Postgraduate Course: International Security (PGSP11162)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course will introduce students to the main theories and approaches to security through historical and contemporary security issues. The field of security studies has widened significantly over the past 25 years, moving from purely military questions to other issues such as the environment or migration, and from a systemic or state-level understanding to society and the individual (human security). The course starts by first engaging with how scholarly and practical understandings of security have evolved in the past decades. In order to do so, the course explores some key scholarly developments in the evolution of security studies, most notably by showcasing the difference between more traditional rationalist approaches with constructivist and critical ones. The course then explores the conceptual and empirical meaning of 'security' through a number of key issues and topics, including the changing nature of war, the security implications of new technologies such as drones and cyber weapons, private security companies, counter-terrorism and risk. The goal is to explore what these developing areas of empirical security research mean for the concept of 'security', how different theoretical lenses help us to answer empirical research questions in different ways, how 'new' approaches to security relate to 'traditional' approaches, and develop an appreciation of ongoing limitations and challenges in the field. |
| Course description |
The course will introduce students to the main theories and approaches to security through historical and contemporary security issues. The field of security studies has widened significantly over the past 30 years, moving from purely military questions to other issues such as terrorism and cyber security, and from a systemic or state-level understanding to society and the individual (human security).
The course is divided into two halves: theory and practice. The first half explores historical and current theoretical approaches to security, such as the difference between more traditional rationalist approaches and constructivist and critical ones. The second half then explores the practical meaning of 'security' through a number of key issues and topics. The goal is to explore what these developing areas of empirical security research mean for the concept of 'security', how different theoretical lenses help us to answer empirical research questions in different ways, how 'new' approaches to security relate to 'traditional¿ approaches, and develop an appreciation of on-going limitations and challenges in the field.
Outline Content
A more detailed outline content or syllabus (where this is convention within the discipline).
N.B. it is advisable not to be overly prescriptive such as indicating in which weeks of the semester certain topics will be taught in the course descriptor since this is likely to change annually.
This level of detail should be articulated in the course handbook if/as required.
1. Classical security studies: an overview
2. Old and new wars
3. Critical security studies: an overview
4. Securitization
5. Risk
6. Terrorism
7. Surveillance, technology, and drones
8. Humanitarian intervention and human security
9. Intelligence and accountability
10. Cyberwar and cybersecurity
A narrative description of how the course will be taught, how students are expected to engage with their learning and how they will be expected to evidence and demonstrate their achievement of the intended learning outcomes.
The course has 10 weeks of teaching. Each week there is a 1-hour lecture (with all students) plus a 1-hour seminar per week (in smaller groups), except week 1 when there is no seminar. From week 2 onwards, seminars take place the same day as the lecture.
The seminars are designed to give students an opportunity to discuss the topic, lecture, and readings, share ideas and try out arguments with other students.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2017/18, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 110 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Each course must accurately describe the balance of assessment types and their weighting to arrive at the final course mark/grade. See example below from Sociology of Intoxication.
This course is assessed by:
40% Essay 1 of up to 1,500 words
60% Essay 2 of up to 2,500 words
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| Feedback |
Each course is now required to provide the opportunity for at least one piece of formative assessment with associated feedback within an appropriate timescale to enable students to learn from this prior to the summative assessment.
The first essay assessment process will include formative feedback to help students with their second essay.
This field should be used to describe the assessment and feedback strategies used on the course, along with their indicative pattern and schedule of feedback. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Have an extensive knowledge and critical understanding of some of the major approaches in international security studies
- Show a reflextive intellectual grasp of some of the most challenging security issues today
- Demonstrate an ability to apply specialised skills and analytical tools to a variety of empirical cases
- Demonstrate an ability to identify, conceptualise and define abstract problems and issues related to security
- Show transferable research skills such as advanced analytical thinking and communication skills
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Reading List
Barry Buzan & Lene Hansen (2009), The Evolution of International Security Studies, (Cambridge University Press).
Roland Dannreuther (2007) International Security: The Contemporary Agenda (Polity).
John Baylis et al. (2010) Strategy in the Contemporary World: An Introduction to Strategic Studies 3rd Edition (Oxford University Press).
Collins, A. (ed.) (2010) Contemporary Security Studies, 2nd edition,. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Williams, Paul (ed) (2008) Security Studies: An Introduction, Routledge
Michael E. Brown et al (2005), New Global Dangers: Changing Dimensions of International Security
Barry Buzan, People, States and Fear: An Agenda for Security Studies (1991)
B. Buzan, O. Waever and J de Wilde, Security: A New Framework for Analysis (1998)
Keith Krause and M. Williams (eds), Critical Security Studies 1996
Bill McSweeney, Security, Identity and Interests: A Sociology of International Relations (Cambridge Studies in International Relations), CUP 1999
Michael Sheehan, International Security: An Analytical Survey
Michael E Smith, International Security: Politics, Policy, Prospects, Palgrave 2010
R Wyn-Jones, Security, Strategy and Critical Theory,1999
Joseph Nye, Understanding International Conflicts (2000) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Andrew Neal
Tel: (0131 6)50 4236
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Gillian Macdonald
Tel: (0131 6)51 3244
Email: |
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