Module POL3054 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL3054: Nuclear Weapons in International Relations
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
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 feedback | Over Term 2 | 1-6 | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50 | 0 |
...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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Examination | 50 | 1.5 hours | 1-7 | Written comments |
| Essay | 50 | 3,000 word essay | 1-6 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Examination | 1.5 hour examination | 1-7 | August-September re-assessment period |
| Essay | 3,000 word essay | 1-6 | 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.
Basic reading:
- Lawrence Freedman, The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy (London: Macmillan, 1982).
- Lawrence Freedman, “The First Two Generations of Nuclear Strategists,” in Makers of Modern Strategy: From Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age, Peter Paret, ed. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986), 735-778.
- Richard Smoke, National Security and the Nuclear Dilemma, 3rd ed. (Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1993), Chapter 13 (pp. 236-263).
- Albert Wohlstetter, “The Delicate Balance of Terror,” Foreign Affairs 37, no. 2 (January, 1959): 211-234.
- Paul H. Nitze, “Deterring Our Deterrent,” Foreign Policy 25 (Winter, 1976/1977): 195-210.
- Robert Jervis, “Why Nuclear Superiority Doesn’t Matter,” Political Science Quarterly 94, no. 4 (Winter, 1979/1980): 617-633.
- Marc Trachtenberg, “The Influence of Nuclear Weapons in the Cuban Missile Crisis,” International Security 10, no. 1 (Summer, 1985), 136-163.
- Avery Goldstein, Deterrence and Security in the 21st Century (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2002).
- Scott Sagan and Kenneth Waltz, The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Renewed 3rd ed. (New York: Norton, 2013).
- Scott Sagan, “Why Do States Build Nuclear Weapons? Three Models in Search of a Bomb,” International Security 21, no. 3 (Winter, 1996-1997): 54-86.
- Jacques E.C. Hymans, The Psychology of Nuclear Proliferation: Identity, Emotions, and Foreign Policy (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), Chapters 1, 2 (pp. 1-46).
- Mueller, John. “The Essential Irrelevance of Nuclear Weapons: Stability in the Postwar World,” International Security Vol. 13, No. 2 (Fall 1988), pp. 55-79.
