Course syllabus Resilience, Vulnerability and Risk

180 credits approved courses, including an independent thesis consisting of 15 credits. English proficiency equivalent to English B or English 6 is also required.

The course focuses on societal resilience and the need for long-term stable resilience to achieve societal security. In this course, the student explores sustainability in supply chains and in other system characteristics, as well as different ways for explaining, critical examination, and analysis of risks associated with sustainability. Through literature, lectures and seminars the student is given the opportunity to understand the concepts of resilience, vulnerability and risk from different perspectives, as well as to conduct a risk analysis. The course offers the student the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and understanding about institutional norms and practices from different policy perspectives. It also creates possibilities for the student to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the praxis of regional and international organizations, such as the United Nations (including the global plan of action) and the European Union (with a focus on directives and guidelines relevant to resilience, risk, and vulnerability as well as trade and standardization bodies). Comparative perspectives are provided with the help of examples and case studies from Sweden and adjacent regions. The student is given the opportunity to develop their understanding for geopolitical connections between international , regional, and local strategies and collaboration for resilience, vulnerability and risk management. Resilience, vulnerability, and risk are analyzed within key societal sectors such as transport and transport routes, water management and supply, strategic materials, and services, as well as financial systems. Contemporary, high-tech society, characterized by digitalization, environmental, organizational, and asymmetric threats is a key focus of the course. Mechanisms for insurance, accountability structures, and governance are examined, as well as their anchoring in society, where the increasing importance of individual responsibility for resilience and risk management emphasized in current policy is problematized. Moreover, the differential spread of risk vulnerability in society is studied with the aid of different theoretical perspectives as well as strategies for socio-economic and gender equality.

Type of Instruction

Seminars

Lectures

Independent Literature Studies

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

Knowledge and understanding

• demonstrate advanced knowledge of different central perspectives on resilience, risk, and vulnerability and demonstrate an understanding of the Swedish application of resilience and risk and vulnerability management in a comparative perspective

Competence and skills

• independently analyze questions of relevance pertaining to sustainability in supply chains and other system characteristics, applying concepts and theories from research presented during the course

Judgement and approach

• critically reason regarding resilience and risk management in current policy, particularly with respect to vulnerabilities in society and with respect to relevant scientific, societal, and ethical aspects.

Examination
Scope: 7.5

Grading Scale: Fail, Pass, Pass with Distinction

The grading format is through the writing of a home essay assignment. Seminars are additional compulsory components of the course required for a passing grade in the course.

A maximum of one missed compulsory component may be compensated for with an additional written assignment.

The Examiner for the course may decide if compensation is possible for a passing grade to be achieved. Late assignments will not be graded if the motivation for the exception is not approved. Unless otherwise extenuating circumstances are approved, the student will be granted 3 business days for completion of a compensatory assignment, once said assignment is granted and assigned.

Grading

The student is graded on a three-point grading scale: Fail (U), Pass (G) and Pass with Distinction (VG). Grading criteria are presented at the start of the course.

For the grade Pass (G) on the course, the grade Pass (G) on the take-home examination is required, as well as active participation in seminars.

For the grade Pass with Distiction (VG) on the course, in addition to the demands for a Pass (G), the grade Pass with Distincition (VG) on the take-home examination is required.

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.

The course cannot be included in a degree with another course whose content fully or partially corresponds to the content of this course.

If the Swedish Defence University has formally decided that the student is entitled to receive special educational support due to a disability, the examiner may decide on alternative forms of examination for the student. The course director will conduct an evaluation on the completion of the course, which will form the basis for any changes to the course.

This is an edited version of the syllabus, created to transfer the original to the education database Ladok education planning. For originals, refer to the archive.