Geopolitics and Global Challenges

In a complex geopolitical environment, how do we perceive, define, and examine security in the international system? This course will use theories of international relations to analyze the changing architecture of global order over the course of the twentieth century. The course will situate NATO in the longer history of collective security, trace the emergence of new diplomatic actors such as international institutions and humanitarian NGOs, and assess how global flows of commodities and migration have put pressure on security policy. The course will show how localized conflicts are grounded in broader patterns of persistent conflict and turbulence.

A candidate who has passed the course is expected to have the following learning outcomes in accordance with the course description, defined as knowledge and skills:

Knowledge

The candidate has

• In-depth knowledge of the international system.
• In-depth knowledge of key international institutions tied to security such as NATO.
• In-depth knowledge of the linkages between humanitarian and security policy in the 20th century.
• Knowledge of the key arenas of geopolitical tension such as migration and strategic supply chains.
• Knowledge of theories about collective security and global order.

Skills

The candidate

• Should be able to analyze the core institutions of international security policy and the key problems that they address.
• Has the ability to use historical methods to assess how overlapping geopolitical tensions develop over time.

The course is taught via digital platform. The platform can include short lectures, short podcast presentations, talks, and brief written teaching materials. A physical gathering is offered that is practically oriented and which may include lectures, seminar activity and group assignments.

The compulsory activity in the course is a term paper which is to compare to publications with relevance for the course. It has to be approved for the students to present themselves for assessment in the course.