This course will explore the promise, power and limitations of ideas and norms in contemporary international security.  It will include an exploration of theoretical underpinnings of norms and ideas, examination of case studies in which norms and ideas played important roles in international security, and an evaluation of the future potential of normative factors in our international system.   Specifically, the course will look at different ways non-material factors can shape international security, including concepts such as identity, security communities, emotions, and norms.  Students will then apply these concepts to a number of case studies, such as nuclear proliferation and nonproliferation, terrorism, security challenges in the Middle East, the coming challenge of China, humanitarian intervention, civil conflict, and resource wars.

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

1. Comprehend the importance of non-material factors in international security
2. Explain the ways in which non-material factors shape both elite and popular conceptions of what it means to be a successful state
3. Hypothesize about how non-material factors can become part of the policy maker cost-benefit calculation in making international security decisions
4. Apply non-material factors to key areas of international security, including nuclear politics, terrorism, regional security challenges, the role of emotions and identity in global conflict, and more.
5. Debate the limitations of using non-material factors (especially exclusively) in analysing international security issues 

Analytical presentation report (1500 words) (25%) (LO 1, 2, 4)

2 critical reading reflections (750 words each) (25%) (LO 1, 2, 3)

Research essay (3000 words) (50%) (LO 3, 4, 5)

Two hour seminar per week (12 weeks), individual meetings with lecturer (1 week), and 8-10 hours of independent reading/writing per week (13 weeks)

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