Introduction to Security Politics - Einzelansicht

Still looking for a class? We can still admit students to this class. All registered students will receive information about moodle in a personal Email.

In recent years, terrorism, mass violence, and inter-state war have (re)emerged as real or perceived threats to international security. This course aims to provide students with the building blocks to study and investigate security politics around the globe. It builds on Interational Relations Theory to investigate different issue areas of security politics - from classical fields such as interstate war and terrorism to more recently securitised fields such as migration. We examine contemporary security challenges and the role of states, non-state actors, and international institutions in providing or threatening international security all the way from the war in Ukraine, to US-China tensions and the Iran Nuclear Deal.

This Vertiefungsseminar looks at the theoretical and empirical explanations that have been offered by academic scholarship, which will help us understand these patterns. Students will be introduced to the core concepts and dominant approaches of the study of international security politics and have a chance to apply them across a range of current cases. The course offers space for exchange and collaboration among students: through discussions, presentations and other more creative forms of engagement. At the end of the course, students will be able to assess international security challenges from a variety of perspectives; and design independent research on issues related to security politics.

To contact Dr. Wolfgang Minatti: wolfgang.minatti@eui.eu

Contents

Day 01: June 10 2024 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
Class 01 [10:00-12:00]: The Concept of ‘Security’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
Class 02 [12:00-14:00]: Trends of War and Peace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Day 02: June 17 2024 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
Class 03 [On your own time]: The Causes of War? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Day 03: June 24 2024 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
Class 04 [10:00-12:00]: Debating the Causes of War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
Class 05 [12:00-14:00]: Security and the State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Day 04: July 1 2024 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
Class 06 [10:00-12:00]: Insurgency and ‘Small’ Wars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
Class 07 [12:00-14:00]: Terrorism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Day 05: July 8 2024 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
Class 08 [10:00-12:00]: Nuclear Deterrence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
Class 09 [12:00-14:00]: Securitizing Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Day 06: July 15 2024 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
Class 10 [10:00-12:00]: International Institutions and Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
Class 11 [12:00-14:00]: Humanitarian Intervention and the Responsibility to Protect 
Class 12 [14:00-16:00]: Reflection Exercise and Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Prüfungsnebenleistung: active participation and one presentation

Term paper (Hausarbeit): 

• BA Politik und Verwaltung (Studienordnung 2011 oder 2015): Active Participation and Final Essay (10 Pages) (6 LP)
• BA Politik und Wirtschaft (Studienordnung 2013): Active Participation and Final Essay (3.000-4.000 words) (6 LP)
• BA Politik, Verwaltung und Organisation (Studienordnung 2012): Active Participation and Final Essay (10 pages) (6 LP)
• BA Politik, Verwaltung und Organisation (Studienordnung 2015): Active Participation and Final Essay (3.000-4.000 words) (6 LP)
• Erasmus (6 ECTS): Active Participation and Final Essay (3.000-4.000 words) (6 LP)

This course introduces students to the study of security politics and presents a variety of methodological and thematic angles on what security is and how to conceptualise it. At the end of
the course, students will be able (1) to understand the main themes and concepts of international security politics; (2) to study security challenges from a variety of perspectives and questions; (3)
to critically assess existing empirical, theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of security politics; and (4) to design independent research on issues related to security politics.