EUP436 Afghanistan's regional security complex

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2019
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 6 credit(s). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Tomáš Černohous, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Petr Zelinka, M.Sc. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Petr Suchý, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Olga Cídlová, DiS.
Supplier department: Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
each even Monday 14:00–17:40 U43
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Afghanistan has become one of the most unstable countries of the world and a melting pot of regional and international influences. Together with its neighbors it also constitutes one of the world's most volatile regions, while the regional dimension of the conflict in Afghanistan contributes to its further destabilization, preventing lasting peace and development. This course will introduce concepts such as proxy wars, intelligence operations, insurgency and counter-insurgency, terrorism and militant Islamism on the case study of Afghanistan and the wider South Asia region. Participants of the course will explore not only the internal security in Afghanistan, but also what role the states of this region play in it and in relation to one another, what are their main security threats and conflicts and how may these easily accelerate or be possibly mitigated. The overall aim of the course is then to analyze the complex security dynamics of Afghanistan´s region and its development in recent history. Towards this end the theoretical framework of regional security complex theory will also be utilized, however also with emphasis on non-state actors and sub-state entities. Both lectors have operational experience from Afghanistan.
Learning outcomes
This course aims to provide students with means and ways to analyze the contemporary conflict in Afghanistan with emphasis on regional dimension of South Asia. Ideally, students will be able to apply a similar framework to other areas and regions. Theoretically the course will be framed by Buzan's and Waever's concept of regional security complex, which highlights the need to analyze security of a given entity (usually a country) in the context of regional dynamics.
Syllabus
  • The course is broadly divided into two parts. First, Afghanistan's trajectory towards instability will be briefly sketched out. Emphasis will be given to the major actors that influenced contemporary (from 1973 onwards) history of Afghanistan, including Taliban, al-Qaida, USA and NATO. In addition to that concepts of Political Islam, Intelligence operations and Counter-insurgency will be briefly introduced as they are useful concepts for leading an analysis of the contemporary developments in Afghanistan. Second part will adopt more regional focus, countries involved in Afghanistan conflict will be analyses, namely Pakistan, Iran, Central Asian states, Russia, India, China and United States. Their national interests in the context of Afghanistan will be examined as well as their means of achieving them. Concept of proxy wars will be coined in, as the inter-state rivalries in the region underpin most of the civil war dynamic in Afghanistan and not only there. Most importantly – the concept of regional security complexes will be spelled out and applied on South Asia region.

  • Mo 18. 2. 2019:    Course road map  +  Historical and Cultural Introduction to Afghanistan
  • Mo 4. 3. 2019:     Path to the 9/11: Creation of the al-Qaida and of the Taliban  +  Taliban – al-Qaida Ties: Brothers in Arms or an Unwanted Guest?
  • Mo 18. 3. 2019:   An Unprecedented Intelligence Operation: USA invasion to Afghanistan  +  Unproductive COIN and successful CT in Afghanistan (and Pakistan)
  • Mo 1. 4. 2019:     Pakistan’s Inner Machine: Understanding Pakistani Military  +  Pakistan and India Rivalry
  • Mo 15. 4. 2019:   Iran  +  Central Asia
  • Mo 29. 4. 2019:   Major powers – China, Russia and United States
  • Mo 13. 5. 2019:   Geopolitics of Afghanistan and its region  +  Challenges and perspectives
Literature
  • Full list of essential and recommended readings is included in Study Materials folder of Information System.
  • HARPVIKEN, Kristian Berg and Shahrbanou TADJBAKSH. A Rock Between Hard Places: Afghanistan as an Arena of Regional Insecurity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. info
  • BUZAN, Barry and Ole WVER. Regions and powers : the structure of international security. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003, xxiv, 564. ISBN 9780521891110. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, discussion of selected issues based on knowledge of required literature and one or two seminars with active students' participation.

The course will be taught on the basis of 2 lectures every other week. Attendance on the lectures is highly recommended, although the presentations used for the lectures will be provided to the students. Recording during the lectures will not be allowed. For each lecture a number of key texts are listed under the heading essential. Every student is expected to have read the essential texts before attending the lecture. Failure to read these texts will jeopardize learning experience from the lectures, one owns ability to contribute during the lecture as well as diminish your chances to do well in exams. Those who want to get most from the course should read beyond the essential reading to further explore the topic. It is highly recommended to get familiar with the additional readings when writing an essay on a similar topic.
Assessment methods
The course will be assessed in the following ways:

  • Exam on the Afghan part and relevant concepts used there: 15 points
  • Exam on the Regional part and relevant concepts used there: 15 points
  • Essay 3000 words: 30 points

    • First examination will be held at the beginning of the sixth lecture, the second after the last lecture. Both exams will consist of several open-ended questions on the topics covered in the respective parts.

    You are required to write a 3000-word essay on a topic of your choice (this limit includes footnotes but does not cover the biography). Topics must be agreed in advance with one of the lecturers, they might help with the topic selection if needed. Deadlines for essays will be announced during the course. Failure to send the essay on time will result in deductions from the essay's final marking. Every day after the deadline equals to 10 % deduction. When it comes to the essay itself the following criteria will be used for assessing the essay:

  • Analytical soundness and cohesion of the arguments 12 points
  • Correct citation, volume of relevant literature or sources used 6 points
  • Essay's structure and presentation of the conclusions 6 points
  • Factual correctness of the data and information 6 points

    • Students can get a bonus of 3 points if their work is innovative in regard of framing the research, topic in question or used sources (thus making up for possible deficiencies in other parts of the essay; the bonus cannot be transferred to assessments from exams).

    Final mark for the course is set as follows:
  • 60 – 56 points:      A
  • 55 – 51 points:      B
  • 52 – 48 points:      C
  • 47 – 44 points:      D
  • 43 – 40 points:      E
  • 39 and less points:    F
    • Language of instruction
    English
    Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
    Study Materials
    The course is taught annually.
    Teacher's information
    Detailed sylabus of EUP436 and essential readings for the course are to be found in Study Materials folder of Information System.
    • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
    • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2019/EUP436