87564 - Topics In International Security

Learning outcomes

This course offers an introduction to the study of some of the major security issues in the contemporary world. In particular, it explores a series of empirical phenomena and themes in light of the most important concepts and theories in international relations theory. Students are expected to learn why countries go to war as well as why groups use terrorism. They will also acquire knowledge on nuclear proliferation, the prospects and pitfalls of military intervention, and on the role of technology and robotics (from nuclear weapons to unmanned drones) in threatening and strengthening the international order. At the end of the course, students are expected to understand the fundamental aspects and the distinctive elements of a variety of security issues in the current world. Finally, students will be able both to examine security threats and to devise the most appropriate policy response.

Course contents

This course offers an introduction to the study of some of the major security issues in the contemporary world. In particular, it explores a series of empirical phenomena and themes in light of the most important concepts and theories in international relations theory. Students are expected to learn why countries go to war as well as why groups use terrorism. They will also acquire knowledge on nuclear proliferation, the prospects and pitfalls of military intervention, and on the role of technology and robotics (from nuclear weapons to unmanned drones) in threatening and strengthening the international order. At the end of the course, students are expected to understand the fundamental aspects and the distinctive elements of a variety of security issues in the current world. Finally, students will be able both to examine security threats and to devise the most appropriate policy response.

Readings/Bibliography

1)Introduction

- Simon Leys, 2013, "The Idea of the University", in S. Leys, The Hall of Uselessness, New York Review of Books, pp. 461-464.

- Lorenzo Zambernardi, 2016, “Politics is too important to be left to political scientists,” European Journal of International Relations, 22, 1, 3-23.

2) Security

- Emma Rotschild, “What is Security?,” Daedalus, Vol. 124, No. 3, (Summer, 1995), pp. 53-98.

- John Mueller & Mark G. Stewart, “Terrorism and Bathtubs: Comparing and Assessing the Risks”, Terrorism and Political Violence, published online 28 December 2018.

3)Power politics

- Tucidide, “Dialogo tra gli Ateniesi e i Meli,” La guerra del Peloponneso, V, 84-114.

- Machiavelli, Il Principe, qualsiasi edizione.

4)The contemporary international system

John Ikenberry, "The end of international liberal order?", International Affairs, 94: 1 (2018) 7–23.

John Mearsheimer, "Bound to Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Liberal International Order", International Security, Volume 43, Issue 4, Spring 2019, pp.7-50.

5) Hegemonic rivalry?

- Robert Gilpin, 1988, “The Theory of Hegemonic War,” Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 18, 4, 591-613.

- G. Allison, “The Thucydides Trap”, The Atlantic, September 24, 2015.

6) Contemporary armed conflicts

Pettersson, Therese; Stina Högbladh & Magnus Öberg (2019). Organized violence, 1989-2018 and peace agreements. Journal of Peace Research 56(4).

7) Inter-state wars I

- Geoffrey, Blaney, The Causes of War, New York, The Free Press, Ch. 8, 9.

- Azar Gat , “The Changing Character of War”, in Hew Strachan and Sibylle Scheipers (eds) The Changing Character of War; available at http://www.oxfordscholarship.com.ezproxy.unibo.it/view/10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199596737.001.0001/acprof-9780199596737-chapter-2

8) Inter-state wars II

- Steven Pinker, “A History of Violence”, at http://edge.org/conversation/mc2011-history-violence-pinker, fhttps://www.edge.org/conversation/mc2011-history-violence-pinker

9) Civil wars I

- Francesco N. Moro "Civil Wars", in Paul Joseph ed., The SAGE Encyclopedia of War: Social Science Perspectives, Sage 2017.

- Stathis N. Kalyvas, “The Changing Character of Civil Wars, 1800–2009”, in Hew Strachan and Sibylle Scheipers (eds) The Changing Character of War, Ch. 11; available at http://www.oxfordscholarship.com.ezproxy.unibo.it/view/10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199596737.001.0001/acprof-9780199596737-chapter-12

10) Civil wars II

Barbara F. Walter, The New New Civil Wars Annual Review of Political Science 2017 20:1, 469-486

11) Mid-Term

- No reading

12)Terrorism I

- The United States is a Leading Terrorist State: An Interview with Noam Chomsky. https://monthlyreview.org/2001/11/01/the-united-states-is-a-leading-terrorist-state/.

-D'Alema: "Definire i talebani terroristi è una stupidaggine", HuffPost, 11 settembre 2021; https://www.huffingtonpost.it/entry/dalema-definire-i-talebani-terroristi-e-una-stupidaggine_it_613c5fdde4b00ff836ecffa6.

- Alex Peter Schmid, “Terrorism: The Definitional Problem,” Case Western Journal of International Law, 36, 2, 2004, pp. 375-419

13) Terrorism II

Erica Chenoweth, Terrorism and Democracy", Annual Review of Political Science 2013, 16:1, 355-378

14) Insurgency I

- D., Galula, Counterinsuregency Warfare: Theory and Practice, Westport, Praeger, Ch. 1, 7.

15) Counterinsurgency

D. Kilcullen, Counterinsurgency, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010, pp. 1-13, 165-227.

Lorenzo Zambernardi, "Counterinsurgency's Impossible Trilemma", Washington Quarterly, 33, 3, pp. 21-34.

A. Mack, "Why Big Nations Lose Small Wars", World Politics, 27, 2, 1975, pp. 175-200.

16) Drone warfare

- G. Chamayou, Drone Theory, London, Penguin.

17) Genocide

- Adrian Gallagher, Genocide and its threat to contemporary international order(2013), capitolo 5.

- Martin Shaw, Genocide and International Relations: Changing Patterns in the Transitions of the Late Modern World (2013), capitolo 9.

18) The longest war: Afghanistan

- M. Barry, Kabul's Long Shadows: Historical Perspectives, Liechtenstein Institute at Princeton, 2011; available at http://www.operationspaix.net/DATA/DOCUMENT/4371~v~Kabuls_Long_Shadows__Historical_Perspectives.pdf

19) Military interventions

- Martha Finnemore, The Purpose of Intervention, Cornell University Press, capp. 1, 3.

20) Esame finale

- Nessuna lettura

 

Teaching methods

Lectures and seminars

Assessment methods

Written exams

Teaching tools

Teams, Power Point, Video

Office hours

See the website of Lorenzo Zambernardi