Module Code: PO-232

Credit Rating: 20 credits

Semester: 2

Module Convenor: Dr Lee Jarvis

Module Description

This module investigates the construction and impact of American security policy in the post-Cold War era. We begin by exploring the unique position enjoyed by the United States in contemporary world politics, before looking at the ways in which security policy is made. This prepares the ground for a detailed examination of the changing nature of American warfare since the Second World War, with case studies on peace operations, the first Gulf War, and the launching of ‘securocratic’ wars on poverty and drugs. We conclude the module by exploring key moments within the George W. Bush administration’s War on Terror. This includes discussions of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom; the issue of extraordinary rendition and liberal democratic torture; and the imprisonment of ‘enemy combatants’ at Guantanamo Bay.