Security Challenges in Policy and Practice
UndergraduateMUR-POL3042025
Go deeper into your global security studies with an investigation of policy responses. You’ll explore social conflict case studies, like poverty or refugees. Get to know how security-related policymaking works. Think about its problems and effectiveness.
Enrolments for this course are closed, but you may have other options to start studying now. Book a consultation to learn more.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 13 weeks
- Start dates
- 24 Feb 2025
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Security Challenges in Policy and Practice
About this subject
At the completion of this subject students will be able to:
- Demonstrate substantive knowledge of structures, processes, actors and norms of security-related policymaking.
- Evaluate the role of evidence and theories of change in security policy
- Critically assess the political dynamics, risks and impacts of various security policy approaches.
- Compare, contrast and analyse contemporary security policy challenges, such as water security, armed conflict and climate change.
- Apply research skills to develop and communicate evidence-based arguments in written and oral form.
- Introduction: human security policy in theory and practice
- Theories of change 1: what they are, why they are important?
- Theories of change 2: What are the different types & levels of theories of change?
- Developing evidence-based security policy
- Turning theory in to practice 1: policy development
- Turning theory in to practice 2: the political economy of policy implementation
- Case study 1: Social conflict, demobilisation and post-conflict peacemaking
- Case study 2: Inter-ethnic and inter-religious dialogue
- Case study 3: Refugees, rights and displacement
- Case study 4
- Conclusion
This unit examines policy responses to security threats at the global, regional, national and local levels. The course is situated at the intersection of public policy analysis, security politics and security challenges. A key feature of this of this course is to analyse political conflicts over such as issues as climate change, water security, border security and migration. Which solutions are available and how effective are they? Whose voices are heard when designing these solutions? Why are certain voices marginalized? How is this reflected in policy, and how is security constructed and produced?
Students will learn to how to define, critique and assess security issues, analyse the social forces and interests that shape various policy responses to security challenges, and explore (alternative) policies to deal with them. This requires effective and practical policy frameworks underpinned by strong evidence, practical methods, and a theory of change. Making use of case studies to explore the political dynamics of security policies, the unit will equip students with policy skills to analyses and respond to a wide range of security challenges.
Please Note: All students studying at Murdoch University will need to complete the compulsory unit, Murdoch Academic Passport (MAP100), which only takes 2-3 hours to complete online. Find out more: http://goto.murdoch.edu.au/MurdochAcademicPassport.
- Policy Brief (50%)
- Mid-semester Exam (30%)
- Policy Brief Presentation (supervised) (20%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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Entry requirements
Others
To enrol in this subject, you must have passed a minimum of 12 credit points at 100-level.
Additional requirements
No additional requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
What to study next?
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
Bachelor of Global Security (Terrorism and Counterterrorism Studies)
UndergraduateMUR-BGS-DEG
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