Admission requirements
- Only students of the MSc Crisis and Security Management can take this course.
Description
In this course, we take an empirically driven approach to studying security. Theory is necessary for understanding the world, but it can also be a detriment that leads to misunderstanding the world. The only way to find out which is to turn to empirics. This course is about the empirical investigation of crucial security actors, institutions, and constellations. Of course, we cannot survey all the relevant actors. However, we can survey a subset of crucial actors and institutions and use those studies as foils for contesting theories, revealing crucial blind spots, identifying emerging security dynamics, and, generally speaking, rethinking the future of crisis and security studies. We have three major tasks. First, we need to briefly establish the theoretical state of the art, focusing on what we think we know. Second, most importantly, we will turn to empirics to consider what is happening in the real world, emphasizing where theories fail us and considering why that is. Finally, we need to look forward both within certain realms (terrorism, war, violence, policing, migration, etc.) and across realms (that is, having uncovered and addressed a shortcoming in one field of inquiry, we need to consider if that same set of arguments applies to other fields too. Throughout the course, we will also consider what it means to do empirical work in the social sciences.
Course Objectives
After finalizing this course, students are able to:
1. Understand specific recent scholarly findings in Crisis and Security Studies.
2. Reflect critically on academic articles, especially vis-à-vis their use of theory.
3. Reflect critically on academic articles, especially vis-à-vis their use of empirics.
4. Reflect critically on academic articles, especially vis-à-vis their use of methods.
5. Identify different types of security-relevant actors and recount, using practical examples of how and why these actors have competencies in the provision of (in)security.
6. Understand the intricacies and complexities relating to the practical coordination between security actors and institutions across different levels of analysis.
7. Discuss crisis and security theories and empirics and how they relate.
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 consists of seven seminars.
Attendance is highly recommended
Total study load: 140 hours
Contact hours: 22 hours
Self-study hours: reading, preparing lectures and workgroup sessions and examinations: 118 hours
In this 5 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 one assignment and one exam:
Midterm assignment
35% of total grade
Short paper
Resit possible
Final exam
65% of total grade
The grade must be 5.50 or higher to pass the course
Resit possible
The calculated overall course grade must be at least 5.50 in order to pass the course..
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 2024-2025 are no longer valid in the year 2025-2026. 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.
Registration
Register yourself via MyStudymap for the lecture and exam. Enrolment in one of the workgroups will be arranged by the programme. You will not be able to register yourself for one of the workgroups. Enrolment for these workgroups will be done in late August, so please note that it will take a while before the workgroup is finalized in your timetable.
Do so on time, before the start of the course; some courses have limited spaces. You can view your personal schedule in MyTimetable after logging in.
Registration for this course is possible from Wednesday 16 July 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 1 December 2025 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
Dr. Matthew Hoye j.m.hoye@fgga.leidenuniv.nl
Dr. Vlad Niculescu-Dincav.niculescu-dinca@fgga.leidenuniv.nl