This course examines the changing character of war and security in a time of rapid and disruptive technological and geopolitical/ecological change. The course combines analysis of contemporary policy documents with the interdisciplinary insights of intellectuals – such as Zygmunt Bauman and Paul Virilio – who have examined how war has changed in the modern age.
Students are introduced to a range of concepts that are currently significant in the debates about the future of war – concepts such as ambiguous war, the gray zone, unrestricted warfare, the third offset strategy, and the three block war.
While the course is grounded in broader debates from social and political thought about war and modernity, it explores a range of evolving and inter-related case studies that are central to understanding how war is changing: cybersecurity/artificial intelligence; cities and urban war; drones and the future of robotics; climate change and ecological insecurity.
Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.