Civil Wars and Ethnic Violence Political Science 475 Meeting times: T, TH 1:30-2:45 pm 793 Spencer W. Kimball Tower

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1 Civil Wars and Ethnic Violence Political Science 475 Meeting times: T, TH 1:30-2:45 pm 793 Spencer W. Kimball Tower Instructor: Quinn Mecham Office: 770 Spencer W. Kimball Tower (SWKT) Office Phone: address: Office hours: Tuesday, Thursday 3:00-4:30pm or by appointment Introduction: This course is an advanced course on civil conflict, focusing on why individuals and groups use collective violence for political ends. In the first part of the course, we will examine contemporary theories of civil conflict and violence, as well as options and issues in conflict resolution. In the second part of the course, we will apply these theories to eight historical and contemporary cases around the world, including Northern Ireland, South Africa, Colombia, Congo, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, and Iraq. Participants will also complete a research paper on an additional case of civil conflict of their choosing. The course will include both lecture and integrated discussion throughout the course. We will seek to understand the primary determinants and processes of civil and ethnic conflict, as well as options for the peaceful resolution of these conflicts. Previous completion of POLI 150 Introduction to Comparative Politics or POLI 250 Principles of Comparative Politics, as well as POLI 200 Political Inquiry is strongly recommended. Required texts: The following texts are available at the college bookstore and are on reserve at the library. 1) Paul Collier, Wars, Guns, and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places. Harper Perennial, ) Douglas H. Johnson, The Root Causes of Sudan s Civil Wars, revised edition. James Currey, ) David McKittrick and David McVea, Making Sense of the Troubles. New Amsterdam,

2 4) Jason Stearns, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa. Public Affairs, ) Monica Duffy Toft, Securing the Peace: The Durable Settlement of Civil Wars. Princeton, ) Gordon Weiss, The Cage: The Fight for Sri Lanka and the Last Days of the Tamil Tigers. Bellvue Literary Press, There are substantial readings for the course in addition to the required texts. Additional readings for the course are available as PDF files (electronic reserves) on Learning Suite. Requirements: Regular attendance at class, active participation, and the reading of assigned materials is expected. In addition, 13 short informal writing assignments (posted to the course website), two theoretical essays (4-5 pages each), a final case study paper (12-15 pages), and a final exam are required. Grades will be calculated as follows: Informal writing and participation: 20% Theoretical essays: 30% (15% each) Final paper: 25% Final exam: 25% Screenings: There are 4 film screenings scheduled for this course. They take place on selected Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 8 pm. You are required to attend enough screenings (or find alternative ways to watch the film) to satisfy the web posting requirement discussed below. All screenings are held in SWKT 270. Informal writing: Students are expected to respond to the weekly readings and screenings by posting a personal reaction to the topic on the course website. These postings are due each Thursday by 10am and can be short (1-2 paragraphs) and personal in style. Response to screenings will be due at 10am on the day of the class following the screening. There will be at least 18 total posting opportunities (14 for weekly readings, 4 for screenings) of which 13 responses are required to complete this assignment. Some posting opportunities will be responses to a weekly question; others will be open reactions to the screenings. You may choose any combination of questions from readings and screenings to complete the 13 postings. If you do not already have an account at wordpress.com, you will need to register in order to use the course website. Connect to the course website at the web address: 2

3 poli475.wordpress.com. Writing assignments will be posted under the tab titled Weekly Responses. The course website also includes the syllabus, reading schedule, and course requirements for your reference. Theoretical essays: Two short theoretical essays (5 page limit) are required. One will address an important cause of civil conflict, and one will address an important reason for the resolution of civil conflict. Each will address a case study of your choice from the course readings, and the papers should be on two different case studies. They are due in class the Tuesday after we finish the case under consideration in your paper. You can choose to write the two papers in either order. The course case studies from which to choose are: Northern Ireland, South Africa, Columbia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, and Iraq. 1) Cause Paper Choose one or more of the important causes of civil conflict addressed in our reading during the first part of the semester, and apply it to one of the country case studies addressed in the second part. You should answer the following questions: a) How does this cause lead to civil conflict in your chosen case? b) Why is this cause more or less important than other possible causes?, and c) How does this cause interact with other possible causes of conflict? You may argue for more than one cause of the conflict, but prioritize your arguments well. 2) Resolution Paper Choose one or more of the mechanisms or processes of civil conflict resolution addressed in our reading during the first part of the semester, and apply it to one of the country case studies addressed in the second part. You should answer the following questions: a) How did/does this mechanism or process reduce civil conflict in the chosen case? b) Why didn t this mechanism/process stop or reduce civil conflict prior to the cessation of hostilities?, and c) Why is this mechanism/process more or less important than others for successful conflict resolution? If the conflict chosen is still underway, you may propose a mechanism that you believe would be most successful in resolving the conflict in the future. Final Paper: A final case study paper (up to 15 double-spaced pages) is required. You should choose a civil conflict in one of the locations on the list below and a) summarize the major elements of conflict; b) make an argument about the principal reasons for the conflict; and c) make an argument about why the conflict was successfully resolved, or how it could be successfully resolved. The following countries not discussed directly in class have all had significant civil conflicts and can be used for the case study paper. You are not required to address all of the conflicts in the country. You may also select a conflict in an alternative country, with permission from the instructor. After individual case studies are chosen, each student will present a 10-minute overview of their chosen conflict to the class prior to writing their research paper. This 3

4 presentation can include slides or visual aids and is expected to be a brief descriptive account of the civil conflict that the student is researching for the final paper. Possible country locations for case selection include: Afghanistan Angola Algeria Burundi Cambodia Central African Republic Chad Chechnya China Cyprus El Salvador Ethiopia Georgia Greece Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Iran Israel/Palestine Jordan Liberia Libya Madagascar Mali Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nepal Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Oman Papua New Guinea Peru Rwanda Senegal Sierra Leone Somalia South Sudan Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Ukraine Uganda Vietnam Western Sahara Yemen Yugoslavia Zimbabwe Final Exam date: Tuesday December 16 2:30-5:30pm (in class) Late policy: All late papers will be penalized a portion of the grade for each day that they are late (e.g., from B+ to B). The exam will only be given at the time scheduled by the university. No papers will be accepted after the final exam. 4

5 COURSE SCHEDULE T Sept 2 Course Introduction Thomas Carothers, Lina Khatib, Marwan Muasher, Douglas H. Paal, Andrew S. Weiss, Is the World Falling Apart? Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, August 14, (Reserve) Part I: THEORIES OF CIVIL CONFLICT AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION TH Sept 4 Conceptualizing Civil Conflict and Violence Charles Tilly Varieties of Violence, Chapter 1 in The Politics of Collective Violence. Cambridge University Press, pp (Reserve) Stathis N. Kalyvas Concepts, Chapter 1 in The Logic of Violence in Civil War. Cambridge University Press, pp (Reserve) Stuart J. Kaufman Stories about Ethnic War, Chapter 1 in Modern Hatreds: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War. Cornell University Press, pp (Reserve) Michael E. Brown The Causes of Internal Conflict: An Overview, in Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict, Brown et. al. eds. MIT Press, pp (Reserve) Film clip: The Act of Killing T Sept 9 Symbols, Emotion, and Security Dilemmas Stuart J. Kaufman The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War, Chapter 2 in Modern Hatreds: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War. Cornell University Press, pp (Reserve) Roger D. Petersen An Emotion-Based Approach to Ethnic Conflict, and Fear, Hatred, and Rage, Chapters 2 and 4 in Understanding Ethnic Violence: Fear, Hatred, and Resentment in Twentieth-Century Eastern Europe. Cambridge University Press, pp and (Reserve) Nelson Kasfir Domestic Anarchy, Security Dilemmas, and Violent Predation: Causes of Failure, Chapter 2 in When States Fail: Causes and Consequences. Robert Rotberg, ed. Princeton University Press, pp (Reserve) 5

6 Jack Snyder and Robert Jervis Civil War and the Security Dilemma, Chapter 1 in Civil Wars, Insecurity, and Intervention. Barbara F. Walter and Jack Snyder, eds. Columbia University Press, pp (Reserve) W Sept 10 Understanding the Conflict in Gaza (Kennedy Center panel discussion) 12pm-1pm TH Sept 11 The Logic of Violence Stathis N. Kalyvas A Logic of Indiscriminate Violence, and A Theory of Selective Violence, Chapters 6 and 7 in The Logic of Violence in Civil War. Cambridge University Press, pp (Reserve) Robert Pape The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism, American Political Science Review 97:3 (August), pp (Reserve) Barbara Walter Reputation Building and Self-Determination Movements, Chapter 2 in Reputation and Civil War: Why Separatist Conflicts are So Violent. Cambridge University Press, pp **Screening**: Hotel Rwanda, 8:00 pm in SWKT 270 T Sept 16 Democracy and Ethnicity in Conflict James D. Fearon and David D. Laitin Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War, American Political Science Review 97:1 (February), pp (Reserve) Collier, Chapters 1-2 TH Sept 18 Resources and Opportunities for Revolt Collier, Chapters 4-7 Michael L. Ross How Do Natural Resources Influence Civil War? Evidence from Thirteen Cases, International Organization 58 (Winter), pp (Reserve) T Sept 23 Options in Conflict Resolution Collier, Chapter 3 Toft, Securing the Peace, Chapters 1-4 6

7 William Zartman Dynamics and Constraints in Negotiations in Internal Conflicts, Chapter 1 in I. William Zartman, ed. Elusive Peace: Negotiating an End to Civil Wars. Brookings Institution, pp (Reserve) Barbara Walter Designing Transitions from Civil War: Demobilization, Democratization, and Commitments to Peace, International Security 24/1 (Summer), pp (Reserve) TH Sept 25 Challenges in Conflict Resolution Donald Rothchild and Philip G. Roeder Power Sharing as an Impediment to Peace and Democracy, Chapter 2 in Sustainable Peace: Power and Democracy after Civil Wars. Philip G. Roeder and Donald Rothchild, eds. Cornell University Press, pp (Reserve) David A. Lake and Donald Rothchild Territorial Decentralization and Civil War Settlements, Chapter 5 in Sustainable Peace: Power and Democracy after Civil Wars. Philip G. Roeder and Donald Rothchild, eds. Cornell University Press, pp (Reserve) Collier, Chapters 8-10 PART II: CASES OF CIVIL CONFLICT T Sept 30 Northern Ireland McKittrick and McVea, Making Sense of the Troubles, Chapters 1-6 Film clip: Bloody Sunday TH Oct 2 Northern Ireland McKittrick and McVea, Making Sense of the Troubles, Chapters 7-12 T Oct 7 South Africa Nigel Worden The Heyday of Apartheid and The Decline and Fall of Apartheid, Chapters 5 and 6, pp in The Making of Modern South Africa: Conquest, Apartheid, Democracy. Blackwell. (Reserve) 7

8 Pierre Hugo, Towards Darkness and Death: Racial Demonology in South Africa, The Journal of Modern African Studies, 26:4 (December 1988), pp (Reserve) David Goodman Victorious Victim and The Vanquished Assassin, pp in Fault Lines: Journeys into the New South Africa. University of California Press. (Reserve) **Screening**: Long Night s Journey into Day 8:00 pm in SWKT 270 TH Oct 9 South Africa David Goodman Conclusion: Unmaking Apartheid, pp in Fault Lines: Journeys into the New South Africa. University of California Press. (Reserve) Richard A. Wilson Vengeance, Revenge and Retribution, Chapter 6 (pp ) in The Politics of Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa. Cambridge University Press. (Reserve) Audrey R. Chapman The TRC s Approach to Promoting Reconciliation in the Human Rights Violations Hearings, Chapter 2 (pp ) in Audrey R. Chapman and Hugo van der Merwe eds. Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa: Did the TRC Deliver? University of Pennsylvania Press. (Reserve) Jeremy Sarkin An Evaluation of the South African Amnesty Process, Chapter 4 (pp ) in Audrey R. Chapman and Hugo van der Merwe eds. Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa: Did the TRC Deliver? University of Pennsylvania Press. (Reserve) T Oct 14 Colombia Bert Ruiz The Colombian Civil War. McFarland. Chapters 3, 6, 8 (pp , , ). (Reserve) Gonzalo Sanchez Introduction: Problems of Violence, Prospects for Peace, Chapter 1 (pp. 1-38) in Violence in Colombia : Waging War and Negotiating Peace. Charles Bergquist, Ricardo Penaranda, and Gozalo Sanchez, eds. Scholarly Resources. (Reserve) TH Oct 16 Colombia Mauricio Reina Drug Trafficking and the National Economy, Chapter 4 (pp ) in Violence in Colombia : Waging War and Negotiating Peace. 8

9 Charles Bergquist, Ricardo Penaranda, and Gozalo Sanchez, eds. Scholarly Resources. (Reserve) Charles Bergquist Waging War and Negotiating Peace: The Contemporary Crisis in Historical Perspective, Chapter 10 (pp ) in Violence in Colombia : Waging War and Negotiating Peace. Charles Bergquist, Ricardo Penaranda, and Gozalo Sanchez, eds. Scholarly Resources. (Reserve) Leah Anne Carroll Introduction, (pp. 1-51) in Violent Democratization: Social Movements, Elites, and Politics in Colombia s Rural War Zones, University of Notre Dame Press. (Reserve) T Oct 21 Select and Write Up Paper Topics (1-2 pages) Attend Vali Nasr University Forum address (11am-12pm) and/or Kennedy Center talk (4-5pm) TH Oct 23 Optional Research Session in the HBLL Library *F Oct 24* Paper Topics and Bibliography due (5pm SWKT 770) T Oct 28 Democratic Republic of the Congo Stearns, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters, Introduction, Chapters 1-12 **Student case presentations begin** **Screening**: Lumumba 8pm in SWKT 270 TH Oct 30 Democratic Republic of the Congo Stearns, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters, Chapters 13-20, Conclusion T Nov 4 Sudan Johnson, The Root Causes of Sudan s Civil Wars, Chapters 1-6 Toft, Securing the Peace, Chapter 7 9

10 TH Nov 6 Sudan Johnson, The Root Causes of Sudan s Civil Wars, Chapters 7-11 Toft, Securing the Peace, Chapter 8 Scott Straus Darfur and the Genocide Debate, Foreign Affairs 84.1 (Jan- Feb): p123- T Nov 11 Sri Lanka Weiss, The Cage, Chapters 1-6 TH Nov 13 Sri Lanka Weiss, The Cage, Chapters 7-11 T Nov 18 Lebanon Samir Khalaf Primordial Ties in Politics, Chapter 5 (pp ) in Lebanon s Predicament. Columbia University Press. Samir Khalaf From Playground to Battleground and The Scares and Scars of War, Chapters 7 and 8 (pp ) in Civil and Uncivil Violence in Lebanon: A History of the Internationalization of Communal Conflict. Columbia University Press. Film clip: West Beirut TH Nov 20 Lebanon Robert Fisk Beirut Addio, Chapter 14 (pp ) in Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon. Nation Books. (Reserve) Brenda M. Seaver The Regional Sources of Power Sharing Failure: The Case of Lebanon, Political Science Quarterly 115:2 (Summer), pp (Reserve) Nicholas Blanford The Beirut Spring, Chapter 6 (pp ) in Killing Mr. Lebanon: The Assassination of Rafik Hariri and its Impact on the Middle East. I.B. Tauris. (Reserve) Paul Salem The Future of Lebanon, Foreign Affairs 85:6 (November- December), pp (Reserve) 10

11 Flim clip: Waltz with Bashir T Nov 25 No class (Friday instruction) T Dec 2 Iraq Ahmed S. Hashim Evolution of the Iraqi Insurgency, Chapter 1 in Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency in Iraq. Cornell University Press, pp Mohammed Hafez Nationalists and Baathists, and The Jihadi Salafis, in Suicide Bombers in Iraq. United States Institute of Peace, pp **Screening**: Iraq in Fragments 7:30 pm in Sunderland 110 TH Dec 4 Iraq Ahmed S. Hashim Contending National Identities, Chapter 4 in Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency in Iraq. Cornell University Press, pp Mohammed Hafez Suicide Terrorism in the Iraqi Insurgency, in Suicide Bombers in Iraq. United States Institute of Peace, pp Toft, Securing the Peace, Chapter 9. Ali A. Allawi Showdown at the Shrine, To Hold or Abort an Election, and Into Uncharted Waters, Chapters 18, 19, and 25 in The Occupation of Iraq. Yale University Press, pp and Stephen Biddle, Michael E. O Hanlon, and Kenneth Pollack How to Leave a Stable Iraq, Foreign Affairs (September-October). (Reserve) Ned Parker, The Iraq We Left Behind: Welcome to the World s Next Failed State, Foreign Affairs, March/April (Reserve) **Evening Discussion** Comparative Lessons in Civil Conflict 7-9 pm T Dec 9 Peer Coaching Sessions on Paper Drafts (in class) TH Dec 11 Complete Final Papers 11

12 F Dec 12 Final Papers Due (post on learning suite by 5pm) **FINAL EXAM**: Tuesday December 16 2:30-5:30 pm (in class) 12