With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the "end of history" and the supremacy of liberal democracy in the world were theorized. The resurgence of interstate warfare – as in Ukraine, Gaza, and Lebanon – international terrorism, civil wars, the pandemic, and cyber warfare have refocused the attention of researchers and the decision-makers on security. The course aims to understand the theoretical and conceptual assumptions of "security" and investigate some of the most important issue related to security. Due to the evolving nature of these challenges, students will not be just exposed to the current literature, but they will also be required to develop critical thinking.
The course aims at analysing the contemporary political change, with particular attention to the evolution of democratic systems. On the one hand, the economic, social and cultural factors that favour the democratic processes will be examined, especially in the emerging countries and those that has just come out from a civil war. On the other, the events - economic crisis, globalization, technological innovation, migrations – that can threaten the stability of consolidated democracies and reduce their quality will be studied.
With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the "end of history" and the supremacy of liberal democracy in the world were theorized. The resurgence of interstate warfare – as in Ukraine, Gaza, and Lebanon – international terrorism, civil wars, the pandemic, and cyber warfare have refocused the attention of researchers and the decision-makers on security. The course aims to understand the theoretical and conceptual assumptions of "security" and investigate some of the most important issue related to security. Due to the evolving nature of these challenges, students will not be just exposed to the current literature, but they will also be required to develop critical thinking.
The course aims at analysing the contemporary political change, with particular attention to the evolution of democratic systems. On the one hand, the economic, social and cultural factors that favour the democratic processes will be examined, especially in the emerging countries and those that has just come out from a civil war. On the other, the events - economic crisis, globalization, technological innovation, migrations – that can threaten the stability of consolidated democracies and reduce their quality will be studied.
With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the "end of history" and the supremacy of liberal democracy in the world were theorized. The resurgence of interstate warfare – as in Ukraine, Gaza, and Lebanon – international terrorism, civil wars, the pandemic, and cyber warfare have refocused the attention of researchers and the decision-makers on security. The course aims to understand the theoretical and conceptual assumptions of "security" and investigate some of the most important issue related to security. Due to the evolving nature of these challenges, students will not be just exposed to the current literature, but they will also be required to develop critical thinking.
The course will delve into the following topics: IR and Security Studies theories, Critical Theories, the EU integration process, and case studies (among others, Great power rivalry; human security; peacekeeping and peacebuilding; nuclear weapons; civil wars; terrorism; foreign fighters; economic threats; transnational organized crime; global arms trade; migrations and refugees; energy security; women and security; cybersecurity, ...).