Module SGIA42715: International Law and Conflict Intervention

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA42715: International Law and Conflict Intervention

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• This module will explore at an advanced level the role, interplay and limits of defence, development and diplomacy in ongoing conflicts.
• It will examine diverse legal, ethical, moral, and/or normative frameworks that shape conflict and conflict intervention practices at the level of the state, civil society, and the international system, situating these concepts in comparative and/or historical perspective.

Content

• Indicative content may include: the application of international humanitarian law and international human rights law to conflict intervention; the effect of changing societal, legal, ethical and/or international norms on approaches to conflict intervention; the development of concepts such the “responsibility to protect” (R2P), jus ad bellum and jus in bello; the impact of changing tactical, technical and/or technological approaches on the conduct of conflict intervention, such as lethal autonomy, digital surveillance, and advanced robotics; the contested legitimacy of intervention practices such as (counter)terrorism, (counter)insurgency, targeted killing, and territorial occupation; the provision of humanitarian assistance during conflict; the relationship between conflict intervention practices and conflict outcomes, such as the prospects for sustainable peace.
• This module will develop the analytical and judgemental skills required to apply legal, moral and/or ethical frameworks to contemporary problems, and to assess the resultant tensions between national security and human security that can emerge in practice.

Learning Outcomes

• Through the module, students will gain:
• Advanced knowledge of contemporary academic and policy debates related to defence, development and diplomacy during conflict and conflict intervention;
• Advanced understanding of the impact of key legal, ethical, moral and/or socio-cultural frameworks on conflict intervention practices at different levels of analysis;
• A deep understanding of how conflict intervention practices relate to the wider literature on conflict, conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction.

• This module will develop subject-specific skills, such as:
• An advanced ability to analyse the impact of conflict intervention practices on different social and political constituencies;
• The ability to apply key conceptual frameworks and theoretical models to evaluate the legitimacy of contemporary examples of conflict intervention;
• The ability to situate changes in the practice of conflict intervention in comparative and/or historical perspective, and in the context of wider scholarly understandings of the interplay between defence, development and diplomacy.

• By the end of the module, students will be able to be able, by the end of the module:
• Demonstrate an advanced ability to construct cogent arguments using different sources of material, including technical, legal and/or policy documents.
• Demonstrate an independent approach to learning, thinking (self-)critically and creatively, and to problem-solving.
• Present ideas effectively in appropriate forms of written communication.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Students will be taught and learn through self-guided learning, lectures, class discussion, and seminars.
• Students are taught through one-hour lectures, followed directly by one-hour seminars that combine different teaching approaches among them lectures, student presentations, discussions, and role-plays. Each lecture will introduce the students to key theoretical approaches and accommodate the differential knowledge and disciplinary skills of different cohorts.
• The seminars encourage students to explore the module content in detail and guide students through required and further reading. The seminars will enable students to develop their abilities to conduct research, to communicate, to present theoretical alternatives and data, and to develop their own argumentation skills. Occasionally, lecture and seminar groups will be combined into larger two-hour sessions to accommodate specific activities. Class discussion encourages background reading, contributing to the students’ independent learning. It will further allow students the opportunity to exchange ideas, to explore issues and arguments that interest or concern them in greater depth, and to receive feedback from both the group and the lecturer on their own arguments and understanding. Class discussions and seminar tutor interventions will be the main form of formative feedback students receive on this module, and students will be made aware of this at the start of the module.
• A 3,000-word written assignment will form the assessed element of the module. Summative assessment by essay, report or policy brief formally tests the skills developed throughout the course. The essay, to be submitted at the end of teaching, tests the ability to plan a substantial piece of work, identifying and retrieving sources and selecting and displaying appropriate subject specific knowledge and understanding. It tests the ability to develop an extended discussion which uses concepts and examines competing interpretation and analysis. It also develops key skills in sustaining effective written communication and information presentation to high scholarly standards. It enables students to demonstrate that they have sufficient subject knowledge to meet the assessment criteria, that they have achieved the subject skills and that they have acquired the module’s key skills. In particular, the written summative assignment tests the acquisition of knowledge through independent learning and the ability to apply it in critical argument in relation to a specific question. They further help students develop time management skills by working to a deadline, as well as the ability to seek out and critically use relevant data sources. The summative assessment will test skills of synthesis, analysis and critical evaluation referencing material drawn from the module.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Formative assessment will take the form of continuing feedback in seminars.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University