Course syllabus Nuclear Weapons in International Security

Swedish name: Kärnvapens betydelse i internationell säkerhet

Course code:

1SS088

Valid from semester:

Autumn Term 2024

Education cycle:

First cycle

Scope:

7.5 credits

Progression:

G1N

Grading scale:

Three-grade scale

Main field of study:

Political Science: Security Studies

Department:

Department of Political Science and Law

Subject:

Political Science

Language of instruction:

The teaching is conducted in English.

Decided by:

Forsknings- och utbildningsnämndens kursplaneutskott (KUS)

Decision date:

2023-10-24

Entry requirements

General entry requirements + Samhällskunskap (Civics) A alternatively Samhällskunskap (Civics) 1b alternatively Samhällskunskap (Civics) 1a1 + 1a2 and

English proficiency equivalent to English B or English 6 is also required.

Course content and structure

The aim of the course is to create opportunities for the student to gain a general understanding of the role of nuclear weaponry in international security. The course ranges from the initial development and use of the atomic bomb in World War II through the superpower showdown of the Cold War onto the present multipolar age of nuclear modernisation. The student is given the opportunity to learn about the technological evolution of nuclear weapon systems and the relevant debates on issues of nuclear strategy, vertical and horizonal proliferation, and arms control. Attention will also be given to the social and cultural ramifications of life in the nuclear age. The course will draw on current issues and latest policy debates in an era of increasing nuclear instability. The course is structured around lectures, compulsory seminars, an individual written assignment in the form of a home exam, and self-study. The aim of the lectures is to introduce concepts and theories to facilitate engagement with the course literature ahead of the seminar. The compulsory seminars are the most important part of this course and active student participation is expected and required. The aim of the seminars is to allow the student to deepen their understanding of the course readings and of key issues, themes, and debates surrounding nuclear weapons. Seminar questions will be distributed beforehand to help the student reflect upon the central issues in the readings and to stimulate discussion during the seminars.

Type of Instruction

Seminars
Lectures
Independent Study

Objectives

Upon completion of the course the student should be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

Demonstrate knowledge and comprehension of the significance of nuclear weapons for international security and global society since 1945.

Competence and skills

Critically apply relevant concepts and theories of nuclear strategy and arms control.

Judgement and approach

Independently engage in contemporary debates on nuclear issues such as modernisation, non-proliferation, and disarmament.

Examination formats

The course is examined through a written home examination and through active participation in compulsory seminars.

Active participation in the seminars presupposes that the student orally discusses key issues and problems within the framework of the course based on the course literature.

The examiner may decide that absence from a seminar or participation that does not achieve the grade pass (G) in certain cases can be supplemented with a complementary written assignment. Such an assignment must be submitted or presented within three working days, as from when the examiner communicates such information.

In the case of not fulfilling the requirements for the grade Pass (G) on the written examination the student may be given a complementary written assignment to achieve the grade Pass (G). The student has three working days to complete such task, unless there are special reasons approved by the examiner. Late examinations are not graded unless there are special reasons approved by the examiner.

Grading
For the written home examination the student is graded on a three-point grading scale: Fail (U), Pass (G) and Pass with Distinction (VG). For the seminars the student is graded on a two-point grading scale: Fail (U) and Pass (G). Grading criteria are reported at the latest at the start of the course.

For the grade G on the course, the student must obtain the grade G in the compulsory seminars and the grade G on the written home examination.

For the grade VG on the course, the student must obtain the grade G in the compulsory seminars and the grade VG on the written home examination.

There is no limit on the total number of examination opportunities.

Transitional provisions

When the course is no longer offered or when the course content has changed substantially, the student has the right to be examined once per semester during a three-term period in accordance with this syllabus.

Other regulations

The course cannot be included in a degree with another course whose content fully or partially corresponds to the content of this course.

If the Swedish Defence University has formally decided that the student is entitled to receive special educational support due to a disability, the examiner may decide on alternative forms of examination for the student.

On the completion of the course, an evaluation will be conducted under the auspices of the course director, which will form the basis for any changes to the course.

This is an edited version of the syllabus, created to transfer the original to the education database Ladok education planning. For originals, refer to the archive.

Reading list valid from date 2024-09-02

Reading list decided date: 2023-06-01

Books (selected parts and chapters)
Dahl, Robert A., Controlling Nuclear Weapons: Democracy Versus Guardianship (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1985) – chapter 1 [18 pages]

Freedman, Lawrence, The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy (London: Macmillan, 1981) [20 pages]

Jaspers, Karl, The Future of Mankind (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1961) - Chapter 1 [13 pages]

Johnson, James, AI and the Bomb: Nuclear Strategy and Risk in the Digital Age (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023) - Chapter 2 [25 pages]

Lifton, Robert Jay and Eric Olson, "The Nuclear Age" in Edwin S. Shneidman (ed.), Death: Current Perspectives (Palo Alto, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1984) [9 pages]

Morgan, Patrick M., Deterrence Now (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003) - Chapter 1 [32 pages]

Scarry, Elaine, Thermonuclear Monarchy: Choosing between Democracy and Doom (W. W. Norton & Company, 2014) – Introduction [25 pages]

Schelling, Thomas, The Strategy of Conflict (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1960) – Chapter 8 [21 pages]

Schelling, Thomas, Arms and Influence (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1966) – Chapter 1 [35 pages]

Talmadge, Caitlin, “Multipolar Deterrence in the Emerging Nuclear Era” in Vipin Narang and Scott Sagan (ed.), The Fragile Balance of Terror: Deterrence in the New Nuclear Age (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2022) [25 pages]

Younger, Stephen M., The Bomb: A New History (New York: Harper Collins, 2010) – Chapter 3 [28 pages]

Articles and Chapters in Books
Anders, Gunther, “Theses for the Atomic Age”, Massachusetts Review Vol.3, No.3 (1962) [13 pages]

Anders, Gunther, Burning Conscience: The Case of the Hiroshima Pilot, Claude Eatherly, Told in His Letters to Gunther Anders (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1962) [7 pages]

Basrur, Rajesh M. “Nuclear Weapons and India–Pakistan Relations”, Strategic Analysis Vol.33, No.3 (2009) [9 pages]

Bourne, Mike, “Invention and Uninvention in Nuclear Weapons Politics”, Critical Studies on Security Vol.4, No.1 (2016) [19 pages]

Brodie, Bernard, “Strategy Hits a Dead End”, Harper’s Magazine (October 1955) [5 pages]

Cohn, Carol, “Sex and Death in the Rational World of Defense Intellectuals”, Signs Vol.12, No.4 (1987) [32 pages]

Cimbala, Stephen J. & Adam Lowther, “Hypersonic Weapons and Nuclear Deterrence”, Comparative Strategy Vol.41, No.3 (2022) [14 pages]

Craig, Campbell, “Solving the Nuclear Dilemma: Is a World State Necessary?” Journal of International Political Theory Vol.15, No.3 (2018) [18 pages]

Deudney, Daniel, “Going Critical: Toward a Modified Nuclear One Worldism”, Journal of International Political Theory Vol.15, No.3 (2018) [19 pages]

Egeland, Kjølv, “The Ideology of Nuclear Order” New Political Science Vol.43, No.2 (2021) [22 pages]

Gray, Colin S. and Keith Payne, “Victory Is Possible”, Foreign Policy, No.39 (1980) [14 pages]

Hersman, Rebecca, “Wormhole Escalation in the New Nuclear Age”, Texas National Security Review (Summer 2020) [20 pages]

Herz, John H., “Rise and Demise of the Territorial State” World Politics Vol. 9, No. 4 (1957) [22 pages]

Lieber, Keir A. and Daryl G. Press, “The New Era of Counterforce: Technological Change and the Future of Nuclear Deterrence”, International Security, Vol.41, No.4 (2017) [40 pages]

Lowther, Adam & Curtis McGiffin, “America Needs a ‘Dead Hand’”, War on the Rocks, August 16, 2019 [12 pages]

Krepinevich, Andrew F., “The New Nuclear Age: How China’s Growing Arsenal Threatens Deterrence”, Foreign Affairs Vol.101, No.3 (2022) [12 pages]

Kroenig, Matthew, “Will Emerging Technology Cause Nuclear War?”, Strategic Studies Quarterly Vol.15, No.4 (2021) [15 pages]

Morgenthau, Hans, “Death in the Nuclear Age”, Commentary, September 1961 [4 pages]

Trachtenberg, Marc, “Strategic Thought in America, 1952-1966”, Political Science Quarterly Vol.104, No.2 (1989) [34 pages]

Rhodes, Edward, “Nuclear Weapons and Credibility: Deterrence Theory Beyond Rationality” Review of International Studies Vol.14, No.1 (1988) [18 pages]

Sagan, Scott, “Why Do States Build Nuclear Weapons? Three Models in Search of a Bomb” International Security Vol.21, No.3 (1996) [33 pages]

Sagan, Scott & Kenneth Waltz, “A Nuclear Iran: Promoting Stability or Courting Disaster?” Journal of International Affairs Vol.60, No.2 (2007) [16 pages]

Schell, Jonathan, “The Abolition” The Washington Quarterly Vol.20, No.3 (1997) [9 pages]

Schelling, Thomas, “The Future of Arms Control”, Operations Research, Vol.9, No.5 (1961) [10 pages]

Schelling, Thomas “A World Without Nuclear Weapons”, Daedelus Vol.138, No.4 (2009) [6 pages]

Talmadge, Caitlin, "Deterring a Nuclear 9/11", The Washington Quarterly Vol.30, No.2 (2007) [14 pages]

Tannenwald, Nina, “The Nuclear Taboo: The United States and the Normative Basis of Nuclear Non-Use” International Organization, Vol.53, No.3 (1999) [33 pages]

Waltz, Kenneth, N. “The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: More May Be Better” (Adelphi Papers, 1981) [15 pages]

Total: 750 pages