International Security
International Security course content:
International security is a field of study that encompasses war and peace, organized crime, terrorism, climate change and poverty. Indeed, over the past thirty years, the word “security” has been translated into a multitude of new expressions. These include “human security”, “ontological security”, “societal security”, “food security”, “energy security” and “cyber-security”, in addition to the traditional “national security”.
In addition to this gradual colonization of language by the word “security”, since the 1990s the very concept of security has been the subject of controversy. In the academic world, discussions about security have helped to isolate and separate, within “international studies”, a relatively autonomous field of study known as “Security Studies”, to which researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds have converged.
The main aim of this course is to provide students with a conceptual framework to help them analyze and deconstruct contemporary discourses on security, whether these discourses come from scholars, experts or practitioners. By the end of the course, students should be able to comment critically on security discourses.
Objectives of the International Security course:
This course aims to:
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Enhance students’ knowledge of international security issues;
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Highlight the conditions under which security theories are produced and the practices that these theories generate;
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Develop students’ autonomous thinking while giving them the skills they need for professional careers linked to security issues.
Prerequisites:
It is strongly recommended that you have attended the 12 sessions of the International Relations course. If this is not the case, the first part of the International Security course will be devoted to the theories of International Relations, which will introduce students to the various conceptualisations of security in international relations. The second part of the course will put the theories into practice by analysing the major contemporary issues in international security.
A good command of the French language is required. In addition, the course includes compulsory readings, and all of these texts are in English. Therefore, a good command of academic English is strongly recommended.
Teaching methods:
12 online courses of 1 hour and 30 minutes each, along with compulsory readings. Before each course, students will be required to read one or two compulsory texts. These texts, read carefully and reflectively, will enable students to better understand the elements presented in class.
Furthermore, the exam questions will also be based on these readings. Therefore, students are strongly advised to make a summary of these texts after reading them to facilitate revisions.
The compulsory readings will be available on the Policy Center website or sent by email. They will mainly constitute of academic articles, but may also include non-academic material (institutional reports, policy papers, etc.) that provides useful additional material to the lectures.
The teaching language and evaluations are in French. For reasons that will be discussed during the course, however, all compulsory readings are in English. Additional readings in French are available if you have any difficulties understanding the English language.
Evaluation:
Students will be evaluated on the basis of critical analysis of texts, a report on a conference (the choice of the conference must be communicated to the lecturer), the completion of a book review (the choice of the book must be communicated to the lecturer) and an online final exam at the end of the course.
The critical analyses of the texts are based on the information provided by the lecturer, and developed around a contemporary issue or a theoretical question of the student’s choice that makes a link with the course and the compulsory readings. For example, showing how the theory or concepts developed in the article and in the course sessions could be applied to another situation or a contemporary problem. These papers will be sent by email before the start of each class session and will be graded on a scale of 20 points:
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Ability to present the text in a simple, clear, educational and interesting way: 4 points
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Ability to make the link with the course and compulsory reading: 8 points
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Ability to link the text to a relevant contemporary issue: 8 points
The online final exam, lasting 2 hours, will consist of a series of four questions on the course and compulsory texts. This online final exam is composed of the following elements:
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Open questions consisting of a series of two questions on the course and the texts proposed for reading. (10 points)
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Question on the analysis of a text. (5 points)
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Closed Multiple Choice Question (MCQ). (5 points)
The final grade will be distributed as follows:
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Average of critical analysis of texts: 40% (8 points)
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Report on a conference: 20% (4 points)
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Book review: 20% (4 points)
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Online final exam: 20% (4 points)
