Security Governance: the Euro-Atlantic Space and Beyond (PZK_153)
About Study Course
Objective
The aim of the course is to provide a comprehensive review of security governance in the Euro-Atlantic space and beyond. Most of the attention will be devoted to armament and disarmament issues and (re)emerging warfare domains by which scores of other related micro and macro issues of International Security Studies and International Relations will be captured.
As the final semester of the M.A. program is devoted to elaboration and defence of M.A. thesis, this course will begin with a methodical workshop on M.A. thesis. The objective of it is to assist students to further develop their ideas for M.A. research, as well as to introduce to the process of preparation and defence of thesis.
From here on, the course will proceed with a general review of war and peace in retrospective and perspective – armed conflicts of the past and the present, status quo of armed forces at global and regional levels. A particular attention will be devoted to Russia’s war in Ukraine in 2022.
Then the course will move on to a review of International Security Studies from a theoretical perspective. As a part of this block, the main concepts and theories of International Security Studies in a retrospective framework will be reviewed.
The course will enter the next phase with a review of weapons of mass destruction and disarmament & control of such weapons. It will cover biological, chemical, radiological and nuclear weapons, complemented by a review of the often-related control of conventional arms.
The lectures’ part of the course will end with a review of security governance in two (re)emerging domains of warfare – the space and the cyber space. From there on, during the workshops students will present their individual projects on more specific issues discussed as a part of the course.
Prerequisites
Previous knowledge on international security.
Learning outcomes
Demonstrate a deep understanding of the evolution of the security governance, contemporary structure and operation of Euro-Atlantic and out of Euro-Atlantic security structures, including their legal frameworks, institutions, decision-making processes and practices, interaction between the security governance institutions.
Demonstrate a systematic insight in the formal and informal operation of the security governance. Students should be able to analyse and assess operation of the security governance processes within and beyond its institutional frameworks. Demonstrate professional presentation skills and the ability to explain different security governance models both specialist and non-specialist audiences.
Show a sophisticated understanding and a clear appreciation of the evolution and operation of the security governance models. Students should be able to demonstrate a clear understanding of the operation of the security governance at different levels of the international system and to envisage options of the further evolution models of the regional security governance.
