Maritime Security
Course content
Research at the Ocean Frontier
Maritime security is a thriving field of international activity. Issues such as piracy, extremist violence at sea, the smuggling of people and illicit goods via the sea, or environmental crimes such as illegal fishing have become major international political concerns, and in consequence are increasingly seen as priority issues on the international security agenda. A thriving field of private security companies working on maritime security, provide future career opportunities as does the non-profit sector.
In this course you will learn everything that you need to know about maritime security and become a competent analyst in the field. We review the problems, institutions, actors, and responses of maritime security in the light of contemporary security theory. The course provides a concise introduction to security problems at sea, and how to situate and analyze them. It also discusses why we should pay more attention to the oceans as a field of international activity.
In the course you will practice how to analyze a maritime security issue and how to present your results to a wider public. The course draws on and is related to the work of the international research network SafeSeas (see www.safeseas.net), and you will benefit from partnerships with organizations active in maritime security.
Full-degree students enrolled at the Department of Political Science, UCPH
- MSc in Political Science
- MSc in Social Science
- MSc in Security Risk Management
- Bachelor in Political Science
Full-degree students enrolled at the Faculty of Social Science, UCPH
- Master Programme in Social Data Science
The course is open to:
- Exchange and Guest students from abroad
- Credit students from Danish Universities
- Open University students
Knowledge:
You will gain an in-depth understanding of contemporary maritime security challenges, how different international actors respond to them, as well as gain knowledge about the core approaches for the analysis and interpretation of security practices.
Skills:
You will learn and practice core analytical skills including summarizing, processing, interpreting and presenting information and dealing with a large number of data and texts as well as how to write integrative literature reviews and encyclopedic articles.
Competences:
You will learn how to conduct small-scale research project on a contemporary security challenge in writing a literature review and a research report.
The course will be delivered in three formats: 1) 16 hours of seminars on theories, concepts, actors and institutions of maritime security taught as a mixture of lectures and discussion, including a range of guest lectures; 2) two hours of practice sessions that focus on the skills required for the formative and summative assessments (how to write a literature review and how to present a research report); and 3) a student research workshop, in which course participants will present the results of their research and receive detailed feedback.
Bueger, Christian and Timothy Edmunds. 2024. Understanding Maritime Security. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Urbina, Ian. 2015. The Outlaw Ocean, New York Times Series, available at https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/24/world/the-outlaw-ocean.html
Nye, Joseph S. 1975. “Ocean Rule Making from a World Politics Perspective.” Ocean Development & International Law 3(1): 29–52, https://doi.org/10.1080/00908327509545557
Havice, Elizabeth, and Anna Zalik. 2018. “Ocean Frontiers: Epistemologies, Jurisdictions, Commodifications.” International Social Science Journal 68(229–230): 219–35.
Voyer, Michelle et al. 2018. “Maritime Security and the Blue Economy: Intersections and Interdependencies in the Indian Ocean.” Journal of the Indian Ocean Region 14(1): 28–48.
Steinberg, Philip E. 2001. The Social Construction of the Ocean. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Knowledge and understanding of international relations and international security.
When registered you will be signed up for exam.
- Full-degree students – sign up at Selfservice on KUnet
- Exchange and guest students from abroad – sign up through Mobility Online and Selfservice
- Credit students from Danish universities - sign up through this website.
- Open University students - sign up through this website.
The dates for the exams are found here Exams – Faculty of Social Sciences - University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)
Please note that it is your own responsibility to check for overlapping exam dates.
- ECTS
- 7,5 ECTS
- Type of assessment
-
On-site written exam
- Type of assessment details
- Free written assignment
- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- No external censorship
- Re-exam
-
- In the semester where the course takes place: Free written assignment
- In subsequent semesters: Free written assignment
Criteria for exam assessment
Grade 12 is given for an outstanding performance: the student lives up to the course's goal description in an independent and convincing manner with no or few and minor shortcomings
Grade 7 is given for a good performance: the student is confidently able to live up to the goal description, albeit with several shortcomings
Grade 02 is given for an adequate performance: the minimum acceptable performance in which the student is only able to live up to the goal description in an insecure and incomplete manner
Single subject courses (day)
- Category
- Hours
- Class Instruction
- 28
- English
- 28
Kursusinformation
- Language
- English
- Course number
- ASTK18180U
- ECTS
- 7,5 ECTS
- Programme level
- Full Degree Master
Bachelor
- Duration
-
1 semester
- Placement
- Spring
- Price
-
http://polsci.ku.dk/uddannelser/eftervidereuddannelse/aabent_universitet/
- Studyboard
- Department of Political Science, Study Council
Contracting department
- Department of Political Science
- Social Data Science
Contracting faculty
- Faculty of Social Sciences
Course Coordinator
- Christian Bueger (16-676c766d77786d6572326679696b6976446d6a77326f7932686f)
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