Undergraduate - UnitATS2340 - Introduction to Peace and Security Studies

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2012 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Offered	Clayton Second semester 2012 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Dr Patrick Kimunguyi

Synopsis

This Unit introduces students to the study of peace and security in international politics. Firstly, it introduces the traditional notions of security - war, deterrence, terrorism alongside non-military issues such as famine, crime, disasters, pandemics, environmental degradation, human rights abuses - and explains how these are threats to peace.

Secondly, it provides the conceptual framework for understanding conflict and peace. Causes of conflicts and ways of dealing with them are examined. Particular focus is put on efforts of the UN, and other intergovernmental organizations such as the EU, African Union, ASEAN; individual governments; and NGOs towards achieving peace.

Outcomes

By the end of their study of this subject, students will have gained:

an appreciation of the various concepts for understanding peace and security in the contemporary world;
knowledge of the root causes of conflicts;
comprehension of the relationship between non-military security issues, conflicts and peace;
an understanding of ways of resolving conflicts including the efforts of various actors - the UN, and other intergovernmental organizations such as the EU, AU, ASEAN; individual governments; and non-governmental organisations towards achieving peace;
sufficient information and research skills to formulate and respond to essay questions;
strong skills in critical oral and written assessment of the academic scholarship, including methods, assumptions and uses of evidence, and in organising and defending a verbal and written argument based upon those assessments;
a capacity to reflect upon and make critical use of a range of resources including, where relevant, on-line materials.