International Security

The aim of the course is to offer an introduction to relevant research on the transition from conflict to periods of peace in different parts of the world from historical and comparative regional perspectives. Through a longer historical perspective on this general issue, which is relevant in terms of security politics as well as theory, the course traces the development of international politics from the emergence of the modern system of nation states until today. By means of a comparative regional perspective, the course aims to address the more specific research question about reasons why certain regions are characterised by recurring or long-lived conflicts, while others are known for varying degrees of institutionalised cooperation and integration. In order to achieve these aims, but also to encourage the students to develop skills in assessing research and developing independent explanations for specific research problems covered in the course, a selection of literature is offered which represents a relatively broad range of theoretical approaches and themes that may be relevant for such problems, directly or indirectly. In order to keep students updated regarding groundbreaking research and current theoretical debates, but also to enable teaching staff to be flexible when selecting literature, the course includes a considerable amount of additional reading.