Module POL3214 for 2020/1
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL3214: Disrupting Western Hegemony: Insurgency and Counterinsurgency Post-WWII
This module descriptor refers to the 2020/1 academic year.
Module Aims
This module will provide you with:
- A comprehensive understanding of the conceptual issues associated with the definition and study of low-intensity conflict, and particularly, of insurgency and counter-insurgency.
- An awareness of the competing theories and practices of low-intensity conflict.
- An understanding of the kinds of predicaments, including strategic, operational and ethical dilemmas, produced by low-intensity conflict activities.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the nature of low-intensity conflict and its evolving features. 2. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the developing characteristics of the Western way of counter-insurgency warfare and its effect on those challenging Western hegemony. 3. Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of the growing asymmetric challenges confronted by Western states and the way that these have reacted to such challenges from the strategic, operational, ethical and organizational perspectives. |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. Display a critical understanding of the evolution of sub-conventional military operations, and their role in contemporary conflict; 5. Exercise informed judgement about change and continuity of sub-conventional conflicts; |
| Personal and Key Skills | 6. Study independently and manage time and assessment deadlines effectively. 7. Communicate effectively in speech and writing. 8. Demonstrate critical and analytical skills through tutorial discussions and module assessments. 9. Demonstrate proficiency in the use of the internet, online journal databases and other IT resources for the purposes of tutorial and assessment preparation. |
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay Plan | 500 words | 1-9 | Oral |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 79 | 0 | 21 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feedback Sheet (see pp. 7-8 below). | ||||
| Presentation Brief | 29 | 1,000 word brief | 1-9 | Written comments |
| Essay | 71 | 2,500 word essay | 1-9 | Written comments |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presentation Brief | 1,000 word brief | 1-9 | August/September re-assessment period |
| Essay | 2,500 word essay | 1-9 | August/September re-assessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
- Barkawi, T. Globalization and War (Rowman and Littlefield, 2006).
- Beckett, I. Modern Insurgencies and Counter-Insurgencies: Guerrillas and their Opponents since 1750 (Routledge, 2001).
- Black, J. Insurgency and counterinsurgency [electronic resource]: a global history (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016).
- Catignani, S. Israeli counter-insurgency and the Intifadas: dilemmas of a conventional army (London: Routledge, 2008).
- Cordell, K. & Wolff, S. Ethnic conflict: causes, consequences, and responses (Cambridge: Polity, 2009/2010).
- Duncanson, C. Forces for Good?: Military Masculinities and Peacebuilding in Afghanistan and Iraq (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).
- Dyvik, S. Gendering Counterinsurgency: Performativity, Embodiment and Experience in the Afghan 'Theatre of War' (Abingdon: Routledge, 2016).
- Farrell, T. The Norms of War: Cultural Beliefs and Modern Conflict (Lynne Rienner, 2005).
- Farrell, T. and Terriff, T. The Sources of Military Change: Culture, Politics, Technology (Lynne Rienner, 2002).
- Gross, M.L. The ethics of insurgency: a critical guide to just guerrilla warfare (Cambridge: CUP, 2015).
- Jones, C. and Catignani, S. Israel and Hizbollah: an asymmetric conflict in historical and comparative perspective (London: Routledge, 2010).
- Kaldor, M. New Wars and Old Wars: Organized Violence in a Global Era (Polity, 2006).
- Kinsey, C. and Patterson, M.H. Contractors and War: The Transformation of United States' Expeditionary Operations (Stanford University Press, 2012).
- Porter, P. Military Orientalism: Eastern War through Western Eyes (Hurst, 2009).
- Rabi, U. International intervention in local conflicts: crisis management and conflict resolution since the Cold War (London: Tauris, 2010).
- Rich, P.B. and Duyvesteyn I. The Routledge handbook of insurgency and counterinsurgency [electronic resource] (New York: Routledge, 2012).
- Shaw, M. The New Western Way of War: Risk-Transfer War and its Crisis in Iraq (Polity, 2005).
- Smith, R. The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World (Allen Lane, 2005).
- Sylvester, C. War as Experience: Contributions from International Relations and Feminist Analysis (Abingdon: Routledge, 2013).
- Von Clausewitz, C. On War. Edited and translated by Michael Howard and Peter Paret. (Princeton University Press, 1976).
- Whittaker, D. J. (ed.), The Terrorism Reader 3rd edition (London: Routledge 2007).
