Module description
Why do states form alliances, provide security guarantees and transfer arms to others? How deeply can they cooperate over the generation and deployment of their military capabilities? What do their decisions to do so tell us about the state of contemporary international politics? Is the world entering a new and intensified period of military balancing and alliance-building? If so, what will be the consequences?
Assessment details
1 X Policy Briefing (1000 words) weighted 35 %.
1 X 2000 Word Essay weighted 65 %
Educational aims & objectives
- To provide students with advanced knowledge of contemporary security cooperation among states in the international system.
- To develop students’ knowledge and understanding of the link between key questions in contemporary international relations and the phenomenon of security cooperation, including: issues such as the future of US-China relations and the consequences for international security, Russia’s relations with Europe and China, the future role of NATO, the ‘hedging strategies’ of states in Central and Southeast Asia, and the scope for the EU to develop its ‘strategic autonomy’.
- To develop students’ knowledge and understanding of, and ability to think critically about, the extent to which security cooperation can be explained by theoretical application of key concepts in the study of international relations: particularly those of alliance, system structure, interstate cooperation, autonomy, and interdependence.
- To allow students to demonstrate independence of thought and critical evaluation of the phenomenon of alliance and military cooperation, vital but often overlooked aspects of international relations.
Learning outcomes
Students should have developed advanced empirical knowledge of contemporary military cooperation between key states in the international system and links to broader questions in contemporary international relations.
-They should demonstrate advanced knowledge and understanding of key theoretical and conceptual debates in the field of military cooperation.
-Demonstrate the ability to respond critically to topics covered in the module, showing the ability to think independently.
-Demonstrate ability to identify how views have developed over the course of the module, and
this relates to own perspectives on broader questions in the field of international relations.
ransferable skills
The module will provide knowledge relevant to international institutions (NATO, EU, OSCE etc.) industry (defence industry) and professions (diplomacy, industry, think tanks, NGOs), as well as providing the means to help students go on to access further knowledge in these fields. It will also provide a wider awareness of the relationship between military cooperation and deeper political and economic trends.
In terms of attributes, the module will provide an environment in which students are challenged to think and learn independently, and via its assessment pattern, in which students are encouraged to push themselves analytically and develop intellectual integrity for their future professional work.
It will seek to develop cognitive skills in critical analysis by applying academic theory to practical situations, in this case via production of a theoretically-informed Briefing Paper. This assessment will also develop profession-specific skills, such as writing concisely and with clarity in the field of diplomacy and policy analysis (diplomatic posts, international institutions, think tanks, NGOs etc.).
Teaching pattern
Lectures/seminar: 10
Proposed Module Structure
Ten lectures and ten seminars; the latter will provide group discussion on the issues and conceptual approaches raised in lectures. The main empirical lectures (4-9) will each have a regional focus; they will provide a historical overview, introduction to and analysis of contemporary issues and an explanatory theoretical perspective.
- Introduction: historical background – alliances and military cooperation through the ages, WW1&2, Cold War, post-Cold War to a new competitive age. Themes of the module – alliances, forms of security cooperation, military capability cooperation, shifts in system polarity – defence policy as ‘last bastion of national sovereignty’ in EU or possibility for strategic autonomy?
- Theorising security cooperation: introduction to the realist tradition, perspectives on capability and military power, neorealism and military power, conceptualisation of alliances, conceptualisation of cooperation. Critiques of realism and other explanations of cooperation, i.e., liberal institutionalism, alliances as normative ‘security communities’ and strategic culture.
- Defining security cooperation: definition of empirical focus of the module: formal alliances and alignments, concept of military capability, operational cooperation, cooperation over capability generation, defence industry, military exercises, arms sales, capacity building (may touch on following but not module focus: arms control cooperation, specific operations, counter-terrorism, intelligence, broader notion of human security).
- Transatlantic security cooperation: History: NATO and key US-European bi-laterals - e.g., UK ‘special relationship’; UKUSA nuclear cooperation, politics of interdependence. Contemporary analysis: NATO as an alliance and institution today. Theory: behaviour of allies in an asymmetric alliance.
- European security cooperation: History: EU and European bi-lateral/mini-laterals, OSCE, – development of the CSDP. Contemporary analysis: issue of strategic autonomy, US restraint arguments, shared capability development and mutually dependent capabilities. Theory: conceptualizations and explanations of European defence cooperation/integration.
- Indo-Pacific security cooperation 1: History: US-Japan/S. Korea and East Asia/ post-war development of the ‘hub and spoke’ model. Contemporary analysis: now shifting to networked cooperation in response to rising China. ‘Strategic hedging’ strategies of ASEAN states. Theory: comparison with position of European subordinate states in US alliances – similarities and differences incl. prospects for hedging strategies.
- Indo-Pacific security cooperation 2: Contemporary analysis: New US-led alignments to counter China’s military rise - AUKUS, ‘Quad’, role of India. Theory: a new regional balance of power?
- Eurasian security cooperation: History: Russia-China antagonism to cooperation. Central Asia - Collective Security Treaty Organisation, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Contemporary analysis: status of Russia-China co-op and position of Central Asian States. Theory: military cooperation between authoritarian regimes.
- Security cooperation in Middle East and Africa: History of use of arms sales/capacity building to secure foreign policy aims. Contemporary analysis: ‘strategic competition over security cooperation’: Theory: how to conceptualise how the major powers use arms sales and ‘capacity building’ as foreign policy tools in the Middle East and Africa?
- Conclusion: what does the pattern of security cooperation covered in preceding weeks tell us about the contemporary international system? E.g., system polarity, the possibility for European strategic autonomy, the key determinants of military cooperation etc.
Suggested reading list
Week 1: Introduction
No single set text covers the themes and issues of the module, but the following books provide useful background on key theoretical perspectives and the key states’ foreign policies:
Major powers foreign policy:
Cox, Mick, and Doug Stokes (eds.), US Foreign Policy, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018), ch. 1-2.
Diesen, Glenn, and Alexander Lukin (eds.), The Return of Eurasia: Continuity and Change (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021).
Hill, Christopher, Michael Smith and Sophie Vanhoonacker (eds.), International Relations and the European Union, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018).
Khoo, Nicholas, China’s Foreign Policy since 1978 (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2020).
Yahuda, Michael, The International Politics of the Asia-Pacific, 4th ed. (Abingdon: Routledge, 2019).
International relations and strategic studies
Baylis, J., Wirtz, J., Johnson, J. L., Strategy in the Contemporary World 7th Edition (Oxford: OUP, 2022)
Jackson, Robert, and Georg Sorensen, Introduction to International Relations: Theories and Approaches, 7th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018).
Week 2: Theory
Holsti, O., et al, Unity and Disintegration in International Affairs (1985), University Press of Maryland.
Liska, G., Nations in Alliance: The Limits of Interdependence (1962), Johns Hopkins Press.
Morganthau, H., Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace (1948), A. A. Knopf.
Olson, M., Zeckhauser, R., ‘An economic theory of alliances’ (1966), The Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 48, No. 3
Bruce M. Russett, “An Empirical Typology of International Military Alliances,” (1971), Midwest Journal of Political Science, vol. 15, no. 2.
Snyder, G., Alliance Politics, Glenn Snyder (1997), Cornell University Press.
Snyder, G., ‘The Security Dilemma in Alliance Politics’ (1984) World Politics vol.36 no. 4.
Von Hlatky, S., American Allies in Times of War: The Great Asymmetry (2013) Oxford University Press, New York
Walt, S. The Origins of Alliances (1987), Cornell University Press.
Waltz, K., Theory of International Politics, (1979) Waveland Press.
Patricia Weitsman, “Alliance Cohesion and Coalition Warfare: the Central Powers and the Triple Entente,” (2003), Security Studies vol. 12, no. 3
Week 3: Defining Security Cooperation
Jones, B., ‘CSDP Defence Capabilities Development’ In-Depth Analysis Requested by Sub-Committee on Security and Defence (2020), European Parliament, Brussels.
Mazar, M. J., Security Cooperation in a Strategic Competition (2022), RAND Corporation.
Mason, R. Chuck, Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA): What Is It, and How Has It Been Utilized? Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, RL34531, March 15, 2012.
Von Hlatky, S., American Allies in Times of War: The Great Asymmetry (2013) Oxford University Press, New York
Week 4: Transatlantic Security Cooperation
Cox, Mick, and Doug Stokes (eds.), US Foreign Policy, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018), ch. 1-2.
De Durand, E., ‘Entente or Oblivion: Prospects and Pitfalls of Franco-British Co-operation on Defence’, RUSI Future Defence Review Working Paper No. 8 (September, 2010).
Jones, B. (2016), ‘European View: Modern Dilemmas in the Old World’, New Challenges, New Voices, Next Generation Viewpoints on Transatlantic Relations, LSE Ideas.
Sayle, T. A., Enduring Alliance: A History of NATO and the Postwar Global Order (2019), Cornell University Press.
Sayle, T. A., Patterns of continuity in NATO’s long history, International Politics (2020), Vol.57 (3), Hague, Netherlands.
Week 5: European Security Cooperation
Howorth, J, ‘The European Union’s Security and Defence Policy: The Quest for Purpose’, in Hill, S., Smith, C. and and Vanhoonacker S. (eds.) (2017) International Relations and the European Union, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, Chapter 15.
Besch, S., Jones, B., Meyer, C., Wilkinson, B., Ten Years of CSDP: Four in-depth analyses requested by the Sub-Committee on Security and Defence of the European Parliament, European Parliament (January 2020).
Béraud-Sudreau, L. & Pannier, A. (2020) ‘An ‘improbable Paris-Berlin-Commission triangle’: usages of Europe and the revival of EU defense cooperation after 2016’, Journal of European Integration, 43(3), 295-310.
Menon, A. and Howorth, J. (2009) ‘Still not Pushing Back: Why the European Union is not Balancing the United States,’ Journal of Conflict Resolution, 53(5), pp. 727-744.
Special Edition on European Security and Defence Policy; Journal of Common Market Studies 49(1) (2011)
Keukeleire, S. and Delreux, T. (2014) The Foreign Policy of the European Union, 2nd ed. Palgrave Macmillan. ‘Conclusions: Theorizing EU Foreign Policy’, Chapter 14. Or respective chapter in 2022 edition.
Howorth, J. (2004) 'Discourse, Ideas, and Epistemic Communities in European Security and Defence Policy', West European Politics, 27(2), pp. 211-234.
Rynning, S. (2011) ‘Realism and the Common Security and Defence Policy’, Journal of Common
Market Studies, 49(1), pp. 23-42.
Week 6: Indo-Pacific Security Cooperation I
Park, J. J., ‘The US-led alliances in the Asia-Pacific: hedge against potential threats or an undesirable multilateral security order?’ (2011), The Pacific Review.
Seligman, Lara “A Rising China Is Driving the U.S. Army’s New Game Plan in the Pacific,” Foreign Policy, March 21, 2019.
China’s National Defense in the New Era, white paper, Beijing, July 24, 2019.
Regional Responses to U.S.-China Competition in the Indo-Pacific: Vietnam, Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, RR-4412/6-AF, 2020.
Harold, S. W. et al The Thickening Web of Asian Security Cooperation: Deepening Defense Ties Among U.S. Allies and Partners in the Indo-Pacific, Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, RR-3125-MCF, 2019.
Week 7: Indo-Pacific Security Cooperation II
Nadège, R., ed., Securing the Belt and Road Initiative: Prospects for Chinese Military Engagement Along the Silk Roads, Seattle, Wash.: National Bureau of Asian Research, September 3, 2019.
Patricia M. Kim, “China’s Search for Allies: Is Beijing Building a Rival Alliance System?” Foreign Affairs, November 15, 2021.
Allen, K., Saunders, P.C., Chen, P., Chinese Military Diplomacy, 2003–2016: Trends and Implications, Washington, D.C.: National Defense University Press, July 2017.
Ghiasy, R., Zhou, J., The Silk Road Economic Belt: Considering Security Implications and EU-China Cooperation Prospects, Solna: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, February 2017.
Grossman, D., “Can Vietnam’s Military Stand Up to China in the South China Sea?” Asia Policy, Vol. 13, No. 1, January 2018, pp. 113–134.
Liff, Adam P., “China and the US Alliance System,” China Quarterly, Vol. 233, March 2018, pp. 137–165.
Raska, Michael, and Richard A. Bitzinger, “Strategic Contours of China’s Arms Transfers,” Strategic Studies Quarterly, Vol. 14, No. 1, 2020, pp. 91–116.
Shambaugh, David, ‘U.S.-China Rivalry in Southeast Asia: Power Shift or Competitive Coexistence?’, International Security 42:4 (2018), pp. 85-127.
Barnes, J., Makinda, S. M., ‘Testing the limits of international society? Trust, AUKUS and Indo-Pacific security’, International Affairs (2022), Vol 98, Issue 4.
Friedberg, A. L., ‘The Debate Over US China Strategy’, Survival 57:3 (2015).
Goh, E., ‘Contesting Hegemonic Order: China in East Asia’, Security Studies 28:3 (2019).
Week 8: Eurasian Security Cooperation
Frost, A., ‘The Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and Russia’s Strategic Goals in Central Asia’ (2009), China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly, Vol. 7, No. 3.
Korolev, A., ‘On the Verge of an Alliance: Contemporary China-Russia Military Cooperation’ (2018), Asian Security.
Ong, R., ‘China’s Security Interests in Central Asia’, Central Asian Survey 24:4 (2005), pp. 425- 439.
Schmitt, E., “Russia’s Military Mission Creep Advances to a New Front: Africa,” New York Times, March 31, 2019.
Shih, G., “In Central Asia’s Forbidding Highlands, a Quiet Newcomer: Chinese Troops,” Washington Post, February 18, 2019.
“China Teams Up with Russia to Develop Rocket-Launched Reconnaissance Drone,” TASS, March 30, 2018.
“New China-Russia CR929 Plane Will Depend on Russian Technology,” Asia Times, December 11, 2017
Week 9: Competitive Security Cooperation – arms sales and ‘capacity building’
Mazar, M. J., Security Cooperation in a Strategic Competition (2022), RAND Corporation.
Melvin, Neil, The Foreign Military Presence in the Horn of Africa Region, Solna: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI Background Paper, April 2019.
“How Russia Moved into Central Africa,” Reuters, October 17, 2018b.