Admission requirements
Only students of the MSc Crisis and Security Management, enrolled in the specialisation ‘Governance of Violence’, can take this course.
Those who are not familiar with quantitative and qualitative data analysis procedures are advised to read up on some basic concepts before the start of the course – the syllabus will point you to some resources.
Description
This course is grounded on the idea that understanding violence requires an understanding of policing and vice versa. The notion of ‘nexus’ indicates this intertwinement and we will consider various dimensions of it. First, civilians’ violence is subjected to policing by sovereignty claiming organizations, first and foremost states. Yet the form and intensity of policing differs per form of violence, as is its effectiveness to reduce it. Second, policing and violence are foundational to the relationship between state and civilians, and the legitimacy of states depends on the lawful use of violence to enforce security and a moral and legal order. Third, the plethora of security actors extends beyond the state. We will discuss how the security actors that form the nexus based on their capacity to use violence are related to one another (i.e. criminal organizations, neighborhood watch groups, private security companies, paramilitary groups, police, vigilantes) and we will consider how these networks can facilitate security or undermine it. Fourth, we will study the legal and technological infrastructures of violence and policing that affect and underpin the nexus. Think for instance of the circulation of weapons in society, police armament, and issues of (digitalized) surveillance and counter-surveillance. Finally, we discuss the effectiveness and legitimacy of policing policies and practices in providing security and reducing violence.
Alongside the content-focused lectures, the course will also include lectures and activities focused on developing the core skill critical evaluation of research, which pertains to your ability to assess the quality of scholarly work, with regard to the use of theory, method and the connections between the two. You will be trained to review both qualitatively and quantitatively oriented approaches.
Course Objectives
After finishing the course, the student is able to:
1. Have state-of-the-art knowledge of how violence and policing are related;
2. Have state-of-the-art knowledge of how policing policies and practices enhance the provision of security;
3. Have knowledge of the state-of-the-art theoretical and methodological approaches that allow to study the connections between violence and policing;
4. Be able to identify and apply relevant theories and methodologies to study these connections;
5. Be able to demonstrate and apply the knowledge noted under 1-4 in written (assignments) and in oral form (presence and participation in class);
6. Have knowledge of the state-of-the-art criteria to determine the quality of scholarly work, with regard to methodology, theory and the connections between the two;
7. Be able to apply these criteria to determine the quality of scholarly work in written and oral form;
8. Self-evaluate and reflect about one’s own progress and knowledge-base after interactive in-class work and individual assignments.
Timetable
On the right side of programme front page of the studyguide you will find links to the website and timetables, uSis and Brightspace.
Mode of Instruction
We teach this course using interactive lectures, guest lectures and workshops. We meet twice a week in three hourly sessions. In these meetings, students learn theoretical and methodological approaches to study the interrelationships between violence and policing and train critical evaluation skills to assess both the quality of scholarly work and policy arrangements.
Attendance is mandatory. Students are only allowed to miss more than one lecture if there special, demonstrable personal circumstances. The Board of Examiners, in consultation with the study advisors, will decide on requests for exemption of mandatory attendance.
Self-study makes up a large part of the time allocated to this course. Self-study includes the readings, preparing for the lectures, assignments and further self-study. Total course load amount 280 hours (10 EC). The break down is approximately 140 hours self-study, which comprises intensive reading of about 700 pages course material at a pace of 5 pages per hour, including taking notes and looking up terms you are unfamiliar with; 14 three-hour lectures; 50 hours involve preparing the assignments and finally about 40 hours preparing the endterm exam (based on the average time students spent on these activities; the work might take you more or less time than allocated).
Assessment method
The learning objectives of this course will be assessed in the graded assignments noted below plus additional, formative, non-graded but mandatory assignments.
Group assignment
25% of overall grade
Resit not possible
Grade must be compensated in case of a fail grade (grade < 5.50)
Individual assignment
30% of overall grade
Resit is possible
Resit takes the same form
Grade must be 5.50 or higher to pass the course
Final exam
45% of overall grade
Resit is possible
Resit takes the same form
Grade must be 5.50 or higher to pass the course
The calculated overall grade must be at least 5.50 in order to pass the course. If the calculated overall course grade is lower than 5.50, students are permitted to retake the final exam.
In the case of written assessment methods, the examiner can always initiate a follow-up conversation with the student to establish whether the learning objectives have been met.
Attendance is mandatory. Students are only allowed to miss more than one lecture if there special, demonstrable personal circumstances. The Board of Examiners, in consultation with the study advisors, will decide on requests for exemption of mandatory attendance.
Transitional arrangement
Please be aware that passed partial grades obtained in academic year 2025-2026 are no longer valid during academic year 2026-2027.
Reading list
The course material, including book chapters, articles, podcasts and documentary films are either publicly accessible or will be made available through Leiden University library.
Registration
Register yourself via MyStudymap for each course, workgroup and exam (not all courses have workgroups and/or exams).
Do so on time, before the start of the course; some courses and workgroups have limited spaces. You can view your personal schedule in MyTimetable after logging in.
Registration for this course is possible from Wednesday 10 December 2025, 13.00h
Please note: Registration for the resit of an exam (and exam) is mandatory, this has to be done by the student and can be done from Monday 4 May 2026 until 10 days before the exam. Until 5 days before the exam you can email OSC and fill in a form.
Leiden University uses Brightspace as its online learning management system. After enrolment for the course in MyStudymap you will be automatically enrolled in the Brightspace environment of this course.
More information on registration via MyStudymap can be found on this page.
Contact
For specific course related inquiries, please email:
dr. Vlad Niculescu-Dinca, v.niculescu-dinca@fgga.leidenuniv.nl
dr. Don Weenink, d.weenink@fgga.leidenuniv.nl