CORE158 Armed Conflict and Regional Security in the 21st Century

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Lucie Konečná, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Josef Kraus, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. PhDr. Věra Stojarová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Josef Kraus, Ph.D.
Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Supplier department: Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Mon 14:00–15:40 P31 Posluchárna A. I. Bláhy
Prerequisites
!TYP_STUDIA(ND) && !PROGRAM(B-BSS)
There are no specific prerequisites. The course is designed to be general and for students outside of the Security and Strategic Studies major.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
The capacity limit for the course is 120 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 86/120, only registered: 0/120, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/120
Course objectives
The course focuses on explaining the basic theoretical concepts of armed conflict and regional security complexes used in security and strategic studies. It then applies these concepts to case studies from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa, the Balkans, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Topics such as ethnic conflict, religiously motivated violence, conflicts over resources, and the power ambitions of regional actors are discussed and analyzed. Attention is paid to state and non-state armed actors, the different levels of armed violence ranging from intrastate conflicts to interstate conflicts to great power conflicts, and the different dynamics of conflicts over the time period presented are emphasized.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, the student will be introduced to the basic theoretical approaches to conflict and armed violence research, while gaining contextual and expert information on current armed conflicts around the world.
Syllabus
  • List of lectures: - Introduction to Armed Conflict and Regional Security Complexes - The Near and Middle East Region - Levant Subregion - Persian Gulf Subregion - War in Ukraine - Horn of Africa - Great Lakes Region - Southern Africa - Latin America - Western Balkans - Eastern Balkans - Southeast Asia
Teaching methods
Teaching is in the form of lectures, which begin by explaining the theories of armed conflict, their conceptualization and terminology related to regional security, and then, through selected case studies, introduce the regional specifics, context and security dynamics in the areas in which the lecturers have long specialized. Attendance at the lectures is compulsory and the knowledge gained from them will be the subject of a final colloquium by which students will successfully complete the course and fulfil their course obligations.
Assessment methods
Teaching takes the form of lectures, for which students prepare by reading the required literature. The course ends with an oral colloquium. According to the MU Study Regulations, the colloquium is the end of the course with a debate on the subject matter and is evaluated with the words "pass" or "fail" (in IS MU the letter P or N). All three teachers will participate in the colloquium and the situation in the regions discussed and their possible future development will be discussed. During the colloquium, students should demonstrate their knowledge acquired in lectures and through reading the assigned literature. The exact details and parameters of the colloquium will be communicated to students in advance of the examination period.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2026.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2025/CORE158