War and its Aftermath

Module title	War and its Aftermath
Module code	POL3313
Academic year	2024/5
Credits	15
Module staff	Professor Klejda Mulaj (Lecturer)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks	11

Number students taking module (anticipated)	35

Module description

This module explores the nature and character of war in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and its impact on states and societies impacted by war directly or indirectly. The module is also concerned with various endeavours of external parties to intervene in armed conflict and efforts on the side of liberal states to seek redress for mass atrocities in the setting of transitional justice processes. The module therefore is concerned with key issues that arise during armed conflict and its aftermath. On this module you will consider contemporary trends in modern war, the decision/s to intervene or not, and how intervention/s shapes both the war and its ‘ending’, and the postwar era.

This module is suitable for both specialist and non-specialist students.

Teaching will be interactive. You are required to read extensively and to take an active role in weekly seminar discussions.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module will introduce you to a broad range of scholarship – primarily in the discipline of International Relations – that addresses matters pertaining to modern war and armed conflict as well as ensuing aftermath. It will invite you to think about causes of war, how war is fought, what can be done in response to crimes committed in its course, and how permutation of the war’s violence in its aftermath might be mitigated. Furthermore, the module will invite you to consider the efficacy of common policy prescriptions in light of the relevant scholarship. The module therefore aims to help you develop professional values and engage meaningfully with a subject that retains relevance both for the academia and the policy circles.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

1. Identify the major arguments in the fields of International Relations / comparative politics regarding war / armed conflict and its aftermath
2. Evaluate different interpretations about the nature of war and prescriptions for its cessation

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

3. Articulate in-depth knowledge of a subfield of International Relations, and knowledge of contemporary issues in international politics
4. Deploy theoretical arguments, concepts, and methods, and apply them to practices and common policy prescriptions in the global arena

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

5. Communicate effectively in writing and speech
6. Work independently and with peers to achieve common goals

Syllabus plan

The syllabus will cover topics such as:

The character of war in the post-Cold War era;

actors in war;

Crimes against humanity with particular reference to genocide and war crimes;

war and public opinion;

external / humanitarian intervention;

international aid;

mechanisms of transitional justice;

postconflict recovery;

state building.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	128	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled learning and teaching	22	Twenty-two seminars of 2 hours each will involve small group discussion of texts and presentations.
Guided independent study	100	Reading and preparation for tutorials, including preparation of class presentations
Guided independent study	28	Research and writing of essay

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Essay Plan	250 words	1-5	Written or verbal

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
75	0	25

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Written assignment	75	3000 words	1-5	Written
Group Presentation	25	10 minutes per student, plus 700 word written summary	1-6	Verbal and written
	0

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Written assignment (3000 words)	Written assignment (3000 words)	1-5	August/September reassessment period
Presentation (10 minutes + 700 word summary)	Pre-recorded 10 minute presentation, plus 700 word written summary	1-5	August/September reassessment period

Re-assessment notes

Where required, re-assessment will consist of a written essay (3000 words) which will constitute 75% of the final mark. Where a student is referred / deferred for the scheduled presentation, they will be asked to produce a pre-recorded 10 minute presentation and a 700 words written summary in its place, which will constitute 25% of the final mark.

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to redo the assessment(s) as defined above. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Michael Barnett and Thomas G. Weiss, Humanitarianism in Question: Politics, Power, Ethics, Cornel University Press, 2008.

Elazar Barkan & Alexander Karn eds., Taking Wrongs Seriously: Apologies and Reconciliation,

Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2006.

Klejda Mulaj, Ed., Postgenocide: Interdisciplinary Reflections on the Effects of Genocide, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.

David Rieff, A Bed for the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis, Simon and Shuster, 2003

Elaine Scarry, The Body in Pain: The Making and Unmaking of the World, New York: Oxford University Press, 1985.