INTL 5590 International Security

INTL 5590

Week 1:
Caravan Security Discussion

Review the discussion
questions in Neack, ch. 1, 18. In the run-up to the US 2018 elections, the
Trump administration focused on a migrant “caravan” that originated
in Central America and was working its way towards the US border.  The Biden
administration faces the same issue and related policy questions; see, for
example, Daina Beth Solomon, “After weeks walking, Mexico migrant caravan
splits up on buses headed north,” Reuters, 23 Dec 2021, .  In light of Neack’s questions, what
security issues do such caravans raise?  Analyze these issues in terms of
national, international, and human security.

Textbooks
& Resources:

           
Christopher S. Browning  International Security: A Very Short
Introduction (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013)

           
Laura Neack  National, International, and Human Security: A
Comparative Introduction, 2nd ed. (Lanham, Boulder, New York and London:
Rowman and Littlefield, 2017)

Schedule of
Activities (subject to change):

Week 1: Introductions

Topics:  Instructor introduction, bio; syllabus and
assignments overview, guidelines, policies

           
  Issues, terms, and theories regarding international organizations and
global governance

           
  Sample terms: clash of civilizations, failing/failed states, mutually
assured destruction, security dilemma, police state, civil war

Reading:  Browning, chapters 1-3; Neack, chapter 1; Week 1 notes
(online, World Classroom)

Video: “: A Conversation with Former National Security
Advisors,” posted by theAspen Institute, August 6, 2018,
https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/america-and-world-conversation-former-national-security-advisors

Assignments:  student introductions or icebreaker (via the
course discussion area)