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 80 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.
Description
Terrorism has arguably been one of the defining factors of our age. It frequently makes headlines, threatening or attacking governments, private businesses and ordinary citizens. In many parts of the world, it has even been one of the most prominent threats to peace, security and stability. But what exactly is terrorism, how can we study it, and how can we limit the impact of it on society? This and more will be discussed in this course.
Week structure:
- Definition of terrorism
- Doing research on (counter)terrorism
- Five assumptions on terrorism
- Five assumptions on counterterrorism
- Dealing with terrorism
- Trends and developments in (counter)terrorism and a future research agenda
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 relevancy and effectiveness of counterterrorism policies and strategies
Evaluate counterterrorism policies and formulate recommendations for improvements
Timetable
The schedule for 2023 will be published in due time
The timetable will be displayed with a link on the website, Brightspace and on the page of this minor programme.
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
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 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
Registration via MyStudymap or uSis is possible from Monday 17 July, 13.00 h, 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.
After registration for an exam you still need to confirm your attendance via MyStudymap. If you do not confirm, you will ultimately be de-registered and you will not be allowed to take the exam.
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. Guest-/contract-/exchange students also do not have to confirm their participation for exams via MyStudymap.
Contact
globalaffairs@fgga.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
This course is part of the minor SSJ and Global Affairs; lectures are combined.
All sessions and workshops will be in English.
Essays need to be written in English
Please note that the re-sits of this minor will be organised in January.