BA (Hons) War Studies

This module is about developing your lens and understanding of the rapidly changing world, refining your specialism as a professional or /practitioner and improving your professional facing profile. The module is delivered across specific course groupings that capture the academic standards, core values and employment opportunities of your subject area. This module draws on the well-evidenced benefits of community-facing service learning to the local community, the local economy and you, the student. In this way it supports the University’s Graduate Attributes, providing opportunities to enrich your learning and develop skills for the workplace through engagement in real-world activities. Therefore, across this module you will undertake at least one externally facing activity. That might include live or simulation briefs, placements, virtual placements, community events, or a Collaborative Online International Learning project (COIL) in order to build your graduate attainment, consolidate your subject interest and support your career aspirations. 

This module examines a core, controversial element of modern (British) national identity: the Empire at its height in especially the Victorian era. It will examine the so-called 'Pax' from the Battle of Waterloo and Peace of Paris in 1815 to the peak of British interventionism under Palmerston, the subsequent period of 'Splendid Isolation', and the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Conflicts such as the Crimean War (1853-6) will be discussed in the context of the pursuit of a 'Balance of Power' and the breakdown of the 'Concert of Europe', as well as colonial struggles worldwide including the Indian 'Mutiny' of 1857-8, the 'Opium' Wars against China (1839-42 and 1856-60), the Ashanti Wars (1823-31, 1863-4 and 1873-4), the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, and the Boer Wars of 1880-1 and 1899-1902. Further study will also be made of the complicated nature of peace and 'gunboat diplomacy' in this period, from various Anglo-American crises including the American Civil War (1861-5), periodic 'invasion scares' of France, and the 'Great Game' with Imperial Russia over Central Asia and beyond.

Foreign Policy lies at the core of decision making for governments when they seek relationships with the outside world. Incorporating a wide array of stakeholders, it is one of the most crucial components of diplomatic outreach in not just political, but also on social, economic and cultural levels. This module combines the theoretical elements of Foreign Policy, as well as case-study analysis in a wide array of national contexts. It examines how Diplomacy is central towards State behaviour in the International System, and how Foreign Policies are made/unmade/remade in changing geopolitical contexts. It further identifies the key stakeholders involved in Foreign Policy making, encompassing a wide array of state and non-state actors which provides the conceptual framework to understand ‘why’ and ‘how’ Foreign relations are crafted. Finally, through contemporary case-studies, it examines how history and ideology shape Foreign Policy decisions of governments in both democratic and authoritarian contexts. A wide array of examples ranging from the United States, Russia, China and India will be studied enabling ample scope for establishing comparative frameworks of understanding Foreign Policy and Diplomacy.

Intelligence has a long and sometimes infamous history in securing society. Often recognised by the ‘daring do’ of espionage, or the cloak and dagger gathering of secret intelligence. Popularised by characters such as James Bond (007) and the more taciturn George Smiley; Intelligence is much more than a ‘secret’ tool for international security but utilised locally to protect communities through Intelligence Led Policing. In an increasingly digitised world - where borders are transcended easily and open-sources produce citizen sleuths - intelligence plays a pivotal role across the security domains. In this module we cover the basics of intelligence and growth of joined up intelligence in providing individual security, internal security, and national security in the United Kingdom. We will look how intelligence has been, and continues to be, used in law enforcement, liaising with well-known UK intelligence and security partners in the Security Service (MI5), Secret Intelligence eService (SIS), and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), whilst coming to comprehend the need for transnational partnerships and intelligence liaison to meet the growing threat of organised and transnational organised crime. Throughout, stopping to recognise the legal, ethical, and practical constraints of intelligence in a diversifying threat arena.

This module examines the causes, course and conduct of the Second World War. The conflict’s global nature is foregrounded with close attention paid to the Far East, the Pacific theatre and the Eastern Front, as well as Western Europe. An important consideration of this module is the military aspects of the war. Why was the German military so successful initially, but ultimately defeated? Was the Red Army’s success on the Eastern Front due to sheer weight of numbers, or were other factors at play? How effective was the British Army as a fighting force in the Second World War? What impact did strategic bombing have on Germany and Japan? This module also considers the social and cultural impact of the conflict. In so doing, students consider questions such as the following: What role did ideology play in shaping the conduct of the war? What were the origins of the Holocaust and how was it perpetrated? How did belligerents mobilise their societies and how was propaganda used to support this? What accounts for the different national memories of the conflict? As such, the module provides students with a well-rounded and comprehensive understanding of this crucial period.

This module examines a core, controversial element of modern (British) national identity: the Empire at its height in especially the Victorian era. It will examine the so-called 'Pax' from the Battle of Waterloo and Peace of Paris in 1815 to the peak of British interventionism under Palmerston, the subsequent period of 'Splendid Isolation', and the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Conflicts such as the Crimean War (1853-6) will be discussed in the context of the pursuit of a 'Balance of Power' and the breakdown of the 'Concert of Europe', as well as colonial struggles worldwide including the Indian 'Mutiny' of 1857-8, the 'Opium' Wars against China (1839-42 and 1856-60), the Ashanti Wars (1823-31, 1863-4 and 1873-4), the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, and the Boer Wars of 1880-1 and 1899-1902. Further study will also be made of the complicated nature of peace and 'gunboat diplomacy' in this period, from various Anglo-American crises including the American Civil War (1861-5), periodic 'invasion scares' of France, and the 'Great Game' with Imperial Russia over Central Asia and beyond.

This module offers students the chance to undertake an in-depth study into a War Studies topic of your choice. Given the diversity of the subject, there is a significant scope for you to explore your own interests; as long as it is related to War Studies and there are suitably academically robust sources available on the topic, you can design your own research project. The project is usually presented in the form of a written dissertation, but other options can be discussed with your project supervisor.

Cyberspace has increased the opportunities for actors on the world stage, whilst complicating targeted nation’s ability to respond either timely or effectively since the ‘grey zone’ enables plausible deniability and an attribution problem. These emerging and disruptive qualities thereby allow actors to punch above their ‘position’. What allows them to do so? This module explores the world of cyber technologies and their impact on strategic competition, intelligence, and conflict whilst considering the complications created on the international stage. For instance, how a diversification of actors from developing nations to private companies - some with larger incomes than numerous States - impact governance, sovereignty, and ideas of neutrality. In turn, the threat of external influence on critical infrastructure and individuals has created a whole of society concern in the competition for power in the 21st Century. This module provides you with the tools to understand and analyse cyber statecraft by conducting innovative research towards your future profession. The module analyses how cyberspace is utilised for diplomatic relations, intelligence espionage and tradecraft, assessing the impact of offensive cyber operations are not only below the threshold of war, but across the existing domains of war to understand the threats of intangible warfare.

Whilst significant attention is given to the causes of war and how they are fought, arguably less attention is given to how conflicts end. The significant increase in intrastate conflict that was a distinctive factor in the post-Cold War world led to a marked increase in conflict resolution scholarship. This module allows students to consider the questions of how conflicts end. It will consider and critique the debates around the theory and outcomes of conflict resolution. The module adopts a case study approach and critically analyses the extent to which peace processes in the modern world have followed similar or unique patterns. It will consider whether examining peace processes in a comparative manner can provide ‘models’ or ‘best practice’ that may be extrapolated from the case studies considered and potentially applied to future peace processes in different states.

This module examines the representation of conflict in popular culture from the late nineteenth century to the present. It explores how and why groups have attempted to shape the public’s understanding of conflict via popular media and the extent to which they were successful. The changing national memory of conflicts is an important theme. Why did attitudes toward the First World War alter between 1918 and 1960? Has the British national memory of the Second World War undergone a similar evolution; was it understood as the morally good ‘people’s war’ at the time, or is this an invention by later commentators? The impact of emergent media on the depiction of war is also considered. How was cinema used as a propaganda tool historically? Are modern-day films and computer games also propaganda instruments in how they depict conflict? We will also explore the cultural symbolism of military technology. Why is the Spitfire such an iconic symbol? Why did the British Army avoid using tracked vehicles in Northern Ireland during the ‘Troubles’? Given the rise of ‘grey-zone warfare’, in which shaping narratives surrounding an event is central, the themes covered by this module are more important now than ever.

This module allows students to study the nature of combat in the First World War with a focus on the great battles of the Western Front. The module adopts a case study approach and critically analyses the key phases of the conflict, exploring how militaries adapted to the new challenges of modern warfare. The module uses a variety of academic theories to explore how armies sought technological and tactical advantages over their opponents.

Guidance Note: this module tackles themes relating to brutality, mass murder and extermination that most historians and their audiences find deeply unsettling and disturbing. Please talk to us if you are in any doubt as to whether you should study this module. Drawing upon an extensive English-language scholarship, and through the analysis of translated contemporary sources, this module focuses on the crime against humanity which lies at the heart of the twentieth century: The Holocaust. The genesis, development and murderous outcome of the policy towards the Jews and others targeted by the Nazi regime form the core of what you will study, moving from first examining the Nazi persecution of German Jews and other groups declared racial and social enemies in the inter-war years, to charting the transition to systematic mass murder across occupied Europe during World War Two. Together we will consider the ideology which drove this, and the process of cumulative radicalization that led to their mass murder. You will study the motives and actions of the perpetrators of these crimes, and through extensive engagement with the source record work towards piecing together the experience of the many who suffered at their hands.