Security is one of the main subfields of international relations. Indeed many of the institutions and organizations of international relations were founded because of concerns over security, war and peace. Yet what is security? What are meaningful ways to define what is a threat? What different ways of thinking about security exist, and what are major contemporary security challenges? In this module we will investigate these questions.

In the first part we will review major perspectives of security theory. After a brief introduction into the discipline of Security Studies, we investigate the role of institutions, the importance of normative perspectives on security and the idea of studying how security issues are made. Relying on these perspectives as theoretical lenses we will then proceed in discussing different issues of international security, how they have been turned into security issues and what is problematic about them. We will investigate major current issues such as terrorism, migration, energy, transnational organized crime, piracy, food security and health.

• In following the module you will gain a basic understanding of how security issues can be problematized theoretically and you will learn the basic techniques of (constructivist) security analysis.
• You will gain an overview of what contemporarily forms the most pressing problems on the agendas of international security
• Know the main theories of how threats are constructed and international policy responses are developed
• Know how to draw the linkages between security studies, international relations and other disciplinary perspectives (e.g. development studies, criminology)

Teaching is by 18 lectures and five seminars of 50 minutes each. Learning is by active participation in the lectures, via seminar preparation (reading), seminar participation, short presentations on a selected topic, feedback on the presentation, essay writing, feedback on essay.

Develop the capacity of coping with and using different competing and overlapping disciplinary and paradigmatic perspectives.

Learn how to analyze problems from an eclectic and pluralist perspective.

Train writing and presentation skills

Coursework (40%)
Examination (60%)

The module is structured in three parts. 1) Introduction In four lectures we will discuss security as a field of knowledge, investigate how security studies has historically developed and how the issues of security have gradually changed. 2) Concepts. In the following 9 lectures we will investigate key concepts and theories of international security. We will look at alliances, security communities, the construction of  threats, human security, and the role of professionals and experts in making security. 3) In six lectures we will discuss concrete issues of international security. We will discuss issues such as terrorism, migration, energy security, transnational organized crime, piracy, maritime security, or health and food security.

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