Winter 2009 Syllabus (pdf format)

Description: This seminar introduces M.A. and Ph.D. students to key concepts and approaches in the security studies subfield. The course has three main purposes: (1) to familiarize students with key debates in the security studies subfield; (2) to help students prepare for comprehensive exams in IR; and (3) to help students develop a pedagogical approach for teaching college level security studies courses. The seminar is designed to answer the following questions: What are the root causes of war? When, if ever, is war justified? How do recent changes in military technology and doctrine affect the way that war is fought? How can wars be prevented or at least limited? What can third parties do to help manage or limit wars? Do nuclear weapons make war less likely? In answering these questions, the seminar will examine a number of important issues including diplomacy, strategic coercion, grand strategy, civil-military relations, threat assessment, war initiation, war fighting, war termination, and combat effectiveness. Other topics include nuclear deterrence theory, nuclear proliferation, national missile defense (NMD), and issues relating to terrorism, the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and the Bush Doctrine.