POLS 387 — International Security
Spring 2025 | M/W 12:30-1:45pm | DuSable 176
Instructor
Dr. Ches Thurber
414 Zulauf Hall
cthurber@niu.edu
Office Hours: M/W 9:30 - 11:30 am
Schedule an appointment
Teaching Assistants
Ernest Kwofie
Ph.D. Candidate
eplangekwofie@niu.edu
Ijeoma Ezeora
Ph.D. Candidate
iezeora@niu.edu
What is this course about?
This course offers a broad overview of the domain of international politics that focuses on issues of conflict, war, and peace. We will begin with a “traditional” approach to security studies, examining questions surrounding the causes of interstate war and great power rivalry. We will then move on to address the complex threats posed to security in the 21st century: from nuclear proliferation to environmental conflict, from terrorism to pandemics, and from cyberwarfare to peacekeeping missions. This semester, we will pay particular attention to the role of technology in conflict, studying the potential for artificial intelligence both as a new dynamic in global security, but also as a tool for ourselves in our own work.
What will you learn in this course?
You will come away from the course with a set of analytic frameworks and a depth of historical knowledge that will enable you to better understand current issues in global security and empower you to participate in the process of crafting solutions, whether that be as a future policymaker, an issue-advocate, or an engaged global citizen.
In the liberal arts tradition, I am interested not just in the topical knowledge you acquire, but the skills you develop that you will use in your professional careers and as engaged public citizens. You will work on expressing yourself effectively in writing and in public speaking, on crafting logical arguments, and using evidence to support your arguments. You will develop your research skills using a combination of traditional, online, and AI tools.
This is an AI-infused course!
In many of your courses, you may be prohibited from using AI tools, particularly Large Language Models such as ChatGPT. This course is different! While there will be rules and limits on what AI tools you can use and how you can use them, learning how to use AI will be a central part of this course. I hope that you will walk away from this course with basic proficiency in LLMs such at ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Perplexity and others, understanding their differences, strengths, and weaknesses.
Again, there will be limits and rules on when and how AI can be used. For example, I ask that you not use AI to help write your weekly discussion board posts.
How will the class run?
This will be an in-person class with required attendance. The class will combine lectures, discussions, and simulation activities. Mondays will lean a little more toward lecture, while Wednesdays will start with a discussion or writing activity led by the teaching assistant. In addition to weekly readings, you will take a weekly reading quiz on Blackboard and contribute 3 posts to an online discussion board.
How can you contact me?
Please feel free to email me or the course teaching assistants at any time. We will try to respond within about 24 hours during the week. I will be holding office hours on Mondays and Wednesdays between 9:30 and 11:00am. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of this! Sign up for an appointment at this link. You can schedule either an in-person or virtual appointment.
What Materials Do You Need?
There are no required textbooks, but you will need to sign up for the online discussion board service Packback ($49). For most students the best way is to follow the link in Blackboard and purchase directly from Packback online. If you have a scholarship that covers materials purchased at the NIU bookstore, you can purchase an access code from the bookstore.
What is Packback?!?
We will be using an online suite of AI learning services called “Packback.” We will primarily be using Packback in two ways: 1) As a discussion board with weekly posting requirements, and 2) as a mechanism for writing and submitting your papers. We will be using Packback as a tool to help develop our writing skills, as well as to improve our understanding of how AI works. With permission from your other instructors, you may be able to use Packback’s writing tools for your other courses this semester.
Evaluation
Class attendance, preparation and participation (15%): The time we spend in class is for me the most important of this course. As such, punctual attendance is mandatory. But more important than just being present at a desk is that you are actively engaged. I expect that you have done the readings and that you try to participate in discussion each and every class section. You may miss up to 2 classes during the course of the semester without penalty. Beyond that, I ask that you write a brief 1-page summary of the readings assigned for the missed day as make-up work to receive attendance credit. The final simulation activity will be included as part of the participation grade and worth 3% of the overall grade.
Packback Discussion Board Posts (15%): Each week, by the start of MONDAY’S CLASS, students are expected to contribute three posts to Packback: one question and two responses. The posts must meet minimum criteria (60 points) for length and depth of engagement. Doing so will result in full credit (100%) for that week. The use of AI tools is not permitted for the weekly Packback posts.
Reading Quizzes (10%): Each week, by the start of WEDNESDAY’S CLASS, you will have an online reading quiz to complete. It will be a 5-question multiple-choice quiz. Quizzes are open book, open-note, open anything. You may attempt the quiz twice. Blackboard will show you which questions you got wrong the first time, but not the correct answer.
Papers (60%): There will be three papers of about 1,200 words in length. Each will be written and submitted in Packback “Deep Dives.” The third paper will be written in anticipation of the final simulation.
What should you do if you are falling behind?
While it is extremely important that you stick to the weekly schedule of this class, I recognize that stuff happens. The most important thing is that you communicate with me about your needs. I respect your privacy and will never ask you for personal details of your situation.
If you think you need to delay submitting a written assignment or taking an exam, please talk to me in advance, and I will do my best to accommodate. Any missed exam or written assignment submitted after the deadline without prior authorization will incur a penalty. If you do miss an assignment, still reach out and we will come up with a plan for getting you back on track. There will be a late penalty, but it will be far better than failing to turn in an assignment altogether.
Letter Grade Distribution
| Percentage | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| > 93.00 | A |
| 90.00 - 92.99 | A- |
| 87.00-89.99 | B+ |
| 83.00 - 86.99 | B |
| 80.00 - 82.99 | B- |
| 77.00-79.99 | C+ |
| 70.00 - 76.99 | C |
| 60.00 - 69.99 | D |
| < 60.00 | F |
Course Policies
Committed to your success: Beyond all else, I am committed to the success of every student in this class. I encourage everyone in the class to reach out to me if there is anything I can do in terms of the delivery of the course that would help you be more successful. I might not always be able to make it happen, but I will never discourage you from asking.
Names and Pronouns: I ask that my undergraduate students refer to me as either Dr. or Professor Thurber. I’m just old-school that way. If you have deep ideological opposition to the hierarchy of academic titles, I will also respond to “Comrade Thurber.” I usually use the he/him/his pronouns to refer to myself, but am equally comfortable being referred to with they/them/their. Please let me know how you prefer to be addressed, both in name and pronoun, especially if it differs from what is in the college directory. I will make every effort to address you in the way you wish to be addressed. Please try and do the same for your fellow classmates, as well as for other faculty in the department.
Americans with Disabilities Act and Non-Discrimination Statement: If you need an accommodation for this class, please contact the Disability Resource Center as soon as possible. The DRC coordinates accommodations for students with disabilities. It is located on the 4th floor of the Health Services Building, and can be reached at 815-753-1303 or drc@niu.edu. Also, please contact me privately as soon as possible so we can discuss your accommodations. Please note that you will not be required to disclose your disability, only your accommodations. The sooner you let me know your needs, the sooner I can assist you in achieving your learning goals in this course.
Mental Health and Well-being: I understand that college students may experience a range of academic, social, and personal stressors, which can be overwhelming. You are not alone. Well-being at NIU offers resources, programs, and services. If you or someone you know need assistance with comprehensive or crisis mental health support, Counseling and Consultation Services (CCS) at 815-753-1206 is ready to help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Additionally, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 988.
Academic Integrity: Good academic work must be based on honesty. The attempt of any student to present as his or her own work that which he or she has not produced is regarded by the faculty and administration as a serious offense. Students are considered to have cheated if they copy the work of another during an examination or turn in a paper or an assignment written, in whole or in part, by someone else. Students are guilty of plagiarism, intentional or not, if they copy material from books, magazines, or other sources without identifying and acknowledging those sources or if they paraphrase ideas from such sources without acknowledging them. Students guilty of, or assisting others in, either cheating or plagiarism on an assignment, quiz, or examination may receive a grade of F for the course involved and may be suspended or dismissed from the university.
This is an issue I take seriously. Unfortunately, it has increasingly become an issue in my courses. The creation of one’s own original work is the core of what a university education is all about. Falsely claiming credit for words or ideas that are not your own undermines that core. I will use software that tracks plagiarism as well as for similarities with classmates’ or even your own prior work. When work looks suspicious, I will often use additional measures to identify the original sources of plagiarized text. In this course, academic dishonesty will always result in an F on the assignment and a formal misconduct report filed with the university. The recommendation I make in that report (e.g. failure from the course, suspension, expulsion from the university) will depend on the circumstance.
Artificial Intelligence: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is almost certainly going to become an essential tool in the workplace and society. Used well and in combination with strong critical thinking and writing skills, it may be able to help you be a better student and professional. The challenge then becomes learning how to use it well and how to develop those critical thinking and writing skills in an AI world.
As mentioned above, this is an AI-infused course! In fact, I’m making you purchase access to the AI tool Packback. However, I will provide explicit instructions for each assignment as to how AI may be used. Violation of these rules will be considered academic dishonesty.
Furthermore, recognize that AI policies vary from course to course and professor to professor. You should not use AI in academic work without explicit permission by the instructor. Do not assume that my policies for this course apply for your other courses.
Class Schedule
Students are expected to read the listed readings before the indicated class session.
| Topic | Assignments |
|---|---|
| Week 1: Approaches to the Study of Security | Mon 1/13: Simulation Activity
Wed 1/15: Studying Security
|
| Week 2: Analytic Frameworks | Mon 1/20: MLK Day - No Class Wed 1/22: Levels of Analysis and Paradigms
|
| Week 3: Anarchy | Mon 1/27: Structural Realism
Wed 1/29: Offense, Defense, and the Security Dilemma
|
| Week 4: Bargaining and War | Mon 2/3: The Bargaining Model
Wed 2/5: Russia and Ukraine Revisited
|
| Week 5: Restraining War | Mon 2/10: Economic Interdependence
Wed 2/12: Institutions
|
| Week 6: Foreign Policy and Statecraft | Mon 2/17: Domestic Drivers of War
Wed 2/19: The Foreign Policy Process
|
| Week 7: Nuclear Weapons | Mon 2/24: Nuclear Proliferation
Wed 2/26: Contemporary Debates
|
| Week 8: Paper Due Week | Mon 3/3: Special Talk: NNGO People on the Move Series
Wed 3/5: Simulation Activity
|
| SPRING BREAK | |
| Week 9: Civil Conflict | Mon 3/17: Civil Wars Wed 3/19: Counterinsurgency
|
| Week 10: Intervention and Peacekeeping | Mon 3/24: Peacekeeping
Wed 3/26: Humanitarian Intervention
|
| Week 11: Ecosystems | Mon 3/31: Environmental Security
Wed 4/2: Health Security
|
| Week 12: Terrorism | Mon 4/7: History of Terrorism
Wed 4/9: Case studies: ISIS and White Nationalism
|
| Week 13: Consequences of Conflict | Mon 4/14: Displacement and Refugees
Wed 4/16: Sexual Violence in War
|
| Week 14: Future of Conflict 1 | Mon 4/21: Cyberwar
Wed 4/23: Autonomous Weapons and AI
|
| Week 15: Future of Conflict II | Mon 4/28: War in Space
Wed 4/30: Nonviolent Revolution
|
| Finals Week | Mon 5/5: Final Simulation 12:00-1:50pm |