Admission requirements
Course for students enrolled in master program Crisis and Security Management.
Description
This course gives an outline of (the study of) the phenomenon of (counter-) terrorism and the number 1 issue on today’s counterterrorism agendas in Europe: European citizens and residents fighting in Syria and Iraq with groups such as Islamic State. These persons are also referred to as ‘jihadist foreign fighters’.
The course investigates this phenomenon from various theoretical perspectives, ranging from the literature on agenda setting and governing complex problems, to theories on terrorism and radicalisation. It aims to provide answers to the fundamental questions: Who are these foreign fighters, do they pose a threat or not, and who should do what in order to deal with this ‘wicked problem’?
It starts with an overview of specific features of the phenomenon of terrorism and foreign fighters, such as its history, the role of leadership, the concept of leaderless jihad, the concept of swarming, the role of social media, propaganda and recruitment. It will also focus on the individual characteristics of the foreign fighters.
After this overview, we will discuss why and to whom these foreign fighters might be a problem. Special attention will be paid to the need, possibilities and challenges related to the often propagated ‘comprehensive approach’ to deal with terrorism and foreign fighters. We will study the difference between so-called ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ as well as preventive and repressive measures, look at multi stakeholder approaches and investigate how such a ‘wicked problem’ is dealt with in the policy domain.
Course objectives
- Students are able to differentiate between specific features of terrorism and the foreign fighter phenomenon and can apply different lenses (structural lens, group lens, or individual lens) to study these phenomena and the specific features, types, roles and radicalisation processes of foreign fighters.
- Students are able to analyse the governance challenges and consequences of different approaches to deal with terrorism and wicked problems such as the issue of foreign fighters
- Students are able to assess how policies and strategies relate to best practices in countering terrorism and foreign fighters and can critically reflect on this in terms of effectiveness by using and assessing (primary) sources
- Students are able to critically reflect on counterterrorism policies by using theoretical and empirical knowledge on how to manage or address terrorism and the foreign fighter phenomena at the national and/or local level, and transnational level.
- Students are able to present examples of terrorism and foreign fighters and their specific features, relevant processes and governance challenges, analyse the approaches to manage or govern the terrorism and foreign fighter phenomena and translate their analysis into policy recommendations.
Timetable
On the right side of programme front page of the E-guide you will find links to the website and timetables, uSis and Blackboard.
Mode of instruction
Seven seminars including guest lectures and working group sessions
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.
Course Load
5 EC = 140 hours:
contact hours: 21
self-study hours: 119
Assessment method
Midterm paper 30%
Final exam 70%
Compensation rule: Only assessments with a weight of 30% and lower can be compensated. This means that one does not have to pass an assessment if it weighs 30% or less in order to pass the course. The average of all assessments combined must be at least a 5.5. In addition, assignments with a weight of 30% and lower are not resitable, meaning that if one failed an assessment weighing 30% or less, one is not allowed to resit it and that assessment must be compensated by the other assessment(s). The resit takes the same form.
Blackboard
Available one week prior to the start of the lectures.
Contains the syllabus of the course and links to SPOC videos as well as recommended articles and recommended videos.
Reading list
See syllabus. Only open access articles and reports, or articles to be accessed with Leiden University Library membership.
Registration
Use both uSis and Blackboard to register for every course.
Register for every course and workgroup via uSis. Some courses and workgroups have a limited number of participants, so register on time (before the course starts). In uSis you can access your personal schedule and view your results. Registration in uSis is possible from four weeks before the start of the course.
Also register for every course in Blackboard. Important information about the course is posted there.
Contact
Meeting only by appointment.