Course syllabus NATO - Organization, Community, Actor

Admitted to a doctoral programme at a national or international university.

The purpose of the course is to offer the doctoral student the possibility to study, understand, and problematize NATO as an i) international organization; ii) a community where different strategic agendas meet; and iii) an actor in international politics. The nature of NATO as an organization makes it a political-strategic and a military strategic phenomenon. This breadth is a central piece of NATO’s complexity and the course approaches this using four themes: 1) the ‘inner life’ of NATO’s organization; ii) its expansion and partnerships; iii) the period dominated my international crisis management and its legacy; and iv) the return of deterrence and reassurance – each taking its starting point in a specific theoretical approach. Through problematizing lectures and self-study the doctoral student builds knowledge of alliance theory, negotiations theory, risk theory, and deterrence theory in the context of NATO. Through seminars and the writing of papers the doctoral student deepens her skills in describing, analyzing, and problematizing NATO’s role in international politics.

Type of Instruction
Seminars

Lectures

Independent Literature Studies

Independent paper

Upon completion of the course, the doctoral student is expected to be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

• account for the central arguments and concepts in alliance theory, negotiations theory in international organizations, risk theory, and deterrence theory in relation to NATO’s development
• identify the contribution of the research area to War Studies

Skills and abilities

• analyze – from different theoretical stand points - key processes in NATO’s activities and the importance of these for NATO’s role as an actor in international politics

Judgment and approach

• problematise and critically evaluate key arguments and concepts in alliance theory, negotiations theory in international organizations, risk theory, and deterrence theory in relation to NATO’s development.

Examination
Scope: 7.5

Grading Scale: Fail, Pass

The course is examined through participation in compulsory seminars as well as the submission of independently written papers and a written final assignment.

Grading
The doctoralstudent is graded on a two-point grading scale: Fail (U) and Pass (G) To earn the grade Pass (G), the doctoral student must earn the grade of Pass on all papers, actively participate in the course's compulsory seminars, and earn the grade Pass (G) on the written final assignment.

Restrictions in Number of Examinations 
There is no limit on the total number of examination opportunities

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 doctoral student is entitled to receive special educational support due to a disability, the examiner may decide on alternative forms of examination for the doctoral 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.