Module Information
Module Identifier
IQ25120
Module Title
Strategy, Intelligence and Security in International Politics
Academic Year
2025/2026
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 1
Exclusive (Any Acad Year)
Reading List
Other Staff
Course Delivery
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Review 1500 Words | 40% |
| Semester Assessment | Essay 2000 Words | 50% |
| Semester Assessment | Seminar performance | 10% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay 2000 Words | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Reivew in lieu of seminar performance 500 Words | 10% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Review 1500 Words | 40% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key concepts and theories related to the study of war and strategy.
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key concepts and theories related to the study of intelligence and security.
Discuss and analyse competing theories of conflict prevention in international politics.
Evaluate and discuss the evolving role of intelligence in key aspects of national security policy.
Identify and evaluate the challenges facing intelligence and security services in contemporary world politics.
Brief description
The module explores core tenets of strategic thought and contemporary security. It is designed to enable students to engage theoretically with concepts and debates about the formulation of strategy, to access and analyse the highly complex world of Intelligence, and to think conceptually about the range of threats, risks and challenges associated with international, national and individual security.
Content
The module will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars and workshops. Themes and questions covered during these sessions include:
•The study of war and its causes
•Strategic theory and strategic culture
•Theories of peace, peacemaking and peacekeeping
•The evolution of intelligence and the structures of intelligence
•Theories and techniques of intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination
•Espionage, counter-intelligence, covert action and deception
•Questions of politicization, ethics and accountability in intelligence
•Traditional and Critical approaches to security studies
•Ideas about collective security, security communities and the security dilemma
•The study of war and its causes
•Strategic theory and strategic culture
•Theories of peace, peacemaking and peacekeeping
•The evolution of intelligence and the structures of intelligence
•Theories and techniques of intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination
•Espionage, counter-intelligence, covert action and deception
•Questions of politicization, ethics and accountability in intelligence
•Traditional and Critical approaches to security studies
•Ideas about collective security, security communities and the security dilemma
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Communication | Students will be expected to demonstrate skills of political communication and persuasion in relation to the specific and individual assessment requirements of this module. Students will learn how to present their ideas verbally and in writing, and how to present their arguments most effectively. They will develop skills in using the many sources of information available to best advantage. They will learn to be clear in their writing and speaking and to be direct about aims and objectives. They will learn to consider only that which is relevant to the topic, focus and objectives of their argument or discussion. Students will also be required to submit their written assessments in word-processed format and the presentation of work should reflect effective expression of ideas and good use of language skills in order to ensure clarity, coherence and effective communication. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | The module aims to promote self-management but within a context in which support and assistance is available from the module convenor and other students. |
| Information Technology | Students will enhance their proficiency using Blackboard, where materials to support learning will be made available. Students will also develop skills in searching for, and assessing the validity of, online information sources as part of preparation for lectures, seminars and assessed tasks. Assessed work will be presented in electronic format, according to standard expectations. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | The module is designed to hone and test skills of use to students in their working lives, particularly in speaking to small groups, listening, thinking and responding to the statement of others. Moreover, the written work requires students not only to write clearly and concisely, which is a common task in the workplace, but to develop and demonstrate advanced skills of communication and persuasion. Students will be encouraged throughout to reflect on their performance and to consider lessons for future application. |
| Problem solving | Independent work and problem solving will be one central goal of the module; the submission of written assignments will require that students develop independent research skills as well as problem solving skills. The ability of students to solve problems will be developed and assessed by asking them to: adopt differing points of view; organize data and estimate an answer to the problem; consider extreme cases; reason logically; construct theoretical models; consider similar cases; look for patterns; divide issues into smaller problems. |
| Research skills | Students will be required to undertake independent research in order to complete the assessed work. This will involve utilizing a range of information sources, including core academic texts, journal articles, electronic publications, and online news sources. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Students have the opportunity to develop, practice and test a wide range of subject specific skills that help them to understand, conceptualise and evaluate examples and ideas on the module. These subject specific skills include:  Collect and understand a wide range of data relating to the module Evaluate competing perspectives Apply a range of methodologies to complex historical and contemporary social and political problems. |
| Team work | Students will undertake team exercises in the seminars and workshops. For many of the topics of this module, seminars will consist of small-group discussions where students will be asked to discuss as a group the core issues related to the seminar topic. These class discussions and debates form a significant part of the module, and will allow students to approach and examine a given topic through team work. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5