• Offered by School of Politics and International Relations
  • ANU College ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
  • Classification Specialist
  • Course subject Political Science
  • Academic career PGRD
  • Mode of delivery In Person
  • Co-taught Course

This course addresses the issues of civilian protection in zones of armed conflict.  It explores three key themes:  the nature of contemporary forms of conflict and its investments in civilians; the experiences of civilians in conflict zones and their capacity to shape those experiences; the responsibilities and efforts of the international community to seek the protection of civilians in and after conflict.  To this end, this course will begin by examining traditional and non-traditional approaches to conflict and conflict analysis, including the realist and liberal traditions, democratic peace theory, cosmopolitanism, literatures on new wars and complex emergencies, and debates on humanitarian intervention.  It will then examine the impact that different conflicts have upon civilians.  It will apply an identity politics lens to understand how the civilian experience is shaped by gender, age, ethnicity, religion, and location.  It will also debate what is required for civilian protection, how it is best implemented, and by whom.  The course then turns to an examination of the international community’s work in providing civilian protection– in particular it will focus on the work of the UN and major NGOs and INGOs, and the militarised responses of global coalitions such as NATO.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

  1. demonstrate a strong understanding of the impact of conflict on civilians, the global civilian protection framework, and the competing theories informing the analysis of both;
  2. be capable of identifying and debating the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to civilian protection;
  3. develop strong research, analysis, and critical thinking skills; and
  4. develop strong written and oral communication skills.

Indicative Assessment

  1. Two research papers at 3,000 words each (40% each) (80) [LO 1,2,3,4]
  2. One document analysis paper at 1,000 words (15) [LO 1,2]
  3. Seminar Participation (5) [LO 1,2,4]

In response to COVID-19: Please note that Semester 2 Class Summary information (available under the classes tab) is as up to date as possible. Changes to Class Summaries not captured by this publication will be available to enrolled students via Wattle. 

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Workload

130 hours of total student learning time made up from:
a) 24 hours of seminars over 12 weeks; and,
b) 106 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.

Inherent Requirements

Not applicable

Prescribed Texts

Students will have access to electronic versions of weekly readings via the course's online site

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
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2020 $4050
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2020 $5760
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

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There are no current offerings for this course.

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