Course syllabus War Finance and Economic Warfare

Courses in the humanities or social sciences of at least 90 credits. In addition, knowledge of English equivalent to English B or English 6 is required.

The purpose of the course is, by means of the teaching-activities of the course, to imbue the student with a holistic understanding of the societal economic conditions which impact upon military organisations, and the importance of resource management required for conducting warfare during the early modern and late modern periods. During the course the student studies how states and societies have organised the resources required for conducting warfare. Moreover, the student evaluates the ways in which economic warfare has been deployed as a strategy over time and what impacts this has had in different contexts. The course is based on a number of case studies from the 16th century to the very recent past.

The course combines lectures, seminars and self-study as the means to understand military resources and their importance for the conduct of war in different historical contexts. The seminars compose a central part of the course-structure, by wich the student deepens their knowledge and further hones their oral skills. Overall, the combination of learning activities give the student a holistic understanding regarding both financing war and the conduct of economic warfare.

The student's participation on the course is evaluated through seminar discussions, an individually written paper and engagement in robust oral defence and opposition during wich the topics of the course are developed.

Type of instruction 

Lectures

Seminars

Independent studies

Upon completion of the course the student should be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

• account for and explain the ways in which economic factors impact upon the conduct of war, as well as understanding the changes to economic dimensions of warfare over time
• explain and justify the research methodology for the case studies scrutinised

Competence and skills 

• demonstrate an improved ability to communicate in both written and oral form according to academic standards
• discuss the importance of economic factors in both early modern and modern warfare
• have the ability to articulate the relationships between war, society and economic systems over time

Judgement and approach

•  identify own requirements for the attainment of additional academic knowledge.

The course is examined through the student’s active and constructive participation in the mandatory course seminars, by delivery of one individiually written course-paper and an oral critical review on a fellow students course-paper.

The examiner may decide to request supplementary assignments in order to achieve a passing grade on the course. Supplementary assignments shall be submitted no later than three working days after the result and supplementary assignment for the examination in question have been notified. Examination papers submitted late will not be graded unless special circumstances exist that are acceptable to the examiner.

Grading

Grading is measured on a three-point grading scale: Fail (U), Pass (G), and Pass with Distinction (VG) for the indvidually written course-paper, and a two-point grading scale, Fail (U), Pass (G), for participation in mandatory seminars including an oral critical review of a fellow students course-paper.

In order to gain a Pass (G) on the course, a Pass (G) is required for the course-paper and the participation in the mandatory seminars. To gain a Pass with Distinction (VG) on the course, a VG is required for the course-paper and a Pass (G) in the seminars.

Grading criteria are reported at the latest at the start of the course.

Restrictions in Number of Examinations

There is no limit on the total number of examination opportunities.

When the course is no longer offered or when the course content has changed substantially, the student has the right to be examined once per semester during a three-term period in accordance with this syllabus.