Type of course

The course is reserved for students with admission to Societal Security - bachelor and Societal safety - master and cannot be taken as a singular course.

Students who are interested in participating are asked to contact the course coordinator at Department of Technology and Safety.

Course content

The course equips students with analytical skills to evaluate security policies, apply comparative methods, and engage in policy analysis within an international setting.

Students will gain hands-on experience in security policy research, decision-making processes, and collaborative teamwork across different national perspectives. The course encourages students to critically examine how security policies are formulated, influenced, and implemented at the international, state, and individual levels.

The course will cover all key steps in security policy analysis:

• Understanding Security Policy: Identify key actors, decision-making processes, and stages in the security policy cycle.
• Comparative Analysis: Develop a framework for analyzing security policies across different national contexts, focusing on Norway and South Africa.
• Team Collaboration: Work in diverse, interdisciplinary groups to conduct security policy evaluations and develop well-reasoned policy recommendations.
• Research Process: Apply comparative methods and policy analysis techniques to real-world security challenges.
• Presentation & Communication: Deliver a structured 25-minute presentation, demonstrating analytical depth, teamwork, and practical insights.

The course is structured as follows:

• Morning Sessions: Lectures and discussions on security policy decision-making, key influences, and theoretical approaches to security policy studies.
• Afternoon Sessions: Group-based research projects where students analyze a selected security policy area preparing final presentation.

Through this course participating students will gain valuable experience in meeting scholars and peers in complex international settings, where they can discuss and relate their projects to relevant issues.

Objectives of the course

Knowledge:

The student...

• understands academic literatures and debates on security policy
• gains the knowledge of theories, models and approaches that explain security policy
• possesses an understanding of the contexts, pressures and constraints with which security policymakers must deal

Skills:

The student...

• can find, evaluate, and refer to relevant policy documents and present them in a manner that sheds light on the practical problems at hand
• can critically examine policy proposals and articulate arguments pertaining to security policy issues
• acquires the ability to present and critique competing scholarly arguments as well as engage with the academic and non-academic literature on security policy
• can discuss security policy embedded in critical understanding of the issues involved in security policy decision making
• is confident to undertake an independent comparative analysis of security policy

General competence:

The student...

• has an ability to utilize knowledge and skills in an independent manner in different situations
• has insight into teamwork in an international setting
• can plan and carry out varied assignments and projects over time, alone or as part of a group, and in accordance with ethical requirements and principles

Language of instruction and examination

Teaching methods

The course will be organized as an intensive, week-long course with multiple teaching approaches:

• 15 hours of lectures
• 15 hours of teamwork
• Syllabus with obligatory readings outside of classroom time
• Interaction during lectures, via assignments, group work, presentations, in addition to other activities