Admission requirements
Only students of the MSc Crisis and Security Management, enrolled in the specialisation ‘War and Peace Studies’, can take this course.
Description
Applied issues in War Studies will focus on the societal aspects of contemporary armed conflict. The course will teach students different ways of analysing and understanding a very complex human phenomenon: War. Students will study how various modern societies think about war and security policies, they will study security cooperation and the (international) legal implications of war and contemporary means of warfare.
In this course students will explore aspects of preparing societies for armed conflict, including decision-making processes, preparations for war, and the various uses of the military instrument; students will learn about how and why armed forces can be deployed. In this course, theories, methodologies and concepts of War Studies will be applied to practical examples and the perspectives of practitioners will be sought throughout the course. Students will be asked consider methodologies on how to think about, and prepare for, future wars and types of warfare.
Central to Applied Issues in War Studies is the research skill of analysing complex phenomena. Students will learn how to use literature, various theories, or analytical frameworks to assess systematically, understand, and explain contemporary conflict, strategic questions, and other issues practitioners in the field are faced with. They will study the impact of academic research and analysis on policymakers and will learn how to make a research plan that enables them to analyse complex phenomena and challenges surrounding war and warfare.
Course objectives
After finalising this course, students will have acquired/After finalising this course, students are able to:
Analyse complex conflict situations, and identify various strategies and policies in the field of war and warfare
Present—together with fellow students—arguments and analyses regarding applied issues in War Studies in a format appropriate for a broader professional audience and as input to expert groups;
Self-evaluate and reflect after interactive in-class work, simulations and individual assignments.
Discuss the main challenges and opportunities that relevant stakeholders in the field war and international security, including local (non) governmental actors and the public, private actors, as well as (inter) national governmental actors are confronted with in a multi-actor and multi-level context.
Draw conclusions, make judgments and/or provide solutions to real-life problems or societal issues based on empirical data and on sound and balanced argumentation.
To seek evidence and draw from empirical or theoretical materials for an informed (and, when applicable, critical) judgement.
Build, present and defend well-grounded arguments in oral communication on site and engage in public debates about the issues related to (the study of) contemporary armed conflict.
Understand, based on advanced knowledge, the role of leaders dealing with issues of international security and armed conflict, and identify and apply theoretical and analytical frameworks, in a conceptually and methodologically rigorous manner, to analyse real-world cases in terms of challenges, strategies, leadership styles, and their outcomes.
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
The course will consist of a combination of (guest) lectures and workgroups (two sessions per week).
In the lectures, students will learn how to apply theory to real life issues surrounding war and warfare. Studenst will get into contact with practitioners in (planning for) warfare. In the workgroup sessions, students will discuss contemporary issues in war studies in groups and work on individual and small-group basis make research plans. The workgroups will consist of in-class research activities, team performances, peer review and exercises that will help students prepare for the summative (graded) assignments.
Attendance is mandatory. Students are only allowed to miss more than one session if there are special, demonstrable personal circumstances. The Board of Examiners, in consultation with the study advisors, will decide on such an exceptional exemption of mandatory attendance.
Total study load: 280h
Contact hours: 42h (sessions)
Self-study (reading, preparing lectures, assignments, etc.): 238h
In this 10 ects course, we will focus on the research skill assignment that is going to be part of your portfolio. Specific information on the portfolio assignment and the intended learning outcomes that are being acquired will be published in the syllabus of this course.
Assessment method
Assessment for this course is based on:
Formative Assignment
Mandatory but not counting towards the final grade.
Group assignment
20% of final grade
Re-sit not possible
Grade can be compensated in case of a fail (< 5.50)
Mid-term assignment
30% of final grade
Re-sit not possible
Grade can be compensated in case of a fail (< 5.50)
Final paper
50% of final grade
Grade must be 5.5 or higher to pass the course
Re-sit possible
Re-sit will take the same form but may be different in terms of topics, cases or substance.
Additionally, formative (non-graded) assignments are an obligatory part of the course.
The calculated overall course 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 also permitted to resit the 50% final paper.
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.
Transitional arrangement
Passed partial grades obtained in year 2023-2024 remain valid during year 2024-2025.
Please be aware that passed partial grades obtained in academic year 2024-2025 are no longer valid during academic year 2025-2026.
Reading list
A selection of books and articles, to be announced on Brightspace. The corresponding Brightspace course will become available in the week prior to the first seminar.
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 12 July 13.00h
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
Dr.mr. Ernst Dijxhoorn e.e.a.dijxhoorn@fgga.leidenuniv.nl
prof. dr. Frans Osinga f.p.b.osinga@fgga.leidenuniv.nl