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PL50663: Organised crime in Europe: threats and challenges

Academic Year: 2018/9
Owning Department/School: Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies
Credits: 6      [equivalent to 12 CATS credits]
Notional Study Hours: 120
Level: Masters UG & PG (FHEQ level 7)
Period:
Semester 2
Assessment Summary: ES 67%, SM 33%
Assessment Detail:
  • Seminar (SM 33%)
  • Essay (ES 67%)
Supplementary Assessment:
Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations)
Requisites:
Description: Aims:
The units aims:
* To identify the main theoretical concepts adopted to analyse organised crime.
* To study the ways in which these issues constitute a challenge to the idea of the nation-state and democracy.
* To explore the extent to which these topics represent new and non-traditional security threats.

Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this unit, students will be familiar with:
* A detailed/empirical understanding of organised crime in Europe
* The critical/analytical approach to the major issues raised by organised crime.
* The theoretical debates associated with organised crime and its relationship with politics.
* The ways in which organised crime challenges democracy (politics, economics and civil society)
* The security implications of organised crime for the EU.

Skills:
The key skills the unit will hone and further develop are:
* Advanced research skills in identifying, locating and exploiting a wide range of descriptive, evaluative and theoretical literature.
* Intellectual skills of conceptual, original and independent thinking, critical analysis, synthesis and reasoned argument.
* Skills of assessment and judgement in relation to the soundness of competing arguments and scenarios, including the reporting and assessing of qualitative and quantitative data.
* Generic and transferable skills related to the oral and written presentation of ideas.
* Skills of self-direction, self-evaluation and time management.

Content:
1. Defining organised crime
2. Explaining organised crime
3. Organised crime and civil society
4. Organised crime and the economy
5. Organised crime and its relationship with politics I
6. Italian organised crime in Europe
7. Non-traditional organised crime
8. Organised crime and its relationship with politics II
9. The fight against organised crime
10. Organised crime: challenging democracy.
Programme availability:

PL50663 is Optional (DEU) on the following programmes:

Department of Social & Policy Sciences

PL50663 is Optional on the following programmes:

Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies

Notes:

  • This unit catalogue is applicable for the 2018/19 academic year only. Students continuing their studies into 2019/20 and beyond should not assume that this unit will be available in future years in the format displayed here for 2018/19.
  • Programmes and units are subject to change in accordance with normal University procedures.
  • Availability of units will be subject to constraints such as staff availability, minimum and maximum group sizes, and timetabling factors as well as a student's ability to meet any pre-requisite rules.
  • Undergraduates: .
  • Postgraduates: .