Students also have to complete a 7,500 word dissertation on a subject of their choice which has been approved by a member of staff. All compulsory courses are assessed by a written examination usually held at the beginning of the third semester. This course considers alternative explanations of war - as a function of human nature, or of the attributes of particular states or the structure of the international system. It also discusses attempts to prohibit, limit and control war. This course discusses the changing way in which wars have been fought from ancient times to 1815 and examines the influence of factors like technology and logistics.
Students focus on a number of specific wars throughout the ages.
The examples are taken mainly from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This one semester course enables students to consider contemporary developments in the post-Cold War international system and the new and old security threats which we now face. The course also enables students to develop new skills in presentation, use of the internet, essay writing and so on. This course aims to ensure that students are aware of the range of different ways in which war studies can be approached, the way that different focuses produce different answers to key questions. This course examines in some detail the main developments in military history and the international system from Napoleonic times to the present day.