International Security
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| PHIR2010 | Politics and International Relations | 2 | 20 | Autumn Malaysia |
- Code
- PHIR2010
- School
- Politics and International Relations
- Level
- 2
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Autumn Malaysia
Summary
This module explores issues in global security since the end of the Cold War. It focuses on security in a broad sense, from issues relating to the use of force by states, through to violence by non-state actors, such as terrorist groups, and on to the concept of human security where issues of disease and environmental impact are important. International Relations theories that shed light on the study of international security will be studied in the module. The module builds on the first year modules Understanding Global Politics and Issues in Global Politics, challenging students to deepen their theoretical as well as empirical knowledge in international security. It is also a preparation for the research-led third year modules that require a much more developed capacity of analysing empirical developments from a range of different theoretical perspectives.
Target Students
PHIR students Available to JYA/Erasmus students.
Classes
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 12 weeks
- One 2-hour lecture each week for 12 weeks
Assessment
- 50% Coursework 1: 2500 words essay
- 20% Coursework 2: 2 x reading summary
- 20% Coursework 3: Threat Assessment (Report)
- 10% Participation: Participation
Assessed by end of autumn semester
Educational Aims
By the end of the module students will:• engage with different theoretical approaches in international security; • gain an understanding of the empirical development of global security since the end of theCold War with a particular focus on the Asia-pacific; • investigate the breadth of issues within the field of global security; • prepare students theoretically for advanced Level 3 modules in IR;Learning Outcomes
a) knowledge and understanding:
• Demonstrate knowledge of the subject of global security and how issues and theories can be interpreted in different ways (to be assessed by a 3000 word essay and a two-hour exam);
• Demonstrate a knowledge of the appropriate literatures in relation to international security studies;
b) Intellectual skills
• Think reflectively and critically about the connection between theory and empirical analysis;
• Assess a variety of approaches and methods for the study of global security;
c) Professional and practical skills
• Evidence gathering and evaluation;
• Advanced writing skills under exam conditions; • independent learning.
d) transferable (key) skills Through active participation in the module students will acquire:
• the capacity to engage in a structured and well informed discussion about complex questions (to be practised in class discussions);
• the capacity to concentrate on core points and the ability to speak on the basis of a set of notes (to be practised in oral presentations in class);
• the ability to write in a structured and concise way under time pressure (to be assessed in the examination);
• the skill to develop a structured argument in a longer piece of work (to be assessed in the 3000 word essay);