Geopolitics, Energy and Cyber Security

War in Ukraine, Russian neo-imperialism and the energy crisis mean that history and power politics have returned to the developed world. The new situation necessitates the education of a new generation of specialists who would serve as analysts for the governments, media and private companies or pursue a career in the academia. The “Geopolitics: Energy and Cybersecurity” specialisation is designed to promote the type of understanding of current security and energy dilemmas, which for quite a long time was seen as not in tune with the promise of a globalised world where open conflicts are substituted by peaceful cooperation and competition. Dreams of perpetual peace, however, have rarely proven to be more than a mere hope of humanity, which has been entertained only for short periods. Although the logic of conflict remains, nevertheless, the means used to wage war and the accompanying challenges are constantly evolving. That is why we want our students to familiarize themselves with the most modern plain of conflict between various entities – the cyberspace. The students should also learn how and why, access to energy resources can be weaponized and be aware of the general spectrum of challenges connected with energy and climate change.

The course is centred around five electives and three compulsory modules. To be eligible for this specialty, the student must complete at least three electives that are assigned to it in addition to the three compulsory courses. The student, however, has to choose one of the following two electives: “Cybersecurity and Global Politics” or “Data Protection and Cyberattacks”. The specialty tries to combine a wide expertise on geopolitical topics and strategic thinking with a knowledge of cyberthreats and energy-security. This necessitates a demanding multidisciplinary approach. During course of the studies students will be put through both a rigorous quantitative oriented module as well as modules which require a good knowledge of history, geography, and economy. Upon successful completion of the specialty, students will acquire the following qualities and capabilities: 

Skills necessary to become an effective analyst and draw conclusions from varied sources information to facilitate making optimal strategic decisions and solving complex security threats.

Ability to assess risk for different entities connected with threats such as: interstate conflict, non- conventional attacks, cyberattacks and energy insecurity.

Ability to propose various ways of securing sensitive data and assess the offers present on the market.

Knowledge and understanding of global competition between the great political powers.

Awareness of how cyberspace can be weaponized.

Awareness of economic relations as a factor shaping global politics.

Understanding of the importance of the East Asia and global stability.

Understanding of how the interaction between geography and economy shapes the current security landscape.

Specifically, the graduate will demonstrate the following qualities, skills, capabilities and values:

Background education in geography, international economy and security polices of major global players (with a major focus on energy resources and cyberspace);

Basic knowledge of programming, data-science and cybersecurity issues;

Identification and evaluation of security and cybersecurity problems combined with the ability to use proper negotiation tools and techniques;

Ability to use analysis and synthesis, to draw viable security conclusions;

Ability to make forecasts in analyses concerning geopolitics, energy and cyberspace.

 

Communication of analytical findings, presentation and interaction skills;

Knowledge of quantitative research methods with an basic introduction to programming and data- science;

Teambuilding—the ability to work creatively and flexibly with others as part of a team;

Assessment of various proposals of professionals in the security and energy-security field who offer their services in dealing with specific tasks.

 

Effective managing of time and resources in the security-analysis profession.

Effective usage of different information sources, for professional purposes.

Working under a lot of pressure and with limited data.

Creative and innovating thinking about security and geopolitical dilemmas.

 

Students graduating from MA in in Geopolitcs: Energy and Cyber Security Specialty will be specialists well-trained in modern geopolitical, energy and cybersecurity issues and acquire a great degree of analytical skills. They will specifically:

be prepared to work as policy analysts, experts, particularly for governments, large financial institutions, NGOS and for the media;

acquire the awareness of cybersecurity threats and methods to deal with them;

know which geographic flashpoints, regarding potential conflicts, analysts need to focus on;

be able to understand the interrelated geopolitical, economic and energy issues globally, from governmental as well as business and NGO perspectives.

NEW CORE MODULES (for all specializations)

This partly a-synchronic and interactive module is divided into two separate components. The basic and the advanced. The student of this specialization is required to take at least the basic one. The course focuses on facilizing the student with quantitative analytical thinking, relevant mathematical concepts and their application in statistics and data analysis. It will also familiarize the students with programming (basic information about system shells and DCL, an introductory course in Python). It is crucial for the students who want to be proficient cyber-security analysts to acquire those skills at least at the minimal level. However, it needs to be stressed that to become an independent programmer the student will need further studies.

This interactive module is devoted to the salient and contemporary issues and problem of economic development in a globalizing world and well as energy security. It gives in-depth analysis of theoretical knowledge underlying the evolution of economics of development and procuring energy from various sources. Student will also become familiar with the functions of economic institutions and how they can facilitate development as well as make it more environmentally sustainable. Can efficiently functioning modern economy be created in developing countries in a sustainable manner? Should the state take over the functions normally left to the markets in those fields? These and other questions will be addressed in this module. The course drives students to analytical understanding of development, energy security and poverty.

The module is composed of two parts. The first part is focused on evaluation of the place of the state within the context of fixed geographical location – for example how geography and spatial patterns influence behaviours of decision makers. The course will familiarize the students with methodology of geopolitics in theory and practice. Our major purpose is to enable them to understand the place of the state (as a main actor in International Relations) in the world constrained by geography, and how those constraints guide human decision-making process, thereby making political forecasting possible.

The course tries to prepare specialists who will meet the demands of a global economy dominated by the progressive digitization of all aspects of society and the increase in the number of crimes committed against and with digital devices. Not surprisingly, some of the most serious cyber-crimes are committed for political reasons and often by state actors or parties tied to states. Cybersecurity is an interdisciplinary field in need of specialists both with a technical expertise, but also those at the management and political level.

The course will offer an analysis of complex attacks on computer networks. MITRE ATT&CK - tactics, techniques, and procedures of attackers as well as profiling and tracking of APT groups. It will also explore forensic analysis of FAT32 and NTFS file system, Windows operating system artifacts, instant messaging, web browsers and mail data recovery in cases of logical and physical damage.

The module discusses East Asia’s role in the contemporary world. It is divided into two parts. The first part presents basic information about East Asia history, geography, traditional culture, society, and political system. Such information is necessary to understand contemporary East Asia in more details. In the second part, we investigate the current aspects of East Asian politics, society, culture, economy, and international relations, as well as economic and political expansion.

The module aims at familiarizing students with how geography, politics and economy interact. The construction of trade blocs or regional superstate structures is more and more often turning into a method which nation states employ to deal with the challenges created by globalisation. Those blocs, are moreover, by no means merely a tool of peaceful cooperation. Economy is a part of hard power, and the build-up of economic tensions often preceded military conflict. Therefore, the course will mainly focus on the question to what extent age-old geopolitical conflicts and dilemmas are reflected in the global economy?

This module aims predominantly at familiarizing the students with the complex legal and geopolitical landscape of the EU energy policies. How to balance ambitious emission goals with the political blackmail used by the Russian Federation? How not to become overdependent on other energy suppliers? What is a healthy energy mix? Who should bear the costs of energy transition and how to avoid huge social costs and the exponential growth of inequalities? Those are just some of the problems that the module will address. It will combine practical concerns, the business and diplomatic experience of the lecturers with an in-depth knowledge of the relevant literature.