Admission requirements
This course is designed for the minor Global Affairs. For both Dutch based and exchange students, 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 200 places open for registration, on a first come, first served basis, where LDE students are given priority.
This course is also open for inbound exchange students if they wish to take the entire minor Global Affairs. Exchange students must be admitted by the FGGA International Office prior to the start of the minor; 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
Description
This course addresses the main features and limitations of instruments of power at the international level. It investigates in detail the recourse to military power and/or economic sanctions in the cases of, for instance, Libya, Kosovo, Syria,Ukraine, and the crises that resulted from the Gaza war, together with the resulting political backlashes and legitimacy questions. It also investigates the impact of the new policies of the presidents Biden, Putin and Xi and puts those policies in a broader geopolitical framework.
The course also examines shortcomings arising from soft power usage, especially against the background of regionally diverging norms and values and discusses new concepts such as hybrid warfare and strategic deterrence. The dilemmas and implications arising from the employment of specific power instruments will also be addressed from a practical perspective of decision-making.
Course objectives
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
Describe the complex relationship between modern (primarily Western) media and the conflict it covers;
Explain how war has changed and evolved over the past quarter of a century since the end of the Cold War, and identify the major conflicts which have contributed to this evolution;
Describe the impact of globalisation on warfare and its coverage in the media, and discuss how this dynamic has contributed to the challenging nature of the conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq;
Provide critical, concise analysis on the topic of warfare, utilising relevant academic research and literature to build an argument.
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
7 lectures of 2-3 hours by instructors and guest lecturers.
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.
The total study load for this course is 140 hours, consisting of:
21 hours for attending lectures
119 hours studying – work on assignments
Assessment method
Midterm
25% of total grade
Re-sit not possible
Grade must be compensated
Final
75% of total grade
Grade must be 5.50 or higher to pass the course
Re-sit possible
Re-sit will take the same form
Students will also be permitted to re-sit the final 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.
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
The reading list will be added on Brightspace.
Registration
Registration via MyStudymap or uSis is possible from TBA after registration for the entire minor. Register for every course via MyStudymap or uSis. Some courses of the minor have a limited number of participants, so register on time.
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: guest-/contract-/exchange students do not register via MyStudymap but via uSis.
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.