POL 165A — Seminar: Dilemmas of Security Cooperation

[ dl ss wi ]

States regularly cooperate in the security domain. They can choose to band together in alliances, rely on stronger states for defense, or improve weaker actors' capacity to fight or defend themselves by providing arms and training. Security cooperation is a major feature of international relations, with powerful actors like the United States spending billions each year on efforts to arm, equip, and train partner militaries around the world. But security cooperation contains many dilemmas where states face difficult choices between alternatives without clear answers. Efforts to increase security can lead to unintended consequences, both for states and for the people who live in them. This course explores different dilemmas across a range of topics, considering both the causes and consequences of security cooperation. Topics include alliances, proxy warfare, arms transfers and military aid, peacekeeping, and security outcomes ranging from combat effectiveness to political violence and human rights. Usually offered every third year.

Renanah Joyce