As the principles of international order are under stress, security architecture can no longer be characterized by formal bilateral or multilateral agreements. Some countries have adopted anti-alliance rhetoric, while others resort to balancing postures and criticize “bloc logics”. However, operational defence cooperation is thriving, with an increase of military exercises, joint armament programs or strategic dialogues, often in new, minilateral formats. Confronting I.R. theories with concrete examples and mainly looking at the evolution of Europe vis-à-vis NATO, of the Asia-Pacific region and of the US alliance system, the seminar will analyze the structures of today's security order. Concepts such as balance of power, hedging, deterrence but also retrenchment or dilemmas will be defined and put in perspective. The course will tackle recent crisis situations and help students phrase the right questions from several perspectives (policy-making, strategic communication, scholarly analysis) and identify the parameters in countries' decisions as regards defence.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Better appreciate, use and challenge the concepts behind defence diplomacy/ cooperation/ minilateral/ alliance management
2.Achieve refined comprehension of the parameters /trends in contemporary international security issues
3. Understand and be able to present and debate 4 to 6 cases of the recent evolution of the concept of security architecture.
4. Grasp the dynamics between theoretical concepts and actual decisions making/ between policies and strategic communication
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
1. Integrate foreign security concepts/challenges in structured thinking – connect the different variables (economic, military, political, diplomatic)
2. Understanding decision-making procedures and parameters and make decision/contribute to decision-making under pressure
3. Integrate the strategic communication dimension to the policy/ operational reflection.
4. Write short notes/ make presentations aimed at influencing foreign policy process
5. Research an argument connected to actual crises and participate in a debate.
- Reading and Preparation for Class: 3 hours a week / 36 hours a semester
- Research and Preparation for Group Work: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
- Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
Good grasp of/interest in the military affairs/vocabulary
. - 1 in-class short test consisting of short questions checking on knowledge/understanding of concepts/ recent events/ facts exposed in the required reading corpus (20% of grade).
- 1 final exam consisting of an in-class 30 minute long debate, which will be a “mock conference panel” on a question put by a moderator (1 student playing moderator, 3 or 4 panelists) on cases covered in classes (academic/thinktank perspective - 30% of the grade). The final exercise will deal with a real-life subject, related to defence cooperation/ alliances participation, commitments and dilemma. Students will be put in groups of 4-6, receive the subject 1 or 2 weeks prior to the class session, then discuss and argue in class, and finally submit a collective paper based on the panel discussion. The grade on this assignment will thus be collective. Further details will be provided with the subject.
- in-class participation (10 %) is also a part of the requirements.
Each class will start by an introduction, a presentation, followed by a discussion and an interactive lecture, except for the classes where the final exam/debate will take place.