Admission requirements
This course is designed for the minor Global Affairs. It is not possible to follow single courses of this minor. You need to be enrolled in Usis for the minor to be accepted to this course. There are 150 places open for registration, on a first come first serve basis, where LDE students are given priority.
This course is not open for inbound exchange students.
Students who have already completed the Coursera MOOC “Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Comparing Theory & Practice” are still obliged to attend the lectures and complete all the class assignments to pass this regular course.
Students from the Bachelor Security Studies cannot follow this course and will need to choose a different elective in the Minor.
Description
Over the past twenty five years, terrorism has frequently made headlines. Since the 9/11 attacks (2001), the rise of Islamic State (2014), the Christchurch’s mosque shootings (2019) and the attacks on Israel by Hamas (2023): terrorism has ranked high on political agendas, often also leading to strong counterterrorism responses.
Terrorism and counterterrorism have constantly evolved. Today, we see discussion about state terrorism: a term that most terrorism scholars historically did not want to use. Think of the putting the Iranian Revolutionary Guard or the Wagner Group on lists of terrorist organisations, or labelling Russia as a “terrorist state”. There is also an increase in more hybrid forms of terrorism: states that sponsor groups such as the Houthis in Yemen, or recruit individuals to attack critical infrastructure in Poland. These state-sponsored actors contribute to a widening palette of “terrorist” threats and ask for different types of countermeasures.
As a result, terrorism has remained an important threat to international security and a key security threat to countries such as Burkina Faso, Pakistan and Nigeria. In the discussions about this phenomenon, we see many assumptions and myths about its origins and what to do about it. In this course, we will zoom in on the debate on what should be considered terrorism in today’s changing world. Then we will test a number of assumptions about terrorism and counterterrorism that often influence policy-making. Subsequently, we will look at how to limit the impact of terrorism on society. Finally, we will explore what to expect in the years to come.
Week structure:
1. Definition of terrorism
2. Debate on changing forms of “terrorism”
3. Five assumptions on terrorism
4. Five assumptions on counterterrorism
5. Dealing with terrorism
6. Trends and developments in (counter)terrorism
Course objectives
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
Explain the notion of terrorism as an instrument to achieve certain political and ideological goals
Interpret terrorism definitions and argue whether or not certain act(or)s align with these definitions
Analyse (counter)terrorism phenomena, events, and policies based on the appropriate theoretical models and insights
Judge the relevance and effectiveness of counterterrorism policies and strategies
Evaluate counterterrorism policies and formulate recommendations for improvements
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
This course will employ a flipped classroom methodology, which entails students reviewing the literature and studying a series of video lectures at home as preparation for the classes. Each of these videos will focus on a specific core question within terrorism studies. Furthermore, the in-class sessions will consist of class discussions and guest lectures.
Class format:
Weekly video lectures on Coursera
Opening lecture in week 1
Two workshops in smaller groups in week 3 and week 5
Final symposium in week 7
Paper feedback sessions (attendance is optional)
The total study load for this course is 140 hours, consisting of:
18 hours lectures and seminars
7 hours videos
115 hours studying – work on assignments
Participation in lectures, discussions and exercises is required in order to obtain a grade. One lecture may be missed. Being absent more than once may likely lead to expulsion from the course.
Assessment method
Mid-term assignment (group)
30% of total grade
Re-sit not possible
Grade must be compensated
Written exam (individual)
70% of total grade
Re-sit possible
Re-sit will take the same form
Grade must be 5.50 or higher to pass the course
Participation in lectures, discussions and exercises is required in order to obtain a grade. One lecture may be missed. Being absent more than once may likely lead to expulsion from the course.
Students will also be permitted to re-sit the 75% final exam if they have a calculated overall course grade lower than 5.50 or with permission of the Board of Examiners. There is no re-sit for the mid-term, which needs to be compensated.
Additional participation requirements: Students need to send in a question on Brightspace for the Final Panel discussion.
Late hand in penalty: 0,5 minus per day, and after seven days we do not accept papers any longer.
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.
The Course and Examination Regulation of Security Studies and the Rules and Regulation of the Board of Examiners of the Institute of Security and Global Affairs apply.
Reading list
Edwin Bakker and Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Studies: Comparing Theory & Practice (Leiden University Press, 2022)
Additional articles on current affairs relating to terrorism & counterterrorism: t.b.d.
Registration
Students with a valid minor registration will register for courses via a form, which they will receive details about in an email in June/July.
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.
**Please note 1: Registration for the resit of an exam is mandatory, this has to be done by the student and can be done from TBA until 10 days before the exam. Until 5 days before the exam you can email OSC and fill in a form. **
Contact
globalaffairs@fgga.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
All sessions will be in English.
Essays need to be written in English.
This course takes place in The Hague.
Please note that the re-sits of this minor will be organised in January.