ObjectivesTo bring the field of war studies to both graduate students and professionals, using the unique flexibility and convenience that internet learning offers - wherever you live or work. It provides the forum for linking the highest level of scholarship with online student and tutor interaction.
Entry requirementsThis exciting modular programme is for those seeking to explore the implications of defence, diplomatic and foreign-affairs decision-making.
Academic titleMa War in the Modern World (by e-learning)
Course descriptionProgramme description
- A wholly web-delivered graduate degree enabling MA students to study anywhere in the world at a time that suits them.
- Programme content written by, and all resources, both readings and multimedia, selected by departmental teaching staff. War in the Modern World is as innovative as it is academically rigorous and students have frequent feedback and interaction with their lecturers and fellow students.
- All materials - video, audio, interactive maps, discussion boards - and access to all the resources of King’s College London library’s extensive electronic holdings - are available 24/7/365.
Module descriptions, content samples, staff/student video profiles, a downloadable brochure and FAQs are available from the programme website (see below). War in the Modern World has been developed following the principles of best practice in e-learning, and it provides a flexible student-centred experience, rich in media and reading resources. Students will join an e-learning community of fellow graduates, who will have regular and frequent online contact with the tutors that teach and guide them through their studies.
War in the Modern World will give students an understanding of military campaigns and operations since 1945, in the light of the wide-ranging economic, social, technological and political changes in the world between World War II and today. It will equip students to engage critically with scholarly debate about the conduct and nature of contemporary warfare, and enable them to understand the contexts in which modern military operations take place.
The programme comprises:
- Two compulsory core modules in the History of Contemporary Warfare, 1945-1991 and 1991-present.
- Two optional modules chosen from a range that may change each year. Current options include: Contemporary Warfare & International Relations, Strategic Dimensions of Contemporary Warfare (of which one must be taken); and Regional Security in the Middle East, in Post-communist Europe and in South Asia;
- A dissertation of 15,000 words.
Programme format and assessment
Continuous assessment by essay; and a dissertation of 15,000 words.
Programme modules for MA War in the Modern World (by e-learning)
Contemporary Warfare and International Relations (Core modules - 20 credits) (Core Module)
This module examines a range of issues and concepts relating to the use of force in international relations, including the main theories on the role of force, the implications of different models of international order for thinking about the use of force, the impact of domestic factors on preparations for and the conduct of war, alliance formation, and the roles of regional and international organizations. It also addresses the importance of international law and of concepts such as self-determination, nationalism and human rights, and examines theories of disarmament and arms control and their application during and after the Cold War.
History of Contemporary Warfare 1, 1945–91 (Core module 40 credits) (Core Module)
This module covers the development of warfare from 1945 to 1991 – from the end of World War II until the end of the Cold War. It covers the origins of the Cold War in Europe and in Asia, the arms race and nuclear deterrence, the Berlin and Cuba crises and the Vietnam War. It also examines relationships between the United States and the USSR and China and between the USSR and its satellites, the impact of the Cold War on the Third World, and non-Cold War conflicts between India and Pakistan, Israel and the Arab world and Britain and Argentina. It concludes by examining different views on the end of the Cold War.
History of Contemporary Warfare 2, 1991 to the present (core module – 40 credits) (Core Module)
This module covers the development of contemporary warfare from 1991 to the present, picking up where the previous module left off and examining the configuration of world politics after the end of the Cold War. It covers the changes in the international system brought about by the ending of superpower confrontation and assesses competing visions of the so-called ‘new world order’. The module also looks at the main crises and conflicts of the period 1991 to the present, focusing on the interaction between the conduct of military operations and the wider political context in which they take place, taking account of the variety of approaches to the study of contemporary warfare and the role of historical controversy and argument in developing understanding of the events in question.
Strategic Dimensions of Contemporary Warfare (core module – 20 credits) (Core Module)
This module examines a range of approaches to strategic studies and the conduct of contemporary warfare, including the role of nuclear weapons and nuclear strategy, theories of guerrilla warfare and counter-insurgency, the concept of a ‘revolution in military affairs’ of the 1990s, the ‘strategic’ use of airpower, forms of land warfare, maritime operations, peacekeeping and nation-building. It also covers the prospects for the conduct of future war.
Regional security: Africa (option – 20 credits)
This module covers conflicts in Africa from the period of decolonization to the present, including the Nigerian Civil War, struggles against white minority rule in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, civil wars in Angola and Mozambique, the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, genocide in Rwanda, state collapse in Somalia, Africa’s Great War in the Democratic Republic of Congo, conflicts in West Africa (Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire) and the unfolding crisis in Sudan.
Regional security: North Asia (option – 20 credits)
This module analyses conflict in North Asia in the context of broader conflict in the international system from 1945 to the present day. The overall objective is to build understanding of the complex security interaction among the main regional players – the USA and the USSR/Russia.
Regional security: Post-communist Europe (option – 20 credits)
Covering the wars and military crises that have occurred in Europe and parts of the former Soviet Union since the end of the Cold War, this module focuses on the Balkans, including Bosnia, Kosovo and the NATO intervention against Serbia, Russian action in Chechnya, and ongoing low-level conflicts in the Caucasus.
Regional security: the Middle East (option – 20 credits)
This module looks in greater detail at the conflicts in the Middle East examined in the core modules. Topics include the Suez Crisis, the Six Day and Yom Kippur Wars, the Lebanese Civil War, the Iran–Iraq War, Palestine, and the 1991 and 2003 Gulf Wars.
Duration
Three years minimum, six years maximum.
Tuition fees
PT Home: £2100 per 20 credit module - £4200 per 40 credit module - £1800 for dissertation module (2008)
PT Overseas: £2100 per 20 credit module - £4200 per 40 credit module - £1800 for dissertation module (2008)