Terrorism and Security (RIS535)
The main objective of the course is to enable students to understand risk and security in relation to terrorism and other intentional malicious crimes. The course will give the students an understanding of terrorism and intentional attacks as a phenomenon, including causes, forms and security measures. Students will become familiar with various strategies for preventing and combating terrorism and intentional crimes, including various risk management and resilience tools. The course will give the students an introduction to the topics of security culture and security risk management. The course should also provide insight into factors that affect the perception of risk and need for protection, as well as provide insight into dilemmas in relation to security measures.
Course description for study year 2024-2025. Please note that changes may occur.
Course code
RIS535
Version
1
Credits (ECTS)
10
Semester tution start
Autumn
Number of semesters
1
Exam semester
Autumn
Language of instruction
English
Content
NB! This is an elective course and may be cancelled if fewer than 10 students are enrolled by August 20th for the autumn semester.
The aim of this course is to provide the students with the state of the art of terrorism research and theories in radicalization, extremism and terrorism, including historical trends, the current threat picture and future challenges. Additionally, the course illustrates how our notions of radicalization, extremism and terrorism are culturally, socially and historically conditioned, and subsequent that the perception of terrorism influences countermeasures., Increased focus on protection from terrorism, espionage, cybersecurity and other malicious crimes has led to increased interest in the topic of security, especially in risk and policy studies. This course aims to outline the conceptual and scientific demarcation of security and discuss the development and status of security science. In this course, security will be presented as a multifaceted concept and the general changes and developments of security as an object of study will be outlined. The management of risks is a central element in the current understanding of security and the students will be presented to different approaches to achieve organizational and societal security, including approaches to risk management, regulations regimes and other terrorism prevention strategies.
Learning outcome
General competence:
After completing the course, the students will have acquired in-depth knowledge about security as a scientific and practical field. The students will have knowledge on how security can be fostered and managed.
Knowledge:
Students who successfully complete the course will be able to:
- demonstrate knowledge about what security is and how security can be fostered and managed from an organizational and societal perspective
- demonstrate knowledge about the relationship between security and and troublesome tradeoffs
- demonstrate knowledge about historical, current and future trends in radicalization, ekxtremism and terrorism and being able to apply this knowledge to the prevention strategies
- understand and discuss the consequences of applying different perspective to security risk analysis and security governance
Skills
Students who successfully complete the course will be able to:
- apply security risk analysis
- understand and reflect upon the challenges with managing and building resilience against security threats such as terrorism from a multi-level perspective
- understand how perception and political aspects influences countermeasures
- reflect critically on what radicalization, extremism and terrorism terrorism is and associated prevention strategies
Required prerequisite knowledge
Exam
| Form of assessment | Weight | Duration | Marks | Aid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment | 1/1 | 1 Month | Letter grades |
The assignment is done individually. The length of the essay should be approximately 3.000 Words. No continuation options are offered on the assignment. Students who do not pass the assignment can take this part again the next time the subject has regular teaching.
Coursework requirements
Course teacher(s)
Course coordinator:
Sissel Haugdal JoreHead of Department:
Tore MarkesetMethod of work
Overlapping courses
| Course | Reduction (SP) |
|---|---|
| Security and resilience (RAG600_1) | 10 |