Why deterrence? Introduction to contemporary nuclear and strategic issues
The aim of this seminar will be to study a series of strategic questions that are key to a proper understanding of contemporary international security and defence issues, by setting out the conceptual, political and legal frameworks for understanding the major strategic balances (nuclear deterrence, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, arms control and disarmament, legal and ethical debates, economic issues, etc.), and by placing them in the context of current major crises and unstable areas: Ukraine, Iran, North Korea, Asia, etc.
Paul Zajac (CIENS / CEA)
6 ECTS (12 sessions of 2h)
Thursday 6-8pm
Mutualisation :
This course is part of the “Geography and Geopolitics” stream of the PSL Humanities Master’s degree (M2). This course is common to the ‘International Relations’ and ‘Defence and Security’ Masters at the University of Paris II, the Paris 1 Geopolitics Masters (M2) and the Peace Studies Masters at Paris Dauphine.
History of nuclear deterrence
How did the initial discoveries in the field of atomic energy lead, decades later, to the development of weapons of hitherto unknown power? How did we go from a “conventional super-weapon” to a “political” weapon, the aim of which is to inhibit a potential state aggressor from taking action, to “dissuade” him? What challenges have been posed by the spread of nuclear weapons around the world and by the non-proliferation regime? What is the reality of nuclear disarmament? Can we draw up a typology of “nuclear crises”?
All these questions will be addressed in this course, which aims to put the history of nuclear deterrence in international relations into perspective, from its origins to the present day. This will involve dating and defining the concept of ‘deterrence’ and studying its contribution to defence and security policies over more than seven decades. The approach will be both thematic and chronological, taking in the 1930s, the Cold War and the post-Cold War period up to the current conflict in Ukraine. Particular attention will be paid this year to the history of France’s nuclear defence policy and the interactions between strategic debate and domestic political life.
Frédéric Gloriant (Director of CIENS / IHMC) and Dominique Mongin (PhD in history, associate expert at CIENS)
6 ECTS (12 sessions of 2 hours)
Tuesday 4pm-6pm. Salle Lettres 2, yellow corridor, 2nd floor.
Mutualisation :
This course is common to the Master 2 ‘International Relations’ at INALCO and the Master Peace Studies at Paris Dauphine.
Theories and political sociology of international relations
This course aims to provide conceptual and methodological tools for studying global and international phenomena. How can the theories of international relations be used to study transnational issues? How can political sociology be integrated with an international perspective? Is it necessary to invent new theoretical frameworks to understand phenomena that are part of globalisation, or should we simply adapt the tools of political sociology to phenomena that are changing in scale but not in nature?
Pierre-Louis Six (CIENS research associate)
6 ECTS (12 sessions of 2h)
Tuesday 10.30am-12.30pm. Salle Lettres 1, yellow corridor, 2nd floor.
This course is part of the “Geography and Geopolitics” stream of the PSL Humanities Master’s degree (M2). It is common to the Master Paris 1 Géopolitique (M2).
What is strategy? Theory, concepts and practice
The aim of this seminar is to provide students with a basis for understanding and analysing strategy, defined by André Beaufre as “the art of the dialectic of wills using force to resolve their conflict”. Since strategy involves bringing together political goals of varying nature and scope and military and non-military means that evolve over time, this course will take account of the diversity of strategies as well as what unites them – uncertainty, complexity and the clash of wills. Rather than tracing the history of strategic thinking or reflecting on the nature of war, the course will constantly move back and forth between the study of theories and concepts of strategy, in particular by focusing on the great names, and their implementation in history up to the present day, through case studies.
Guillaume Lasconjarias (doctorate and agrégation in history, IHEDN)
PSL-Week “Outer Space, Cyber & Hybrid Warfare: New Areas of Conflictuality
Open to all PSL students, regardless of their main course of study, the CIENS PSL-Week offers a multi-disciplinary introduction to new areas of conflict, from cyberspace to outer space, over 5 days and around 30 hours of teaching, and provides an opportunity for critical reflection on the notion of hybrid warfare. The lectures will be given by both academics (mainly teacher-researchers from CIENS) and practitioners of strategic issues, with the last day featuring a Serious Game simulating a crisis involving the new areas of conflictuality.
PSL-Week coordinated by the entire CIENS team
During the unmarked week (25-29 November 2024)
2 ECTS (possibility of obtaining an extra ECTS by completing an additional validation task)