Economic Security in Competition, Conflict and War - Contract Education

How do different economic, political and historical external conditions affect economic security globally, in Europe and our immediate area?

This is a credit-bearing academic course at a distance that is carried out by the Department of Political Science at the Swedish Defence University. In collaboration with the Centre for Total Defence and Societal Security (CTSS), there are a limited number of places to apply for as contract education.

What does the course lead to?

The course studies economic security from the research tradition that is usually referred to as international political economy, which borrows concepts and theories from—in addition to political science—business and economics, economic sociology, history, and international relations. Economic security refers to a state under which the business sector of individual countries enjoys sufficient integrity and robustness to be able to create growth and prosperity in their respective societies. The aim of the course is to familiarize the student with economic security under different external conditions: i.e. in market competition, during ongoing bi- or multilateral conflict, and in wartime. Examples of concepts that are covered are resilience and economic warfare.

Structure of the course

The course consists of an introductory part that aims to lay a conceptual and theoretical foundation and connects to contemporary and historical examples of challenges to financial security. This highlights that central aspects of the problem shift under different economic, political and historical conditions. During the second part of the course, in-depth study of a number of contemporary problem areas takes place with the support of literature and lecturers who describe a current state of knowledge. These parts create the opportunity for the student to develop an understanding of central concepts within the research tradition.

The course ends with a compulsory seminar where the participant presents and discusses his/her own and others' take-home exams. The take-home exam and the final seminar give the participant the opportunity to develop his/her skills and analytical abilities as well as problematize and critically review the material covered in the course.

Course Scope

The course is conducted remotely with the following structure:

• week 36: Monday and Thursday at 16:00-18:00
• week 37: Monday at 16:00-18:00
• week 38-44: Thursdays at 16:00-18:00

Selection

CTSS reserves the right to make a selection among those registered in order to create an even distribution of represented actors at the course and with regard to gender equality and diversity perspectives.

The selection of course participants will be announced shortly after the last day of registration.