Human Security in International Relations

This course shifts the unit of analysis in security studies from the state to the individual, asking what it actually means to protect people from violence, displacement, environmental collapse, and digital harm rather than just defending borders. Building on the IR 101 foundation, you'll work through theoretical debates and case-driven discussions covering civil wars, ethnic conflict, gendered violence, refugee crises, and the Responsibility to Protect, with a midterm and workshop component that pushes you to apply frameworks to real situations. It pairs well with conflict resolution and international law electives, and matters because most contemporary security crises don't fit the interstate-war template that traditional IR was built around.