Militarism and its Discontents
Spring Term MA option: 761M9
Dr Anna Stavrianakis
[email protected]
Why study militarism?
 Because militarism – the preparation for, and conduct
of, organized violence – is a central feature of
international politics.
 But the discipline of IR has not paid sustained
attention to militarism since the end of the Cold War.
 So we will return to older debates about militarism to
see a) what we can learn, and b) what we need to
rethink, to give an adequate account of
contemporary war and armed violence.
Module Outline
 An advanced level introduction to the concept of
militarism: the social and international relations of the
preparation for, and conduct of, organized violence.
 Engagement with alternative concepts to explain war
and war preparation, such as security and
pacification.
 Engagement with theories and practices of resistance
and opposition to militarism.
 Particular attention to the shared history of European
and non-European forms of organized violence.
 Contemporary empirical focus, using historical
debates as our guide.
 Empirical work on cases such as US foreign policy, the
War on Terror, race and the militarisation of policing.
 Interdisciplinary combination of social theory and
conceptual accounts from across e.g. political
geography, feminism, historical sociology.
 Conceptual and theoretical engagement with
postcolonial, post-Marxist and feminist critiques of
mainstream debates of Cold War and post-Cold War
militarism.
Learning Outcomes
Students successfully completing the module should be able
to:
 Demonstrate critical understanding of the variety of
definitions of and theoretical approaches to militarism.
 Engage with and evaluate competing concepts that explain
war and the preparation for war, such as security and
pacification.
 Apply and critically evaluate concepts in relation to
historical or contemporary cases.
 Conduct self-directed empirical and theoretical research
into (a) case(s) of militarism, security or pacification.
Teaching, learning and assessment
 Assessment is by a 5000 word term paper. Students
are to devise their own titles, in discussion with the
module tutor.
 Teaching is by a weekly 2-hour seminar comprising
individual, pair and group work, and some lecture
material.
 Learning materials will comprise academic writings,
media resources and some primary materials.
Practical skills
 Verbal reasoning and argument skills from seminar
participation
 Written argumentation skills from essay writing
 Research (including IT) skills from independent study
for seminar and essay preparation
 Reflective skills from evaluation of academic and
primary materials
 Time management skills to manage the workload
Indicative Reading
 Bacevich, Andrew (2013) The New American Militarism:
How Americans Are Seduced By War (Oxford: Oxford
University Press)
 Cock, Jacklyn (2005) “Guards and Guns. Towards
privatised militarism in post-apartheid South Africa,”
Journal of Southern African Studies, 31(4): 791-803
 Eide, Asbjørn and Marek Thee (eds.) (1980) Problems of
Contemporary Militarism (New York: St Martin’s Press)
 Enloe, Cynthia (2007) Globalization and Militarism:
Feminists Make the Link (Lanham: Rowman and
Littlefield)
Indicative Reading
 Graham, Stephen (2010) Cities Under Siege. The New
Military Urbanism (London: Verso)
 Shaw, Martin (1987) The Dialectics of War (London:
Pluto Press)
 Stavrianakis, Anna and Jan Selby (2012) Militarism and
International Relations. Political Economy, Security,
Theory (Abingdon: Routledge)
 Wilson Gilmore, Ruth (1999) “Globalisation and US
prison growth: from military Keynesianism to postKeynesian militarism,” Race and Class, 40(2/3): 171-188