STV9036 – Threats to State Security and Theories of Security Policy: How Fruitful the Latter?
Course content
This is a week-long course that focuses on contemporary threats to state security, ranging from conventional war (e.g Russia’s war in Ukraine) to cyber/’grey zone’ attacks from state actors (Russia, China prominent actors); and our analytical tools of security policy - most prominent are varieties of realism, liberal internationalism, and constructivism.
The course asks whether these analytical tools are adequate and fruitful, given the nature of threats. Do the theories lend themselves to empirical testing/operationalization? How can we design studies with more rigour? The prominence of realist explanations of revisionist state behaviour has not been accompanied by in-depth studies to prove the relevance of this theory tradition. There is little to impress in terms of explanatory studies of security policy, despite empirically rich analysis. This course purports to ‘sharpen’ our analytical tools by examining and critiquing scholarly contributions, and by attempting to design analytical frameworks amongst the students in the course.
Learning outcome
- Critical thinking
- Analytical rigour in study design
- Familiarity with contemporary security studies
- Knowledge of main theories in security policy and their application
Admission to the course
The course is available for all PhD students in Political Science or related diciplines.
Internal applicants sign up for the course in Student web. External applicants fill out the application form
Teaching
The teaching will be a mixture of lectures and seminars, and will take place over 5 days,
Full active participation in the class is required
Examination
A course paper which deals with research design and which entails deep knowledge of the empirical state of threats. The paper should be 3000-4000 words.
Language of examination
The paper must be submitted in English
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about the grading system.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.