THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF WAR - 2026/7

Module Overview

This module is designed for students who already have a grounding in economic or political analysis. It introduces the economic dimensions of warfare across the long twentieth century, examining how economics has shaped ¿ and been shaped by ¿ conflict, from the two World Wars and the Cold War to smaller regional conflicts, sanctions regimes, and lawfare.

Alongside this economic history approach, the module explores how economics has been applied to defence and security in the contemporary period, equipping students with the analytical tools to understand the economic logic of modern warfare and statecraft.

Module provider

Economics

Module Leader

GOLSON Eric (Economics)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 5

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Origins of economic warfare
Mobilisation in the World Wars
Trade warfare and the origins of blockades and sanctions
Effectiveness of blockades and sanctions 
Economics of the home front
Deliberate targeting of civilian resources: fuel and food 
Economic effects of alliances
Economics of neutrality
Costs, burden sharing, market power and rent seeking in the Cold War
Middle powers in international system
Economics of terrorism 
The rebuilding of Empire? (2001-Present)

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to:

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate:

• Their understanding of the core principles, tools, and strategies of economic warfare, including sanctions, export controls, financial restrictions, and resource leverage 
• How these instruments influence the allocation of resources across sectors, the restructuring of global supply chains, and the behaviour of states, firms, and financial institutions under conditions of economic conflict 
• Their ability to apply theoretical frameworks to explain strategic economic interactions between countries, including coercion, retaliation, and resilience 
• Their understanding of the evolution of the international economic system under geopolitical tension, including recent developments in sanctions regimes, trade fragmentation, and economic security policies

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

In-person midterm test (40%)

Final project (60%)

A midterm test consisting of essay questions and problems. This assessment is connected to learning outcomes 1, 3, and 5.

The final project includes a written and an oral presentation component for which the student will receive a single grade. It will assess a single economic warfare simulation problem as chosen by the student from a list of several options. The options will be designed to cover different problems and learning styles, but all versions of the project will have the same learning outcomes assessed by a paper and presentation. This assessment is connected to learning outcomes 1, 2 and 4.

All assessments will incorporate the latest teaching practices regarding the safe use of AI for learning. More information will be shared with students at the time of the relevant assessment. 

Formative assessment and feedback:

Students receive ongoing feedback throughout the module through lectures and seminars, where:

 

• Key concepts and models of economic warfare are explored using real-world case studies (e.g., great power warfare, sanctions regimes, trade restrictions, financial measures) 
• Students engage with applied questions and scenario-based discussions to develop analytical skills 
• In addition, students are provided with class questions/problem sets designed to reinforce their understanding of: economic coercion tools, strategic interaction between states and to evaluate policy effectiveness and unintended consequences. Guideline answers to the weekly materials support self-assessment.

Module aims

• Demonstrate general knowledge and understanding of the economic background and experience of two World Wars and the Cold War, particularly in Europe, North America, and the Near East
• Understand the changing nature of sanctions and lawfare through history, as well as evaluating the success and failure of these programmes
• Demonstrate familiarity with some applications of economics that have been specific to defence and warfare in the twentieth century
• Apply critical analysis to the topics of political economy and interstate competition, formulate concepts and hypotheses, and show how they are tested in relevant literature

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to enhance student¿s learning:

In person lectures, students will apply economic theory to real world economic warfare problems

Seminars are designed to help students analyse scenario based economic issues

The learning and teaching methods include:

• Content theory lecture 
• Applied lectures
• Seminars

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: ECO2068

Other information

The school/department of Economics is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the following areas:

Resourcefulness and resilience:

Students in this module will develop their understanding and skills through continuous assessment and feedback in tutorials. Seminar feedback sessions are designed to provide students with the opportunity to ask questions and understand the topics better. The midterm and final assessments feature real world problem-based questions which students will answer. 

Global capabilities:

Real life examples will be utilized in this module which will build students global capabilities. Students will have to work together in tutorials to develop skills which allow them to effectively collaborate with individuals from around the world.

Employability:

Students are equipped with theoretical and practical problem-solving skills, and transferable mathematical and theoretical knowledge that will allow them to analyze in theory and in practice data driven financial and economic applications. All of this is highly valuable to employers for different roles: e.g. economist, financial traders and investment analysts.   

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2026/7 academic year.