Introduction to Security

Catalog description

The study of security issues is more critical than ever, considering a series of global trends. Those reach from violent radicalization to arctic transformation, as well as include technology trends. All of those have an impact on security in our daily lives, in the public sector, and in the private sector. Together, both states and individuals are confronted with many pressing and often competing local, national, and global security challenges that demand thoughtful responses and solutions. Particularly challenging is the need to put in place security measures while ensuring that they do not infringe on the values they aim to protect. The multifaceted security crises of our time is rooted in a broad spectrum of hazards. It among other things stretches across lone wolf terrorists, natural disasters, public health emergencies, transnational organized crime, and cyber attacks; and it includes global counterterrorism, counterproliferation, and environmental change. All of those represent significant problems facing our world today. At the same time, they provide opportunities for us to bring about changes that will significantly increase the ongoing quality of life around the world. In order to do so, it is essential to develop analytical skills for risk assessment, policy analysis and strategy development. Critical thinking skills are also crucial since we need to be able to identify security gaps, unreasonable securitization trends, and point out fallacies of reasoning and misrepresentation of facts that may occur when responding to security threats. In this course, we will review the historical evolution of security studies, national and international security policies and strategies, human security and security management in business and industry. Further, in the rapidly changing world of security studies, it is important to understand the critical differences between concepts like strategic security, counterterrorism, protection, intelligence, homeland security, criminal justice, conflict studies, emergency management, threat assessment, human security, crisis management, disaster management, and related terms. Based on this, students will learn how security issues relate to their chosen academic discipline and professional goals. Using real-world examples, students will develop understanding of the academic, historical, and technological evolutions that gave rise to the field of security studies, and go in-depth to examine the main areas in which security strategists, analysts, and practitioners work.