PIR-30172 - Module Specification
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2025/26

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2025/26

This module investigates how national, international, and global (in)securities are contested both theoretically and empirically by state as well as non-state actors. We will seek to engage critically with hegemonic narratives and work towards a more nuanced approach to analysing the causes, manifestations, and consequences of conflicts between, below, and beyond states. Throughout we focus on perspectives and experiences from the Global South, while cross-referencing them to more well-known perspectives from the Global North. We will use an eclectic set of theoretical approaches, from traditional strategic studies, to Copenhagen School, to Peace Studies, to feminist and subaltern (including postcolonial) approaches, to other varieties of Critical Security Studies. The topics include nuclear proliferation, arms trade, international law approaches, indigenous rights, revolution in military affairs and AI, 'Third World' security, gendered security, the production of militarism in society, terrorism and asymmetric warfare, maritime security, and conflict resolution. The module will be conducted as seminars which will include theoretic investigations, debates on relevant policy applications, and crises round tables. Cases discussed will span from across the globe with a focus on the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, while often comparing and contrasting with Western experiences.

1. To attain detailed familiarity with the key conceptual and theoretical debates within the literature on the praxis of international security.
2. To critically analyse and evaluate the concepts of peace, conflict, geopolitics and security and to develop an understanding of the real-world implications of conceptual differences.
3. To address major questions regarding conflict formation and conflict prevention in the Global South.
4. To attain detailed and critical knowledge of key problems in the traditional and post-traditional security agendas.
5. To develop a critical understanding of various explanations about how security questions develop and what their effects are in a variety of sites in the Global South.
6. To learn about various academic approaches to the pursuit of international peace and conflict-resolution for states, nations, and communities.
7. To be able to engage with questions about the politics of security in both verbal discussions and written productions and develop the clarity and individuality of participants’ writing and speaking skills.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate advanced knowledge of different theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of global peace, conflict, and security.: 1,2
Succinctly and effectively analyse key problems in global, international and regional security, in particular as pertains to the Global South: 1,2
Identify and apply a range of analytic perspectives about conflict formation and conflict-resolution to specific cases in the Global South: 2
Integrate conceptual perspectives and empirical material while developing independent and critical insights on issues pertaining to global peace, conflict, geopolitics, and security: 1,2

Study hours

seminars: 12 x 2-hour seminars (24 hours)
preparation for seminars: 12 x 3.5 hours (42 hours),
researching and writing critical review essay (34 hours)
researching and writing research report: (50 hours)

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment