What is the role of coercion in international security affairs? When should it occupy pride of place in the National Security policy toolkit, and under what conditions is it most effective? Coercion is as old as the international system itself, but while answers to these questions remain poorly understood they are only likely to become more important. This course aims to assess the different forms that coercion can take and how effective these national security strategies are likely to be under different contexts. It is designed to make students practitioners who understand the roles and applications of strategies of coercion to assist policy-makers in current conflict scenarios through applying lessons from historical cases to current challenges.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Identify coercion and differentiate it from other national security strategies.
- Identify and assess the role and efficacy of coercion in historical cases.
- Critically assess the likely efficacy of different coercive strategies in contemporary contexts
- Conduct independent research on the role and efficacy of coercion
- Acquire highly developed oral and written communication skills
Indicative Assessment
- Short assignment (20) [LO 1,3,5]
- Major research paper (50) [LO 2,3,4,5]
- End of semester examination (30) [LO 1,3,5]
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Workload
Lecture, tutorial and private studies equating to total of 130 hrs.
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Prescribed Texts
Readings will be mostly journal articles from leading scholarly journals. One co-edited book that may be assigned is Krause and Greenhill (eds.) Coercion: The Power to Hurt in International Politics (NY: Oxford University Press, 2018)
Preliminary Reading
Krause and Greenhill (eds.) Coercion: The Power to Hurt in International Politics (NY: Oxford University Press, 2018)
Byman, Daniel and Matthew Waxman, The Dynamics of Coercion (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002)
Schelling, Thomas, Arms and Influence (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966)
Sechser, Todd and Matthew Fuhrmann, Nuclear Weapons and Coercive Diplomacy (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017)
Cohen, Michael D, When Proliferation Causes Peace: The Psychology of Nuclear Crises (Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, 2017)
Drezner, Daniel “Bad Debts: Assessing China's Financial Influence in Great Power Politics.” International Security, Vol. 34. No. 2. (Fall 2009): 7-45
Kydd, Andrew H., and Barbara F. Walter. “The Strategies of Terrorism.” International Security, Vol. 31. No. 1. (Summer 2006): 49-80
Borghard, Erica D. & Shawn W. Lonergan "The Logic of Coercion in Cyberspace," Security Studies, 26:3, 2017 452-481
Assumed Knowledge
None required
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $3840 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $5460 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9991 | 22 Jul 2019 | 29 Jul 2019 | 31 Aug 2019 | 25 Oct 2019 | In Person | View |