School of Design, Arts, and Humanities

2018-19

COURSE SYLLABUS

 

 Course Number

  POL 240 A

Course Title

  Global Security

 

 Fall Semester

         X

 Spring Semester

 

Summer Semester

Credit Hours    3

 

Name of Instructor

 William Miller

 

Meeting Day, Time, and Room Number
 Wednesday, 3:30pm to 6:15pm, Rowley, G205

 

Final Exam Day, Time, and Room Number

 Wednesday, December 12th, 3:00pm to 5:30pm, Rowley, G205

 

Office Hours, Location, Phone      Mondays and Thursdays, 12:45-1:45pm, 3:15-4:00pm; Wednesdays by appointment. Rowley 1018. 703-284-1687. Emailing ahead of time is always good!

 

 E-mail and Web Site  

wmiller@marymount.edu Email is always the best way to reach me!

www.millerpolitics.com All announcements and assignments are posted on this web site, never on Canvas.

Course Description

An in-depth examination of theories that seek to explain wars, alliances, arms races, civil wars, and terrorism, with applications to contemporary international politics. Prerequisite: EN 102 and either POL 102, POL 103, or POL 104. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: GP, SS-2. (3)

 

 

UNIVERSITY STATEMENTS

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

By accepting this syllabus, you pledge to uphold the principles of Academic Integrity expressed by the Marymount University Community. You agree to observe these principles yourself and to defend them against abuse by others. Items submitted for this course may be submitted to TurnItIn.com for analysis.

STUDENT COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

For the benefit of current and future students, work in this course may be used for educational critique, demonstrations, samples, presentations, and verification.  Outside of these uses, work shall not be sold, copied, broadcast, or distributed for profit without student consent. 

ACCOMMODATIONS AND ACCESSIBILITY CONCERNS
Please address any special challenges or needs with the instructor at the beginning of the semester.


Students with Disabilities

If you are seeking accommodations (class/course adjustments) for a long-term or short-term (less than 6 months) disability, you must do the following:

1)    Register as a student with a disability with Student Access Services (SAS) in the Center for Teaching and Learning.  This process takes time, so you should engage it as early as possible.

2)    Once registered with SAS, you may be approved for accommodations by SAS.  Approved accommodations will be listed on a “Faculty Contact Sheet” (FCS).  This is important because not all accommodation requests are approved.

3)    After receiving the FCS, meet with each of your instructors as soon as possible to review your accommodations, and have them sign the FCS. This document will help you and your instructors develop a plan for providing the approved accommodations.

4)    Let SAS know if there are any concerns about the way your accommodations are being implemented by your instructors.

 

Please remember that:

1)    Accommodations for disabling conditions cannot be granted if you do not follow the above steps.

2)    Accommodations are not retroactive.  That is, accommodations can only be applied to a course after they have been approved by SAS and put into motion by you through working with your instructors.

3)    Appointments with the SAS staff are scheduled through the Starfish "Success Network" tab in Canvas.  For more information, check the SAS website, e-mail access@marymount.edu, or call 703-284-1538.

 

Students with Temporary Challenges

Temporary challenges due to accident, illness, etc. that may result in missing class or navigating general campus access do not fall under the purview of SAS. If you experience something of this nature, please start by alerting your instructors.  The Dean of Student Success may be involved in alerting instructors in extreme cases.

 

EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION POLICY

When students are absent due to a crisis situation or unexpected, serious illness and unable to contact their individual instructors directly, the Division of Student Affairs can send out an Emergency Notification. To initiate an Emergency Notification, students should contact the Division of Student Affairs 703-284-1615 or student.affairs@marymount.edu. Emergency Notifications are NOT appropriate for non-emergency situations (e.g. car problems, planned absences, minor illnesses, or a past absence); are NOT a request or mandate to excuse an absence, which is at the sole discretion of the instructor; and are NOT a requirement for student absences. If a student contacts instructors about an emergency situation directly, it is not necessary to involve the Division of Student Affairs as arrangements are made to resolve the absence.

For non-emergency absences, students should inform their instructors directly. 

ACCESS TO STUDENT WORK

Copies of your work in this course including copies of any submitted papers and your portfolios may be kept on file for institutional research, assessment and accreditation purposes. All work used for these purposes will be submitted confidentially.

 

UNIVERSITY POLICY ON WEATHER AND EMERGENCY CLOSINGS

Weather and Emergency closings are announced on Marymount’s web site: www.marymount.edu, through MUAlerts, area radio stations, and TV stations. You may also call the Weather and Emergency Hotline at (703) 526-6888 for current status. Unless otherwise advised by local media or by official bulletins listed above, students are expected to report for class as near normal time as possible on days when weather conditions are adverse. Decisions as to inclement closing or delayed opening are not generally made before 6:00 AM and by 3:00 PM for evening classes of the working day. Emergency closing could occur at any time making MUAlerts the most timely announcement mechanism. Students are expected to attend class if the University is not officially closed. If the University is closed, course content and assignments will still be covered as directed by the course instructor. Please look for communication from course instructor (e.g., Canvas) for information on course work during periods in which the University is closed.

1.  BROAD PURPOSE OF COURSE

An examination of theories that seek to explain wars, alliances, arms races, civil wars, and terrorism, with applications to contemporary international politics. In particular, the course will examine (1) the profound, world-changing phenomenon called “globalization” and its implications for the study of international relations and (2) issues of cyber security in the contemporary world.

2.  COURSE OBJECTIVES:  Upon successful completion of this course students will be expected to:

 

      1. be able to demonstrate an understanding of the major traditional and contemporary theories of international relations;

      2. be able to demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of the nation, of national security, of globalization, of global security;

      3. be able to demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of cyber and cyber security, basic technical terms, significant organizations, and significant events in cyber security;

      4. be able to demonstrate an understanding of the vulnerabilities of the global cyber system and the threats to cyber systems from nations, non-governmental organizations, and independent individuals (hackers);

      5. be able to demonstrate a familiarity with possible and actual responses to cyber threats and a knowledge of some of the on-going issues with cyber security;

      6. be able to provide these demonstrations in well-written and well-argued papers and cogent presentations.

 

 

3.  TEACHING METHOD  

      Lectures, class discussions, and student presentations. I do not want to lecture for most or even half the class. You must participate in the class discussions with questions and responses to questions, and therefore you must carefully prepare for each class. Quizzes and written assignments on the readings as well as knowledgeably responding to discussion questions in class will be the graded measure of your preparation for class. 

 

4.  GRADING POLICY

 

          Tuesday, September 4, 2018, is the last day to withdraw from a class without academic record

          Friday, November 2, 2018 is the last day to withdraw from a class with a grade of W

 

The final grade is based on components that include graded class assignments (which cover answering questions in class and participating in class discussions) and quizzes (if necessary), two essay exams, and short graded presentations or article/chapter reviews, as follows:

 

25% = Preparation for and participation in class discussions: quizzes and written assignments 15%; class participation 10%

20% = Class presentations and written critiques; depending on the class size, I expect each student to make one presentation and hand in one critique

25% = Mid-term exam

30% = Final exam

 

The usual scale of 90-100%=A, 80-89%=B, 70-79%=C, 60-69%=D, and 59% and below=F will be used for all graded work.

 

No grade of "I" or "Incomplete" will be given. If possible, the presentations and the exam will be graded within two weeks. The first presentation may be postponed once for the same documented reasons needed for an excused absence; otherwise, the failure to give either presentation or the review on time will result in an F. 

 

ATTENDANCE AND MAKE-UP EXAM POLICY

 

Attendance: Beginning with the second week of classes, students are allowed a total of four absences, excused and/or unexcused. Students who miss five or more classes for any reason whatever will receive an “F” in the course.  

 

Each unexcused absence beyond two—up to the absolute limit of four—will result in a lowering of the final grade by one percentage point. To be excused, an absence must be documented, unless I indicate otherwise. Excused absences are typically medical-, legal-, or job-related excuses. Acceptable documentation typically consists of a statement or form on official stationery (1) signed by a third party (e.g., doctor, police, judge, supervisor) that (2) refers specifically to the day of absence from class and (3) the reason for the absence.

 

Occasionally coming to class late—even really late once or twice—is not considered an absence. Coming to class without hard copies of the text for the day, leaving the classroom for most of the class-time, or leaving class early without the prior permission of the instructor, however, is considered an unexcused absence.

 

Merely informing me ahead of time that you will be absent from class does not mean I excuse the absence, though I appreciate your courtesy. I will not excuse your absence because you are simply not feeling well or because you choose to do something worthwhile other than come to class even if you inform me ahead of time. If you are coughing and sneezing and coming down with a cold or the flu, and you don't want to spread your virus to your classmates, your fellow students and I salute you! Staying home may be the right thing to do, but it is not an excused absence. You all get two unexcused absences to use as you see fit, and it is your decision to use them to stay home when you don't feel well or want to attend some other event or need to prepare for another class instead of going to my class. Use them for good reasons: that's what they are for.

 

The limit of four total absences recognizes that excessive excused absences may also be a problem. You should discuss such situations with me well before the last month of the semester. This is not a distance learning class. Any absence prevents you from participating in the class, but if your job or an illness keeps you away from class, it will significantly affect the class participation component of your grade and may be a good reason to drop the course and take it another time. All of us find ourselves in these situations from time to time and have to deal with them appropriately. You also have an obligation to report this to a University office (see the section titled “Attendance” in the University Catalogue).

 

When in doubt about any of these policies, please come and talk to me. They have been formulated with our substantial commuter and working student population in mind and are intended to be fair to everyone. You should also review the University's policies on absenteeism in the section titled “Attendance” in the University Catalogue.

 

Make-up Exams and Papers: The same basic rules about excused absences apply to taking mid-terms and presenting seminar papers. My policy of giving makeup exams on the same day as the final does NOT mean that you may choose to take the mid-term exam on that day rather than on the regularly scheduled day: it is not an alternative test date. To be eligible for a makeup, you must qualify for an excused absence, and this you should do a reasonable time before the day of the mid-term, if that is at all possible. You may be excused from taking a mid-term if you are certifiably sick or your job prevents you from attending class or you have a legal, family, or personal emergency on the day of the test. If one of these applies, and I am informed in a reasonable time before the exam, and you have written documentation to support your request, you may take the exam on the same day as the final exam. If none of these reasons apply, you may not take the exam at another time, and you will get a zero for the exam. Travel plans will never excuse an absence. If you are late for the exam because of events outside of your control, let me know immediately or as soon as possible that day, and I will let you take the exam later that same day if possible.

 

The seminar paper(s) that you present in class is/are intended to provoke discussion, questions and comments by fellow students that are part of your grade and that you must participate in. An unexcused absence on a day you are scheduled to present a paper results in a zero for the paper. An excused absence with advanced notice to me allows you to present the paper the following week. More than one such excused absence requires a discussion with me.

 

5.  CLASS SCHEDULE  This schedule is approximate and the assignments and topics are subject to revision, but I shall do my best to keep the exam dates as listed below. You can expect a lot of adjustments in the weekly reading assignments because this is a new course using assignment materials for the first time. Because it is a course in contemporary issues, we shall use as additional readings a lot of newspaper and internet readings that are published in the course of the semester. There is truly something relevant to the course being written about or reported on every day. We will try to keep up! Many of the reading assignments from the two texts will be selected pages from those texts.

 

Week I (8/29) Introduction to International/Global Security

      Basic Conceptual Approaches to the Subject: Levels of Analysis; Realism; Idealism/Liberalism; Ideological Conceptions; Globalization

Week II (9/5) Ole Holsti, “Models of International Relations and Foreign Policy”; Sean Kay, Global Security in the Twenty-first Century (hereinafter referred to as “Kay”), chapter 1

Week III (9/12) Realism, Kay, chapter 2; Globalization; Jarmon and Yannakogeorgos, The Cyber Threat and Globalization (hereinafter referred to as “Jarmon”), chapter 3, pp. 65-70.

Week IV (9/19) Alternatives to Realism; Kay, chapter 3; Holsti, supra.

Week V (9/26) Great Powers and Grand Strategy; Kay chapter 4.

Week VI (10/3) Technology and the Business of Security; Kay, chapter 6.

Week VII (10/10) Asymmetric conflict; Kay, chapter 7.

Week VIII (10/17) Mid-Term Exam for 1/2 the class. Introduction to Cyber Security

Week IX (10/24) Contemporary cyber security—definitions and basic concepts; Jarmon, chapter 1.

Week X (10/31) Contemporary global cyber issues; Jarmon, chapters 2 & 3.

Week XI (11/7) Chinese activities; Jarmon, chapter 4; review Kay, chapter 4, 121-129.

Week XII (11/14) Russian activities; Jarmon, chapter 5; review Kay, chapter 4, 112-121.

Week XIII (11/28) Terrorist Cyber Threats; Jarmon, chapter 6.

Week XIV (12/5) Military Cyber Strategies; Jarmon, Appendix.

 

The Final Exam will be given only at the time listed in the University Final Exam Schedule: Wednesday, December 12th, 3:00pm, in Rowley G205. Make your travel plans accordingly.

 

6.  REQUIRED TEXTS     

 

Jack A Jarmon and Pano Yannakogeorgos. The Cyber Threat and Globalization. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2018. ISBN 978-1-5381-0431-6

 

Sean Kay. Global Security in the Twenty-first Century. 3d ed. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2015. ISBN 978-1-4422-4802-1

 

RECOMMENDED AND RELEVANT TEXTS

 

Highly Recommended: Gary Schaub, ed. Understanding Cyber Security: Emerging Governance and Strategy. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2018. ISBN 978-1-78660-680-8

 

ALSO RECOMMENDED:

 

Philip Bobbitt. The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace, and the Course of History. Anchor, 2002. ISBN 0-385-72138-2

 

Hedley Bull. The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics. New York: Columbia University Press, 1977. ISBN 0-231-04133-0

 

F.H. Hinsley. Power and the Pursuit of Peace: Theory and Practice in the History of Relations Between States. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1966.

Henry Kissinger. A World Restored: Metternich, Castlereagh, and the Problems of Peace, 1812-22. Echo Point Books and Media, 2013. ISBN 978-1626549784 

 

Hans Morgenthau. Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace. (First published in 1948; now in its 7th edition.) 7th ed.

 

Kenneth N> Waltz. Man, the State, and War. New York: Columbia University Press, 1954, rev.ed. 2001. ISBN 978-0231125376

 

Adam Watson. The Evolution of International Society: A Comparative Historical Analysis. Routledge, 1992. ISBN 978-0415069991

 

A FEW FURTHER RULES

 

For the benefit of the class and your classmates, the following rules regarding electronic devices also apply to this course:

1.     Turn your cell phones off during the class. If you are expecting an important call, put your phone on “Vibrate,” sit near the door, and, when the call comes, answer it outside the classroom.

2.     It follows from the foregoing rule, but it must be separately stated: no talking and no texting on cell phones during class. If you do not follow this rule, I will publicly ask you to leave the room for the remainder of the class and will do my best to have you removed from the course for the rest of the semester.

3.     No open lap-top or other computers are allowed in class without my prior permission. Devices such as tablets, Ipads, Kindles, and Nooks that lie flat on the desk and on to which the readings can be loaded are permitted if approved by me, but hard copies of the readings are better. You can mark them up and take notes on them in class. Most assignments will be handed out in hard copies.

4. Be sure to check your Marymount email address regularly! This is Marymount’s and my principal way of contacting you with important information. Perhaps you rely mostly on Yahoo, gmail, or some other provider, but check your @marymount.edu mail daily to make sure you do not miss school information.

 

These rules are necessary to foster a suitable learning environment in the classroom during class. There are enough distractions with lawnmowers, air conditioners, and other outside forces to combat during lectures and discussions.