We live in a time of epochal change and immense paradox: a global pandemic wrending the international system and unleashing forces that will play out over years and decades; power is shifting from West to East; a new US-China neo-Cold War in the Indo-Pacific in underway with implications for every nation; Populism and authoritarianism is on the march; identity politics and cultural fragmentatiton is rife; Democracy is in retreat worldwide; and the multilateral architecture designed to moderate competition since 1945 is under stress. Furthermore, globalisation has created a more complex security environment, altering the structure of the international system and challenging state-centric approaches to world affairs. Yet, aspects of globalisation may also now be in retreat as nationalist politics returns to the fore. In aggregate, these changes make it essential for students to understand international and national security today, and how they interact with one another in an interdependent but fraught world.

This course utilises major international relations theories to address the dilemmas of the modern age. Topics include: understanding and applying major IR theories (Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism and Feminism), the implications of Covid-19 for the world, US foreign policy, great power competition, the rise and decline of the Cold War, the causes of war and peace, contemporary geopolitics, terrorism, New Zealand foreign policy, the emergence and crises of globalisation, deterrence and nuclear proliferation, disruptive technologies, the Israeli-Arab conflict, the military-industrial complex, and populism. The paper includes a range of historical and contemporary case studies, and documentaries.

This paper is taught face-to-face during two hour blocks on Tuesdays and Thursdays. During these sessions, Dr Steff will generally begin by providing an overview of the subject matter, followed by a robust class discussion of the issues covered in the week's required readings. In short, this paper is not run as a series of lectures - they are primarily two-hour discussion sessions. There are questions related to the required readings that guide our weekly discussions.

Students are expected to come to class having read the assigned weekly material, made up of a combination of journal articles, think pieces, and occasionally podcasts and documentaries.

Critical opinions and respectful debate over the issues is encouraged. I invite you all to 'think through the thinkable' and be critical of everything you read and hear - we will attain a better approximation of the truth this way.

It is essential that all students familarise themselves with the paper outline for this paper (a copy of which is below) before attending class or attempting any of the internal assessments. The Required Reading list for each week is available on Moodle, and an Extended Reading list is also available that contains additional resources for further reading, assessments, etc.

Moodle is used regularly to update students on essential aspects related to upcoming class discussions and assessments, to provide collective feedback to assessments (in addition to individual feedback that is provided for each individual assessment), and for students to raise issues with the teacher and one another.

A number of additional A/V resources (podcasts, documentaries and youtube clips) that students may want to consider investigating is also provided below in the course outline, and can be brought up to discuss in class. Hearing international experts discuss issues - or watching documentaries - is a very effective way to learn and can be fascinating in it's own right.

• A Required Readings word document is available on Moodle (every discussion session includes readings, once a week a podcast is required listening, and occasionally a documentary must be watched). Engaging with this material is essential to grasping the fundamental concepts and theories that are utilised throughout the course, and should also be drawn upon for internal assessments.
  
• Important Note regarding Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy journal access. If you are accessing articles through the Waikato Uni Library homepage from the Foreign Affairs or Foreign Policy journals, the article titles will not turn up in the general search function. To access these files you need to search 'Foreign Affairs' through the e-journal tab.