PUBPOL 5010

Contemporary Security Policy

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2024-2025.

This full-semester course will provide an introduction to the diverse and contested field of security studies, including both the Traditional and Critical approaches. It covers the foundational theoretical approaches in the field of security studies – Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism, Critical Theory, Feminism and Gender Security, and PostStructural and Postcolonial Perspectives. It also questions how security policy is developed and implemented and the historical, economic, political, and social power dynamics that influence how 'security policy' is constructed and implemented by nation-states. Alongside the study of theory, the course covers a wide range of contemporary security issues - from the return of inter-state conflict and nuclear deterrence to terrorism, environmental security, and health security – and applies the theories and concepts of security studies to real-world examples.

When Offered Spring.

• Remember: 1. Recall key theories of International Relations and their Traditional and Critical characteristics relevant to Security Studies. 2. List examples of contemporary security challenges, their impact on policy, and how IR Theory explains their occurrence in the international system.
• Understand: 1. Summarize the foundational theoretical concepts of International Relations and principles of Security Studies. 2. Explain how security challenges are altering traditional policy approaches to international peace and security. 3. Understand the Critical and Traditional approaches to Security Studies.
• Apply: 1. Analyze case studies to demonstrate how specific security challenges have influenced domestic and international policy. Apply this analysis to obtain a better understanding of contemporary security issues. 2. Propose practical policy recommendations for mitigating the negative effects of pertinent security policy challenges on society (domestically and internationally).
• Analyze: 1. Evaluate the ethical implications of theoretical and policy solutions to security challenges. 2. Compare and contrast the impact of different theoretical and policy solutions on international peace and security, applied to specific geopolitical contexts.
• Evaluate: 1. Critically assess the effectiveness of current international legal frameworks in addressing challenges raised during the module. 2. Formulate informed judgments about the potential risks and benefits of adopting the policy solutions raised in the module.

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