War and Security in International Politics
A.Y. 2023/2024
Learning objectives
The course aims at providing the students with an advanced and comprehensive understanding of International Politics and War, as well as with the capability to apply knowledge and methodology to emerging case-studies. Against the backdrop of the political, institutional and legal structure of international convivence, the course focuses on the ongoing transformation of both the concept and the practice of security and war.
Expected learning outcomes
By drawing on International Relations Theory and examining relevant case-studies, students will acquire a better understanding of the ongoing evolution of international politics, with a particolar focus on organized violence.
Lesson period: Second trimester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second trimester
Course syllabus
The first part analyses war as the mirrored image of international politics; namely, why the major changes in the history of international politics (such as the shifts from multipolar to bipolar systems, from pre-global to global systems, from ideologically homogeneous to heterogeneous systems) turn out to be mirrored in the frequency of war, its severity, its ability to determine hegemony, or even the way in which it is fought. Particular emphasis will be put on the enduring relationship between war and the distribution of power; the geopolitics of the international arena; culture, ideology, and international law; and between war and the very nature of political actors.
The second part provides a comprehensive analysis of the ongoing transformations of war. The course addresses such topics as the so-called "new wars", the privatization of violence, the proliferation of civil wars, the alleged decline of major wars, the rediscovery of the just war tradition, terrorism and the so-called global war on terror.
In the third part, the attendant students are required to deliver a presentation upon single case-studies.
The second part provides a comprehensive analysis of the ongoing transformations of war. The course addresses such topics as the so-called "new wars", the privatization of violence, the proliferation of civil wars, the alleged decline of major wars, the rediscovery of the just war tradition, terrorism and the so-called global war on terror.
In the third part, the attendant students are required to deliver a presentation upon single case-studies.
Prerequisites for admission
International Relations
Contemporary History
International Law
Contemporary History
International Law
Teaching methods
Lectures and students' presentations
Teaching Resources
For attendant students:
C. von Clausewitz, On War, Books 1 and 8
M. Van Creveld, The Transformation of War, The Free Press, New York 1991
A list of required readings will be circulated at the beginning of the course
For non attendant students:
C. von Clausewitz, On War, Book 1.
M. Van Creveld, The Transformation of War, The Free Press, New York 1991.
M. Kaldor, New and Old Wars: Organized Violence in a Global Era, Polity Press, Cambridge 2012.
C. von Clausewitz, On War, Books 1 and 8
M. Van Creveld, The Transformation of War, The Free Press, New York 1991
A list of required readings will be circulated at the beginning of the course
For non attendant students:
C. von Clausewitz, On War, Book 1.
M. Van Creveld, The Transformation of War, The Free Press, New York 1991.
M. Kaldor, New and Old Wars: Organized Violence in a Global Era, Polity Press, Cambridge 2012.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Attendant students will be assessed according to the following criteria:
Presentation and discussion 30%
Oral exam at the end of the course 70%
Both the presentation and the oral exam are aimed at making sure that the student has a deep understanding of IR theory and war studies. The exam is also aimed at assessing whether the student can express himself/herself with a correct terminology and apply the information and methodology acquired during the course to new case studies.
Non-attendant students have to pass an oral exam at the end of the course. The exam is aimed at making sure that the student has a deep understanting of IR theory and war studies. The exam is also aimed at assessing whether the student can express himself/herself with a correct terminology and apply the information and methodology acquired during the course to new case studies.
Presentation and discussion 30%
Oral exam at the end of the course 70%
Both the presentation and the oral exam are aimed at making sure that the student has a deep understanding of IR theory and war studies. The exam is also aimed at assessing whether the student can express himself/herself with a correct terminology and apply the information and methodology acquired during the course to new case studies.
Non-attendant students have to pass an oral exam at the end of the course. The exam is aimed at making sure that the student has a deep understanting of IR theory and war studies. The exam is also aimed at assessing whether the student can express himself/herself with a correct terminology and apply the information and methodology acquired during the course to new case studies.
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