ATS2340: International Security Studies

1 X Short Essay (1000 words) (20%)
1 X Major Essay (2500 words) (40%)
2 Hour exam (2000 words) (30%)
Tutorial Participation (10%)

Comments: I really loved this unit. Ben's lectures are fantastic, and once you get past the first three week's lectures on international relations theory, the content becomes really interesting. The three tutors each had a lecture or two to present, and they were all on really interesting topics. We also had a guest lecturer for week 10. But really, it was the tutorials that made this unit so great. I had Dara Conduit, who was super nice and probably my favourite tutor. We began each week by discussing the latest news events, such as the Ukraine/Russia conflict, North Korea's everything, South Sudan, Venezuela etc. It was a great way to get the 10% participation marks, particularly for me as I'm always super shy and quiet. Dara always organised the tutorial really well, where every minute of the tutorial was used usefully.

Assessments:
The assessments were fairly standard for Arts units. For the minor essay, we had to pick from a list of IR theories/approaches and analyse it. The major essay involved choosing a question from a list, and writing a 2500 word research essay. Questions included: "Does International Law, with particular reference to collective security and the United Nations, effectively constrain the actions of states in relation to engaging in armed conflict with other states?" and "Critically evaluate the concepts of transitional justice and human security in relation to the processes of post‐conflict reconstruction".
I found the exam to be a bit tricky, but the questions were actually straightforward. It consisted of 6 short answer questions based on the readings. The exam was supposed to be held at Caulfield Racecourse, but somehow the scheduling stuffed up and it ended up being an online take-home exam. Biggest win of the semester.

Overview of the semester:
Weeks 1 - 4 we looked at key theories and approaches, including realism, liberalism, Critical Security Studies, the Copenhagen School (securitization), Social Constructivism and Post-Structuralism. We also looked at the United Nations' role in international affairs. I found the readings for these weeks to be pretty dry, the readings were basically just brief descriptions of the theories...
Weeks 5 - 6 we looked at Intra-State Conflict (civil wars), and Inter-State Conflict. These topics were really good. Ben used a number of case studies, all of which I found incredibly interesting, including the Korean War, Iran-Iraq War, Lebanese Civil War, Second Congo War.
Weeks 7 -8 we looked at Organised Crime, Terrorism and Insurgency. These were my favourite weeks by far!! Alex, one of the three tutors, gave the lecture for Organised Crime. She gave a really great lecture on drug cartels in Central and Southern America. We looked at the Medellin Cartel and the Cali Cartel in Colombia, and the whole Pablo Escobar ordeal. We also looked at Mexico, and the value of the drug trafficking and the key actors involved in the trafficking of drugs across borders there. I felt like I learnt a lot in the one hour lecture! Another tutor Matteo gave a lecture on Terrorism and Insurgency in week 8. He used case studies from Algeria, and it was a bit refreshing to not just focus on the frequently-used 9/11.
Weeks 9 - 11 we looked at Intervention and State Building, Post Conflict Reconstruction, International Law and Regulation of Conflict. We had Assoc. Prof Adam McBeth from the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law for week 10's lecture on International Law, which was really good. He went over the UN Charter in further detail, and highlighted Rwanda and the Balkans as key case studies.

Ben MacQueen

None, and no sample exams either.

4.5 out of 5

Yes, without screen capture

Prescribed textbook was Contemporary Security Studies by Alan Collins. However, only the first 3 weeks' readings came from this textbook, so it was a bit of a waste of money. Also, Ben MacQueen uploads all readings onto Moodle.

1 x 1 hour lecture weekly, 1 X 1 hour tutorial weekly

2014 Semester 1

N/A