Security Politics
The aim of this course is to train the students to enhance their skills in analysing international and European security and defence affairs from both theoretical as well as empirical angles. The course consists of two parts.
In the first part of the course, students are introduced to developments and trends in European security and defence dynamics. These are analysed from a Realist as well as a Liberal approach to international relations. Empirically, the course introduces the students to European and transatlantic security- and defence. Trends and dynamics in NATO, such as the development in transatlantic relations, US national interests in Europe and how and why the US regards an institutionalised European security arrangement, are discussed. Furthermore, the development of the EU as a security and defence actor as well as developments in German security politics are analysed. This part also introduces the students to European integration theory as an important device in understanding the European security order. The aim is to provide students with an analytical tool to describe the main mechanisms in European security. The war in Ukraine, and how it influences the European security order, is an overarching theme throughout the course.
The second part of the course concentrates on security developments in Northern Europe, such as Norwegian security and defence policy, the relationship between the West and Russia in the High North as well as the NATO enlargement to also include Finland and Sweden. This part of the course also discusses, among other things, whether it still is possible to maintain low tension in the High North in light of Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine since 2022.
At the end of the course, the student will be better able to understand and analyse European security dynamics from an IR-perspective.
Knowledge
- Have broad knowledge of key issues in the study of security politics, including the expanded concept of security
- Have broad knowledge of the main characteristics and developments in the organizations and institutions surrounding Norway, such as the EU and NATO
- Be familiar with significant trends in U.S. and Russian foreign and security policy, as well as in the foreign and security policies of key European states
- Be aware of how security relates to and is expressed through the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 16, but also 9, 10, and 13
Skills
- Be able to understand important security policy issues, such as the main causes of war and what states do to safeguard themselves against undesirable developments
- Be capable of using theoretical models to conduct independent analyses of current security challenges in Europe and Norway
General Competence
- Have increased insight into important developments in the Euro-Atlantic area, the High North and the Arctic
- Be able to improve the ability to think and write analytically about Norwegian, European, and transatlantic security policy
Overlap refers to a similarity between courses with the same content. Therefore, you will receive the following reduction in credits if you have taken the courses listed below:
PO116S - Security Politics - 10 credits
PO116S - Security Politics - 10 credits
PO216LS - Security Politics - 10 credits
