Admission requirements
Mandatory course for students enrolled in the bachelor’s programme Security Studies.
This course is also open for inbound exchange students. Exchange students must be admitted by the FGGA International Office prior to the start of the course; priority will be given to direct exchange partners of FGGA. For more information about the application procedure for exchange students, please contact the FGGA International Office at international@fgga.leidenuniv.nl.
Description
In this Bachelor programme, we have defined security and safety broadly as relating to protection from harm and threats against acquired values. This is a very broad and general definition. It leaves unspecified what ‘protection’ consists of, which ‘harms’ we are speaking of, and which ‘acquired values’ are deemed worthy of protection. It is this latter point – the key assets, interests or values that we choose to protect (over others) that are at the heart of this course. We label them as vital interests in society. The course Vital interests is all about identification, prioritisation and decision making about vital interests in contemporary societies.
Against the background of limited means, decision-makers (politicians, regulators, policy-makers and others) must make decisions with regard to prioritising risks and choosing which interests to protect. First and foremost, of course, they may do so on the basis of an understanding of the likelihood of the materialisation of a given harm and the potential consequences (economic, social, practical, ethical, political) it may have. However, probabilities are not always easy to establish conclusively, especially in relation to modern-day complex global safety and security challenges. Another key aspect of the course is how, why and under what circumstances states choose to protect national interests and international, collective interests or ‘global public goods’.
When critically assessing the labelling and prioritisation of vital interests, students must learn to consistently ask why something is considered a vital interest, for whom (who benefits, who doesn’t), what the potential effects are, and which legitimation(s) are used for it.
Course objectives
After this course students are able to:
Identify and contextualise trends and threats related to vital interests in the field of security and safety, and place them in a broader societal context.
Use theoretical principles, empirical findings and analytical models in relation to decision-making about vital interests, informed by various academic disciplines.
Identify and understand how actors make decisions on vital interests, and prioritise risks in relation to their consequences, possible impact, and other values.
Think critically about political and cultural viewpoints on vital interests and to address related ethical dilemmas.
Identify and evaluate different methods and strategies, as well as value their applicability and relevance, to address vital interests in contemporary society.
Timetable
On the right side of programme front page of the e-guides you will find links to the website and timetables, uSis and Brightspace.
Mode of instruction
14 plenary lectures
4 course labs in smaller groups
Attendance of the course labs is mandatory. If you miss more than 1 course lab you fail the course and won’t obtain a grade.
Total study load of 280 hours:
Contact hours: 54
Self-study hours: 223
Examination: 3
Assessment method
Course lab participation
15% of final grade
Grade must be compensated
Resit not possible
Written assignment
25% of final grade
Grade must be compensated
Resit not possible
Written exam
60% of final grade
Grade must be 5.50 or higher
Resit of a fail is possible.
Resit will take the same form
Students will also be permitted to resit the written exam (60%) if they have a calculated overall course grade lower than 5.50.
transitional arrangement
Passed partial grades obtained in year 2020-2021 remain valid during year 2021-2022. Students who did not meet the course lab attendance requirements in 2020-2021 are required to attend the course labs in 2021-2022.
Please contact the study advisors in case you have any questions in regards to a failed course lab participation and a passed attendance requirement.
Reading list
A selection of book chapters and articles will be announced on Brightspace.
Registration
Register for every course and workgroup via uSis. Some courses and workgroups have a limited number of participants, so register on time (before the course starts). In uSis you can access your personal schedule and view your results. Registration for courses and workgroups in uSis is possible from 15 July, 13.00h.
Leiden University uses Brightspace as its online learning management system. After enrolment for the course in uSis you will be automatically enrolled in the Brightspace environment of this course
Access to Brightspace is necessary because the syllabus and other information about this course can be found here. Furthermore, announcements and modifications will be communicated via Brightspace. Students have the responsibility to stay informed and are thus advised to regularly check Brightspace for updates.
Contact
Remarks
For exceptions, please contact the Board of Examiners.