DSPO 23A10 - Ethics and Policies of Arms in the MENA region

This course examines the legal, ethical, and political frameworks that govern the possession, use, and circulation of weapons in contemporary international relations. It explores a wide range of armaments—including small arms, major conventional weapons, CBRN weapons, and emerging technologies such as autonomous and AI-enabled systems—across diverse contexts of conflict, from conventional interstate wars to asymmetric and non-conventional warfare.

The course introduces students to the key norms of international humanitarian law, arms control, and export regulation, while engaging with broader ethical debates on the legitimacy of force, responsibility, proportionality, and accountability. Particular attention is paid to the tensions between legal constraints, moral reasoning, and strategic imperatives that shape state behavior and defense policies. Through the analysis of historical and contemporary case studies, students are encouraged to critically assess decisions related to the use, trade, and regulation of weapons, as well as their humanitarian, political, and geopolitical consequences.

Designed as an interactive course, it combines conceptual tools, empirical analysis, and collective discussion to foster a nuanced and critical understanding of arms as both material instruments of violence and deeply political objects embedded in global power relations.

The assessment is a mix of individual and group works prepared at home and/or conducted in class.

1°) Group work: there will be a group oral presentation of case studies (session 5 – 20%) and class debates (scattered on sessions 9 through 11 – 20%)

2°) Individual work: there will be a final essay mobilizing and illustrating course material (session 12 – 50%)

3°) A consideration for general participation to the course throughout the semester (10%)