IR328 INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
| Course Code: | 3140328 |
| METU Credit (Theoretical-Laboratory hours/week): | 3 (3.00 - 0.00) |
| ECTS Credit: | 6.0 |
| Department: | International Relations |
| Language of Instruction: | English |
| Level of Study: | Undergraduate |
| Course Coordinator: | Lecturer Dr. ONUR ERPUL |
| Offered Semester: | Once in several years. |
Course Objectives
Is war (the use of force in international politics) reducible to a science with immutable facts and logics? If so, what is the utility of strategy and how does it relate to international relations? How does any of this help decisionmakers obtain security? For that matter, what even is security and how does it contrast with peace? If you have ever had any questions like these, Security and Strategy will be a great starting point. The goal of this course is to familiarize students with concepts like strategy and security, introduce them to the International Security subfield of IR, and discuss specialized topics that lie at the intersection of IR Theory, Security, and Anthropology. By the conclusion of this course, students can expect to develop a precise understanding of the concept of strategy with its numerous nuances, the role of force in world politics, and deliberate on the precise origins and meanings of concepts like war and peace. The students will also receive an introduction into basic debates in Security Studies as they learn about traditional topics such as war and nuclear deterrence, as well as more recent discussions about political violence, non-state actors, and the illicit global economy.
Course Content
This course examines the range of security threats that the international community faces at the beginning of the new millennium and discusses, both at the level of discourse and the level of practice, how the international community is responding to the persistence of such threats as nuclear proliferation and terrorism and the emergence of new ones such as chemical and biological warfare, pandemics and mass migration. Special emphasis will be placed on comparing and contrasting traditional security paradigm with newly emerging ones, as well as their complex interaction.
Course Learning Outcomes
Students taking this course will be able to:
- understand basic theories of international security
- analyze causes of war at various levels
- analyze new security threats and issues
Program Outcomes Matrix
| Level of Contribution | |||||
| # | Program Outcomes | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1 | To establish a firm basis of academic knowledge in the discipline of International Relations. | ✔ | |||
| 2 | To draw connections among different social sciences disciplines. | ✔ | |||
| 3 | To analyze social and international phenomenon in a holistic manner. | ✔ | |||
| 4 | To communicate in oral and written ways. | ✔ | |||
| 5 | To create original ideas through academic inquiry and research. | ✔ | |||
| 6 | To have social sensitivity and moral responsibilities. | ✔ | |||
0: No Contribution 1: Little Contribution 2: Partial Contribution 3: Full Contribution