International Security 1600-SZD-SPEC-BM-SM
This course aims to equip doctoral students with a comprehensive and critical understanding of the theories, practices, and evolving dynamics of international security in the 21st century. It fosters advanced analytical skills to interrogate the causes, consequences, and responses to global security challenges—including armed conflict, terrorism, cyber threats, nuclear proliferation, climate-induced insecurity, and geopolitical rivalries. Through interdisciplinary engagement and empirical case studies, students will develop the capacity to evaluate security policies, assess strategic behavior of state and non-state actors, and contribute original research to the field of security studies. The course will consist of five thematic blocks (2 h each)
Class 1: Introduction to International Security: students will be introduced to the foundational concepts, scope, and evolution of international security as a field of scholarly inquiry and policy practice. The class will explore how security has been historically defined, who gets to be secured, and what threats dominate contemporary discourse—from traditional military concerns to emerging challenges like cyber warfare and climate change. Students will critically examine key theoretical frameworks, including realism, liberalism, and constructivism, and begin to map the complex landscape of actors, institutions, and norms that shape global security governance.
Class 2: Institutions and the International Security: This session examines the pivotal role of international institutions in shaping the global security architecture. Students will explore how organizations such as the United Nations, NATO, the European Union, and regional bodies contribute to conflict prevention, peacekeeping, arms control, and crisis management. The class will critically assess the effectiveness, legitimacy, and limitations of institutional responses to both traditional and non-traditional security threats. Through case studies and theoretical lenses, students will analyze how institutional norms, mandates, and power dynamics influence state behavior and the pursuit of collective security.
Class 3: Regional Security: This session delves into the concept of regional security and the Regional Security Complexities, exploring how geographic, cultural, and political factors shape security dynamics within specific regions. Students will examine the roles of regional powers, alliances, and institutions in managing conflict, promoting stability, and responding to transnational threats. Through comparative case studies—such as the Middle East, East Asia, and Europe—the class will analyze patterns of cooperation and rivalry, the impact of external actors, and the interplay between regional and global security agendas. Emphasis will be placed on understanding localized security architectures and their implications for international peace and conflict.
Class 4: This class aims to critically explore the interrelationship between war, peace, and security, examining how conflict emerges, how peace is negotiated and sustained, and how security frameworks shape global and regional stability. Students will engage with key theories and contemporary case studies to deepen their understanding of strategic, ethical, and political dimensions.
Class 5: Paper based presentation of PhD Candidates
Type of course
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Knowledge | The graduate knows and understands:
WG_01 - Theoretical foundations and evolving paradigms of international security
within the social sciences
WG_02 - Key institutions, actors, and mechanisms shaping global and regional security governance
WG_03 - Contemporary and emerging security challenges across military, political, economic, and environmental domains
Skills | The graduate is able to:
UK_05 - Critically analyze and evaluate security policies, strategies, and institutional responses
- Conduct independent, methodologically sound research on complex security issues
- Communicate advanced insights effectively to academic, policy, and public audiences
Social competences | The graduate is ready to
KO_01 - Intellectual autonomy and scholarly rigor in addressing global security dilemmas
KO_02 - Ethical awareness and reflexivity in the study and practice of security
KO_03 - Capacity to contribute original knowledge to the field of international security studies
Assessment criteria
Description of requirements related to participation in classes, including the permitted number of explained absences: Presence in all class is mandatory, mission 1 class is allowed in special circumstances.
Principles for passing the classes and the subject (including resit session):
- Class participation
- Case study presentation
Methods for the verification of learning outcomes:
- The depth of the argument presented during the class participation
- The knowledge on the provided literature
- Use of the theory and the method in provided in the class during the presentation
Evaluation criteria:
- Mandatory Class participation
- Presentation based on the guidelines provided by the instructors.
Bibliography
- Buzan, Barry. "Regional security complex theory in the post-cold war world." In Theories of new regionalism: A Palgrave reader, pp. 140-159. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2003.
- Amable, Dennis Senam. "Theorizing the emergence of security regions: An adaptation for the regional security complex theory." Global Studies Quarterly 2, no. 4 (2022): ksac065.
- Aryal, Saroj Kumar, and Manish Jung Pulami. "The Role of the McMahon, Radcliffe and Durand Lines in Shaping Regional Security Complexes in South Asia: An Assessment." The International Spectator 59, no. 4 (2024): 61-77.
- Browning, Christopher S. International security: a very short introduction. OUP Oxford, 2013.
- Buzan, Barry, and Lene Hansen. The evolution of international security studies. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
- Kelly, Robert E. "Security theory in the “new regionalism”." International studies review 9, no. 2 (2007): 197-229.
- Bellany, Ian. "Towards a theory of international security." Political Studies 29, no. 1 (1981): 100-105.
- Dunne, Paul, and Fanny Coulomb. "Peace, war and international security: economic theories." In War, peace and security, pp. 13-36. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2008.
- Chapman, Terrence L. "International security institutions, domestic politics, and institutional legitimacy." Journal of Conflict Resolution 51, no. 1 (2007): 134-166.
- Lake, David A. "Beyond anarchy: The importance of security institutions." International security 26, no. 1 (2001): 129-160.
- Hurrell, Andrew. "Collective security and international order revisited." International Relations 11, no. 1 (1992): 37-55.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: