Veidlapa Nr. M-3 (8)
Study Course Description

Socio - legal Issues of International Security

Main Study Course Information

Course Code
JF_424
Branch of Science
International Rights; Law
ECTS
3.00
Target Audience
Juridical Science
LQF
Level 8
Study Type And Form
Full-Time

Study Course Implementer

Course Supervisor
Structure Unit Manager
Structural Unit
Faculty of Social Sciences
Contacts

Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szf@rsu.lv

About Study Course

Objective

The main goal of this course is to give students an understanding of the most important aspects and dynamics in conflict and crisis management in international politics as one of the central problems of international security in the 21st century. During this course, we will address debates on issues such as traditional and non-traditional threats, tools and strategies of conflict resolution, the effectiveness of deterrence, the impact of international organisations on conflict management, and others. This course will cover major theories of international relations and boost students’ ability to apply theoretical concepts in integrated empirical analysis.

Preliminary Knowledge

General knowledge at master's level. General knowledge aboou the world history after the WW2.

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge

1.1. By the end of the course, students are expected to be familiar with the major international relations theories and international security concepts and their reflection on the central problematics and conflicts of international security in the 21st century. 2. Students will understand the causes of conflict and the conditions for peace, the complexity of traditional and non-traditional threats, dilemmas in international security. 3. Students will have expanded knowledge on current conflicts and wars and possibilities and limitations of international response.

Skills

1.1. During the course, students’ skills to synthesize theoretical approaches with empirical facts and ability to assess the complexity and causality of international conflicts will be trained. 2. Academic discourse skills and academic text strategies will be trained during academic discussions, and development of coherent argument will be trained during specific practical assignments. 3. The course will enable students to develop interpretations and responses to international security issues systematically.

Competences

1.Students will be able to solve important research questions of a legal nature in the field of international social legal security through independent, critical analysis, synthesis and evaluation, and to put forward the idea of ​​a research (scientific article) that is reflected as a result of scientific research.

Assessment

Individual work

Title
% from total grade
Grade
1.

Individual work

-
-
Based on the theories of international relations and an interdisciplinary approach to the evaluation of international security developments, to prepare a research design for a scientific article, to present it and discuss it in the audience.

Examination

Title
% from total grade
Grade
1.

Examination

-
-
Active participation in the study course – 25%, independent task – 75%.

Study Course Theme Plan

FULL-TIME
Part 1
  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
Off site
E-Studies platform
2

Topics

-
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
Off site
E-Studies platform
2

Topics

-
  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
Off site
E-Studies platform
2

Topics

-
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
Off site
E-Studies platform
2

Topics

-
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
Off site
E-Studies platform
2

Topics

-
  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
Off site
E-Studies platform
2

Topics

-
Total ECTS (Creditpoints):
3.00
Contact hours:
16 Academic Hours
Final Examination:
Test

Bibliography

Required Reading

1.

Stephen M. Walt. International Relations: One World, Many Theories. Foreign Policy, No. 110, Special Edition: Frontiers of Knowledge (Spring, 1998), pp. 29-32; 34-46.

2.

Charter of the United Nations

3.

North Atlantic Treaty

4.

Andrew Moravcsik. Taking Preferences Seriously: A Liberal Theory of International Politics. International Organization, Vol. 51, No. 4 (Autumn, 1997), pp. 513-553.

5.

David J. Lonsdale. Information Power: Strategy, Geopolitics, and the Fifth Dimension. In: Colin S. Gray, Geoffrey Sloan (eds.). Geopolitics. Geography and Strategy. Frank Cass Publishers, 2003, pp. 137-161.

6.

John J. Mearsheimer. The False Promise of International Institutions. International Security, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Winter, 1994-1995), pp. 5-49.

7.

Martha Finnemore, Kathryn Sikkink. International Norm Dynamics and Political Change. International Organization, Vol. 52, No. 4, International Organization at Fifty: Exploration and Contestation in the Study of World Politics (Autumn, 1998), pp. 887-917.

8.

Michael L. Ross. How Do Natural Resources Influence Civil War? Evidence from Thirteen Cases. International Organization 58(01) (February 2004), pp. 35-67.

9.

Nuno P. Monteiro, Alexandre Debs. The Strategic Logic of Nuclear Proliferation. International Security. Volume 39, Issue 2 (Fall 2014), pp.7-51.

Additional Reading

1.

An IPCC Special Report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems, 2019

2.

Jacques Ellul. Propaganda. The Formation of Men’s Attitudes. Vintage books edition, February 1973, pp. 61-105.

3.

James Wood Forsyth, Billy E. Pope. Structural Causes and Cyber Effects: Why International Order is Inevitable in Cyberspace. Strategic Studies Quarterly (Winter 2014), pp. 112-127.

4.

Jean De Munck, Human Rights and Capabilities: A Program for a Critical Sociology of Law, 2018

5.

Joseph Chamie, International Migration amid a World in Crisis. 2020. Available: https://doi.org/10.1177/2331502420948796

6.

Schroeder W. NATO at seventy: Filling NATO’s critical defense-capability gaps. Atlantic Council, 2019. Available: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/nato-at-seventy-filling-nato-s-critical-defense-capability-gaps/

7.

Stathis N. Kalyvas. "New" and "Old" Civil Wars: A Valid Distinction? World Politics, Vol. 54, No. 1 (Oct. 2001), pp. 99-118.

8.

Virginia Page Fortna. Does Peacekeeping Keep Peace? International Intervention and the Duration of Peace after Civil War. International Studies Quarterly, vol. 48, no. 2, 2004, pp. 269-292.