International Security

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course provides an overview of the most pressing issues in international security today. The course is divided into three roughly chronological parts. Part 1: the Cold War and issues of bipolarity and nuclear deterrence; part 2: the end of the Cold War, and the themes of civil wars, peacekeeping, soft power, and gender and war; and part 3: the current post-9/11 era. The focus of the course is on part three, and in it we will examine such issues as terrorism, the rise of china, security in Africa, the human security debate, the doctrine of the “responsibility to protect,” peace enforcement, problems of children in war, resources and war, psychological insecurity, cyber security, and environmental security.