MEB401 Security Theories and Methodology

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2018
Extent and Intensity
1/1. 10 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Petr Ocelík, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Nikita Minin, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Nikita Minin, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Břetislav Dančák, 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
Thu 14:00–15:40 M117
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course introduces students to main theoretical approaches to security in International Relations (IR) with emphasis on energy-related issues. Each class is built around main concepts of a given approach. The class is followed by seminar where the students debate and explore introduced concepts in the context of required literature. First, the course focuses on traditionalist approaches to security, realism, and liberalism, with key concepts of balance of power and interdependence upon which, in the energy-related arena, strategic and market approaches to energy security are based. The following part of the course covers revisionist approaches starting with social constructivism that is introduced both as a social theory and theory of IR. The rest of the course then focuses on four distinct revisionist schools, namely: Copenhagen school, Paris school, Welsh school, and new materialism, where securitization theory, structural violence, Bourdieusian concepts of field and habitus as well as concepts of assemblage and Actor-Network are introduced. The course is finished with presentations on one of the introduced approaches. Upon successful completion of the course, the students will have a complex understanding of the issue and will be able to use this knowledge in an informed and creative way.The course introduces students to (meta)theoretical assumptions and methodological apparatus of social network analysis. Each class consists of a lecture which introduces theoretical background and “mechanics” of a given concept or method, and a workshop where students use this knowledge through practical tasks.
Learning outcomes
At the end of this course the student should be able to: 1. identify general characteristics of various approaches to security within the IR theory; 2. assess the viability of various approaches in the contemporary world and the changing international environment; 3. apply approaches to critically reflect and analyze particular issues of today’s international politics related to energy security.
Syllabus
  • Organizational session / Concepts and theories: why are they important?
  • Realism: strategic approach to security and balance of power
  • Liberalism: market approach to security and interdependence
  • Revisionist approaches to security in International Relations
  • Social constructivism in International Relations
  • Copenhagen school: a framework for analysis
  • Copenhagen school: revisions
  • Paris School: field, habitus, and practices
  • Contemporary Interpretations of Marxism
  • Welsh School: structural constraints and emancipation
  • New materialism: assemblage, actor-network, and translation
Literature
  • BUZAN, Barry, Ole WAEVER and Jaap de WILDE. Bezpečnost : nový rámec pro analýzu. Translated by Ivo Lukáš. 1. vyd. Brno: Centrum strategických studií, 2005, 267 s. ISBN 8090333362. info
  • NYE, Joseph S. and Robert O. KEOHANE. Power and interdependence. 3rd ed. New York: Longman, 2001, xviii, 334. ISBN 0-321-04857-1. info
  • KATZENSTEIN, Peter, J. The Culture of National Security: Norms and Identity in World Politics. New York, 1996. Columbia University Press. info
Teaching methods
lectures, 10 seminars (including preparation of position papers for each of them), each student is obliged to submit and present review on discussed issue, position papers and reviews improve the ability of students to summarize an issue and to evaluate it critically, midterm exam, final exam, readings serve to broaden and deepen the spectrum of knowledge students acquire during lectures
Assessment methods
The final grade is calculated as a composite evaluation consisting of following six parts: (1) attendance, (2) seminar activity, (3) position paper, (4) review, (5) final exam.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2011, Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2017.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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