Terror’.
Provide you with a basis for further graduate study and post-graduate study in defence and security, or for a career in government, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, media, or the security forces.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. Demonstrate knowledge of the nature of warfare and its evolving characteristics. 2. Demonstrate knowledge of the evolving nature of civil-military and military-societal relations in Western states. 3. Demonstrate knowledge of the developing attributes of the Western way of warfare and their effect on those challenging the Western way of warfare thinking and praxis. 4. Demonstrate knowledge of the growing asymmetric challenges confronted by Western states and the way that these have reacted to such challenges from the societal, operational and organizational perspectives.
Discipline-Specific Skills	5. Examine secondary and primary source material in the field of war and conflict studies. 6. Demonstrate awareness of the key concepts and debates relating to the study of war and its changing character. 7. Evaluate competing conceptions and theories of warfare.
Personal and Key Skills	8. Study independently and manage time and assessment deadlines effectively. 9. Communicate effectively in speech and writing. 10. Demonstrate analytical skills through tutorial discussions and module assessments. 11. Demonstrate proficiency in the use of the internet, online journal databases and other IT resources for the purposes of tutorial and assessment preparation. 12. Work independently, within a limited time frame, and without access to external sources, to complete a specified task.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

What is War?
The Causes of Warfare
Interstate versus Intrastate Warfare
The Military and the Nature of Civil-Military Relations
Change and Continuity in Warfare
The ‘Revolution in Military Affairs’ and ‘Transformation’ Agendas
Outsourcing War: the Rise of Private Military Companies
Asymmetric Challenges I: Terrorism
Asymmetric Challenges II: Insurgency and Guerrilla Warfare
Military Adaptation and Innovation
Summation, Revision, and Student Module Evaluation

Learning and Teaching

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

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
26.5	123.5	0

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

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning & Teaching Activity	16.5	11 x 1.5 hour lectures
Scheduled Learning & Teaching Activity	10	10 x 1 hour tutorials
Guided Independent Study	40	Tutorial preparation
Guided Independent Study	83.5	Assessment preparation and completion

Online Resources

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

Complex Terrain Laboratory: http://www.terraplexic.org/
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/
US Homeland Security: http://www.inhomelandsecurity.com/
UK Resilience (Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat):
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ukresilience.aspx
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/
Arms Control Resources: http://www.armscontrol.org/
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
Rand Corporation: http://www.rand.org/

Other Learning Resources

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