1. DEMONSTRATE DETAILED KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE POST-COLD WAR TRAJECTORY IN EUROPEAN DEFENCE TRANSFORMATION FROM A THEORETICAL, CONCEPTUAL AND THEMATIC STANDPOINT.
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

2. IDENTIFY AND ASSESS KEY DRIVERS IN EUROPEAN DEFENCE TRANSFORMATION, MOST NOTABLY THOSE RELATING TO BUDGETS, STRATEGY, GEOPOLITICS AND MILITARY OPERATIONS.
ENQUIRY

3. DISCUSS AND CRITICALLY ANALYSE MAJOR TRENDS AND CHALLENGES TO EUROPEAN DEFENCE TRANSFORMATION BY APPLYING THE KEY THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL INSTRUMENTS OF THE DISCIPLINE:
ANALYSIS
LEARNING
PROBLEM SOLVING

4. DEMONSTRATE A CRITICAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE MATERIAL AND SOCIAL FACTORS THAT IMPACT ON INNOVATION, TRANSFORMATION, MODERNIZATION AND ADAPTATION IN EUROPEAN MILITARIES. KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

5. ASSEMBLE, ORGANISE AND DELIVER WELL RESEARCHED CRITICAL ANALYTICAL PIECES OF ACADEMIC WORK.
APPLICATION
COMMUNICATION
REFLECTION

Reflective Portfolio [50% 2000 words, Learning Outcomes 1-5]

Essay [50%, 2000 words, ] Learning outcomes 1-5
(Final work)

In general, European militaries have become smaller but they have also gotten more professional, more specialized, more robust, more skilled and arguably smarter. However, not all European militaries are going in the same direction or even used in the same way. European militaries are changing, for better or for worse, but they are changing as any social organization would.

The aim of this course is to examine why Europe’s militaries are changing. It is designed to have students consider how militaries square dwindling financial resources with changes in strategic and operational priorities. Students will be motivated to question how militaries in Europe are changing in the face of contemporary financial, strategic, geopolitical and operational constraints.

The course is designed to encourage students to assess: how we can account for strategic shifts in a) military assets b) force structures and c) deployment scenarios in response to these questions and to ask how changes in Europe’s militaries are distributed across Europe. The module also considers what impact communicative structures such as the ‘American Agenda’ as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the European Union (EU) are having on how European militaries transfer and translate from outside their own organisations.

The learning materials and the reading items we advise for each topic introduce the main themes and arguments of the module content. This helps students to develop definitions, and to compare, contrast and analyse important and influential viewpoints on the central topics. The discussion board forums provide for discussion and analysis of the themes. The independent study element should be used for further reading and preparation of the written assignments.

Farrell, T., 2008 ‘The Dynamics of British Military Transformation’, International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing, Ltd; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc; Blackwell Publishers, 84(4), p. 777.

Farrell, t., 2010 A transformation gap?: American innovations and European military change. Stanford, CA: Stanford Security Studies; Stanford University Press

Grissom, A., 2006 ‘The future of military innovation studies’, Journal of Strategic Studies. (Vol 29 Issue 5)

King, A., 2011 Transformation of Europe’s armed forces: from the Rhine to Afghanistan. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Posen, B., 1986 The sources of military doctrine: France, Britain, and Germany between the world wars. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Rosen, S., 1988 ‘New Ways of War: Understanding Military Innovation’, International Security. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press; The MIT Press, 13(1)

University library ebooks, ejournals, students’ own textbooks, and Blackboard accessible material.

None