This course introduces students to the analysis of conventional and unconventional forms of conflict and political violence perpetuated by both state and armed nonstate actors.

The timetable for this course will be made available to students at the beginning of the academic year. There is no guarantee that this course will run in any given year. For further information, please check the Politics and International Relations Moodle page or contact the subject directly.

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Concept analysis assignment, 1000 words (20%)

Essay, 3500 words (80%)

The course aims are as follows:

■ To critically examine and apply different approaches to understanding the causes and consequences of conflict and political violence

■ To identify and assess the behaviour of state and armed nonstate actors in global politics

■ To think critically about a set of substantive questions and conflict and violence perpetuated by both state and armed nonstate actors

■ To identify the conditions under which violent political disputes can be peacefully resolved

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Understand how scholarly work can be usefully applied to various forms of conflict and political violence

2. Acquire the conceptual and theoretical tools to critically assess existing explanations of conflict and political violence and apply them to real-world events

3. Analyse the nature of and evaluate the significance of both state and non-state actors in international relations

4. Acquire the theoretical and methodological skills necessary to conduct their own research on various forms of conflict and political violence

5. Analyse controversial aspects of regional and international security to assess the viability of policy solutions proposed to address violence perpetuated by both state and armed nonstate actors

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.