War, the environment and sustainability

The nature of war is destruction, while sustainability entails using of the environment in a way that enables its use as a resource base for human society for a longer time period. War directly impacts the environment, and environmental change can be a cause for war, a weapon, a limiting constraint, and after-effect of conflict. This course will show how different dimensions of security, the environment and sustainability are entangled, and how they have changed over time. This covers global supply chains for strategic resources, as well as the political and military instrumentalization of the environment in security conflicts. The course will assess the ecological long-term impact of war, as well as the increasing demand for social regulation of the environmental consequences of war.

A candidate who passes this course is expected to have the following learning outcome according to the course curriculum, defined as knowledge and skills:

Knowledge

The candidate has

• in-depth knowledge of military resource use.
• knowledge of the environmental consequences of war
• in-depth knowledge of the relationship between environmental changes and security politics.

Skills

The candidate is able to

• identify key aspects and development patterns in complex situation descriptions.
• explain changes in the social and environmental framework conditions of war.

The course is taught digitally, where lectures, podcasts, cases, and other teaching materials are made available through a digital platform. This platform will constitute a digital classroom where digital meeting points are established for teaching, student active learning, follow-up, guidance, etc. This course also uses case-based learning and assessment of the obligatory activity.

In addition to the digital "core", one physical gathering will be held during the semester, lasting two days.

The compulsory activity in the course is a written response to two cases and one evaluation which must be approved for the students to present themselves for assessment in the course.