INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

International Security Studies: The Development of the Discipline

Since the end of the Cold War, International Defence and Security Studies has emerged as an essential field of scholarly enquiry. In the wake of the Second World War, and during the Cold War itself, security was the product of the state and its military apparatus, as the world balanced precariously on the brink of irreparable conflict. Since the Cold War, the state is no longer the focal point in the quest for security. This means different things to different people. As security becomes a heavily debated and amorphous concept, defence has emerged as the military contribution to the provision of security. This wide- ranging module introduces the main concepts of International Defence and Security, highlighting the historical evolution of the field, the broadening definition of security, and the current state of security studies and strategic and defence studies.

Introduction to Strategy

This module introduces students to these core themes of Strategic Studies: 1. Pedagogical functions of strategic theory; 2. Strategy in theory and practice; 3. The strategy-policy relationship; 4. The paradoxical nature of strategy. These are explored through engagement with modern scholars such as Gat, Handel, Luttwak, and Gray. Students will be encouraged to apply their accumulated understanding of strategy to consider the problems of framing strategy in the context of current crises (e.g. DPRK, Taiwan, Syria).

Global & Regional Security

Security means different things whether viewed from a global perspective or from different regions of the world. In global terms, theoretical approaches suggest security can be achieved through cooperation or competition, and these theories help explain the successes and failures of the Cold War and post-Cold War world. But security in Europe and America is a very different concept to security in Africa or South Asia or the Middle East. Different factors impact the way decision-makers and opinion-formers think about their region and its relationship with the rest of the world. This module explores this dynamic by assessing security issues on a global and regional scale. In doing so, it touches in many of the themes that will be explored in more depth as the programme progresses.

War, conflict and competition are amongst the oldest features of human civilisation. Their study has been centra to theorising about the nature and conduct of war for centuries. History provides a vital sense of continuity to our understanding of contemporary conflict. Such a sense is essential not because the character of war is enduring but precisely because it is in flux: one cannot recognise change without being able to discern those continuitics that remain. This module will explore the history of conflict in wide chronological, geographic, and conceptual scope. It will examine the role of war in human history, questioning whether conflict acts as an agent of change and development. Sequential weeks will then chart changes to the character of war during its phase of 'industrialisation in the nineteenth century, and the age of total war in the twentieth.

Conflict now takes place within states as often as between them, and the historical antecedents of this trend, and of ways of defusing civil wars and insurgencies will form the subject of week four.

Finally, two thematic weeks will chart the relationship between war and society. The first will question whether war is a catalyst for social change and new political ideas.

The concluding week will examine how we remember and memorialise war and conflict, and the effects this can have upon our understanding of it. This will provide a holistic overview of war in history and an important backdrop to the remainder of the course.

Introduction to Critical Research Methodologies

This introductory research skills module provides the student with the skills needed to conduct research, study and write in the field of international defence and security. It is tailored to students who have been absent from academia since their first degree, and also offers guidance to students new to the discipline. The module is structured around selecting a dissertation topic, which at this stage can remain relatively broad in scope, but will enable the allocation of a dissertation supervisor who will be able to offer bespoke support throughout the duration of the programme. As such it is the first stage of a three-module portfolio dissertation.

Critical Engagement with Literature

This module will develop the student's ability to engage with academic literature. It will aim to progress from identifying and understanding relevant pieces of literature to being able to critically assess picces of academic writing on their merits and to adjudicate between them. This will culminate in the production of a literature review associated with the student's dissertation. Within this scope, the module will equip students to differentiate between different types of written literature on their merits - identifying the rigour behind work and thus its authority as a source for an academic essay. This will begin the process of questioning the content of scholarly writings and of situating them in relation to each other and to the students own ideas and arguments. The module will explore these themes through the use of a series of case studies. Drawn from the range of disciplines in which the students will be engaging with during their MAs - history, strategic studies, political science, and international relations - these examples will be used to explore the themes outlined above and to challenge the students with differing bodics of academic writing.

International Relations

Without theory, we would be hopelessly lost as scholars and students of world politics. Theory enables us to simplify, study and thereby comprehend the immensely complex world we inhabit. International Relations (IR) as a discipline is preoccupied with questions of theory. But theory also matters beyond the ivory towers of the academy. Policymakers are commonly believed to be put off by theory; certainly, there is irony in the truth that those who practise international relations often pay little attention to IR scholarship. But research on the psychology of decision-making shows that even political leaders, military chiefs and policymakers have a vague, if only intuitive, theoretical understanding of how the world hangs together and works. Without such an understanding, they would be unable to see clearly the policy problems and solutions with which they deal. In this module, we will examine three key IR theories as well as critical approaches. In cach week, we will examine the development of the theory and its different strands before applying these to case studies. We will use the concept of security as a key focus through each week

Seapower & National Strategy

This interesting and thought-provoking module examines the role the sea played in British diplomacy, security and politics between the Napoleonic and First World Wars. Scapower & National Strategy delves into Britain's situation as an island nation, separated from mainland Europe, and how this played a key role in her development during the nineteenth century. The effective exploitation of sea power enabled her to develop and sustain a worldwide empire and trading network, to insulate herself from the ravages of Continental wars and to foster scientific and technological innovation. This module will explore the relationship between sea power and national strategy during this period, focusing on the far-reaching impact maritime affairs had on international relations, political and economic development and the conduct of the First World War.

Proxy Wars & Hybrid Wars

War is conventionally thought of as an event that takes place between states, such as the First and Second World Wars, but the most common wars are smaller in scale and offer different and sometimes less familiar challenges. This module explores the use of proxy wars in international relations to achieve objectives. It also introduces the concept of hybrid wars (the form most proxy wars usually take) which is a mixture of conventional and irregular activity. Ranging from terrorism and counter-terrorism, counterinsurgency and the use of cyber warfare, through to full conventional state on state warfare, the module also links international relations study with historical research by offering case studies which range from the Cold War to contemporary conflicts, such as those in Ukraine and Iraq in 2017.

Women, Peace & Security

Britain is a signatory to several UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) aimed at the protection of women in armed conflict and application of a gender perspective in peace support, peacekeeping and post-conflict reconstruction operations. As a member of NATO, it is also party to the alliance's commitment to implementing the same UNSCR in NATO-led operations. In 2012, NATO updated its original 2009 Bi-Strategic Command Directive on the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and related resolutions on women, peace and security. Gender is defined by the socially constructed roles of females and males. It is dependent on the cultural context and defines relationships and positions of males and females within social structures. Gender inclusiveness enhances operational effectiveness. A major aspect of these strategic developments is the need to address and prevent sexual violence in armed conflict. Therefore, modern armed forces and partner organisations must not tolerate, facilitate or commit acts of sexual violence, but also that they themselves have to practice effective gender integration. This module investigates gendered perspectives on security, and how this can impact on the successful implementation of stabilisation initiatives.

This module is aimed at providing a theoretical and conceptual introduction to the IR sub-field of International Political Economy (IPE), as well as various case study applications. Initially, this includes an introduction to the key IPE theorics, namely: Mercantilism (this is the equivalent of the International Relations Realism theory), Anti-Mercantilism (Liberalism), and Marxism, as well as other IPE theories. Then, this module introduced the key factors concerned with IPE and their continued impact and influence on the international political system. Specifically, these factors are Imperialism, Post-Colonialism, the East-West Divide, and the North-South Divide. Penultimately, this module assesses a brief history of the International Monetary System (IMS), in order to explain how this IPE element has evolved over time and the guise in which it impacts the international political system. Finally, this module introduces and examines the five IPE dynamics:

International Trade, Development, Financial Institutions, Multinational Corporations, and Energy, and how cach of these dynamics interact with and determine the development of the international political system. In order to flesh out the details concerned with these IPE concepts, this module includes several case studies, which will be used to provide 'real world' applications and examples. The aim of this exercise is to contribute to the students' understanding of the discipline, as well as expose them to the specific detail and significance of the case studies.

Deterrence

States use their military power to deter potential adversaries from the use of violence. This module analyses the evolution of deterrence theory in the late twentieth century, and the requirements for communication, credibility and capability in the use of deterrence. Traditionally seen as the activities or threats of one state to deter an adversary’s use of nuclear weapons, in recent years this has evolved to the deterrence or other types of military activity. The module concludes with a case study of the failure of deterrence in Syria in 2013.

Sanctions, Strategy & Statecraft

This module will explore the intersection between statecraft and strategy, with a particular focus on the role of sanctions as a tool of influence in foreign policy. Sanctions, described as measures sitting "between war and words', are one of the most commonly used levers of international power and have far-reaching political, economic and social effects. The module will provide students with a detailed understanding of key concepts such as coercive diplomacy and strategy, before considering how these take form in the various restrictive measures that make up the sanctions toolkit. Drawing on prominent case studies including Iraq, Russia, Syria and Venezuela, students will learn about the nature and evolution of sanctions, as well as how they have been deployed as part of a broader strategy aimed at achieving coercive influence.

Cyber Security in the Information Age

The concept of cyber security is extremely broad, covering the definition of what constitutes a 'cyber-attack', the state apparatus required to resist attack, state surveillance capability, data management, artificial intelligence, and influence and information campaigns.

This module introduces students to the theory behind the concept, before looking at the different aspects of cybersecurity which can be studied.

Strategy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

The module explores four key themes. Together, these build to form an overall picture of how Al technologies are shaping strategic affairs. First, students will consider the history of Artificial Intelligence; next, they explore the literature on military-technical revolutions, stretching from the Palacolithic cra to present-day; then they turn to strategic theories, to examine how Al will challenge key and enduring tenets of strategic thought; and lastly, they turn to the ethics of Al in warfare. The overall educational aim of this module is to provide students with new knowledge and a critical understanding of the strategic impact of Artificial Intelligence. Additionally, the module will introduce students to various disciplinary approaches to strategic intelligence, including from evolutionary psychology, philosophy of mind and computer science, as well as from more traditional strategic studies approaches. In doing so, it aims to develop students understanding of the methods and values in these various disciplines and allow them space to reflect on their own approach to interdisciplinary studies.

Overall, the intention is to provide students with a rounded view of how Al fits within the broader corpus of writing on technology and warfare; and to provide them sufficient technical understanding to enhance their understanding of current themes in Al research, and to anticipate possible future developments.

Intelligence, Espionage & Surveillance

Intelligence, Espionage & Surveillance is a module designed to explore the complexities and difficulties of using intelligence in the international environment, in order to bolster international security. It is not explicitly a history of intelligence use, incorporating, as it does, the study of various intelligence theories, as well as how intelligence failures occur and how they might be avoided. It deals with practical issues of intelligence analysis, explores intelligence organisation in the Western World over the last 60 years, and examines how the use of intelligence in the international system and for international security has evolved from the Second World War to the present day.

Intelligence in Conflict

Following on from the key themes and concepts explored in Intelligence, Espionage & Surveillance, this module explicitly studies the use of intelligence in conflict and war. The module commences with a two-week unit studying the history of the use of intelligence up to the Second World War and the ‘hot-wars’ during the Cold War. The second two-week unit studies the evolving use of intelligence in irregular wars, in particular during the ‘9/11 wars’ in Afghanistan and Iraq. Finally, the third unit studies the use of intelligence in wars in Ukraine and Syria, and in particular in the use of information warfare.