Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL2082: Changing Character of Warfare

This module descriptor refers to the 2020/1 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 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 ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
26.5123.50

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

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning & Teaching Activity16.511 x 1.5 hour lectures
Scheduled Learning & Teaching Activity1010 x 1 hour tutorials
Guided Independent Study40Tutorial preparation
Guided Independent Study83.5Assessment 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.