Module Identifier IP37620  
Module Title THE BRITISH ARMY SINCE 1945  
Academic Year 2002/2003  
Co-ordinator Professor Colin J McInnes  
Semester Intended for use in future years  
Next year offered N/A  
Next semester offered N/A  
Course delivery Lecture   18 Hours 18 x 1 hour  
  Seminars / Tutorials   3 Hours Tutorial. 3 x 1 hour  
Assessment Semester Assessment   Essay:   80%  
  Semester Assessment   Group Presentation:   20%  
  Supplementary Exam   Students may, subject to Faculty approval, have the opportunity to resit this module, normally during the supplementary examination period. For further clarification please contact the Teaching Programme Administrator in the Department of International Politics.    

Learning outcomes

At the end of this module students should be able to

10 ECTS Credits

Brief description

This module examines the changing role of the Army in British defence policy since 1945; its conduct of and thinking about conventional war; its development of a distinctive style in counter-insurgency operations; and its counter-terrorist role in Northern Ireland.

In 1945 the British Army faced a series of challenges: the nuclear age; substantial commitments and diminishing resources; and whether to continue the 'continental commitment', or to revert to the more traditional overseas emphasis. Continuing pressure on resources, the emergence of guerrilla movements, and the Soviet threat dominated the next 25 years until, in the late 1960s, Denis Healey's defence reviews appeared to resolve these tensions. New problems soon appeared, however, not least in Northern Ireland, while resource constraints continued to affect defence policy. In the 1990s, the end of the cold war required the Army to find a new focus in peacekeeping/humanitarian operations, while the Gulf War suggested the continued requirement for a modern and highly capable Army.

The module is taught through a series of lectures and team presentations on case studies. These presentations (usually by a team of three) are supported by tutorials and specialist lectures on presentation techniques and are designed both as an innovative teaching method and to provide transferable skills in presentation techniques.

Aims

The aim of this module is to identify and discuss the Army's place in British defence policy since 1945 and its distinctive 'way in warfare'.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
D Chandler (ed). The Oxford Guide to the British Army.
C McInnes. Hot War, Cold War: The British Army's Way in Warfare.