War, Terror, Violence and International Law (907M3)

30 credits, Level 7 (Masters)

Spring teaching

You’ll focus on the contemporary problems of war and terrorism within a historical, political and global context.

Drawing on approaches from international law, political and critical theory and international relations, this module examines law’s various attempts to define what constitutes 'legitimate violence'. We’ll look at some of the dominant legal, moral and political arguments behind the justification and condemnation of acts of war, terror and public violence. You’ll also examine:

• the law’s criminalisation of non-state violence
• the use of new theological arguments to justify 'humanitarian wars'
• the relationship between violence and international security
• the ethics of violence.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 30 hours of contact time and about 270 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.