RPOS 360: Violent Political Conflict

Transcription

1 RPOS 360: Violent Political Conflict Professor: Niloufer Siddiqui Location: BB125 Time: MW 2:45PM 4:05PM Office hours: Monday 12:45 2:45PM (Uptown Campus, Humanities B-16 Contact Office) By appointment (Downtown Campus, Milne 210) address: This course is designed to introduce students to the study of violent political conflict. We will examine the how, why, and when of internal conflict, ranging from civil war to ethnic conflict, party violence, and religious riots. The course will focus on the key empirical and normative questions raised by violent political conflict and examine the answers provided by existing literature. What are the causes of civil war? Why do people participate in riots? Why do parties engage in electoral violence? Is ethnic conflict inevitable? What are the psychological and social effects of violence? How does violence differ from other political strategies? The second half of the course will feature in-depth case studies of particular conflicts in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Assignments and Grading: Participation: 15% As a discussion-based course, active participation is a crucial component of the grade. This includes regular attendance in class and contribution to class discussion. The reading load is not heavy but some of the readings are hard. Think about the key questions the reading is addressing and the answers that it provides. Then assess whether you find the answers compelling. Come prepared to discuss the readings. In addition, we will dedicate the first 5-10 minutes of each class to a discussion of current events related to violent political conflict. You will be asked and expected to contribute to these discussions. Read the news and come prepared to talk about current events you find interesting. Movie response: 5% Two movies will be shown in class. You are required to provide a 2-page (double-spaced) response to these movies and how they relate to the concepts studied in class. Quizzes: 20% There will be six 15-minute in-class quizzes which will test your understanding of the material covered in class. If you have done the readings and paid attention in class, you will be fine. The quiz with the lowest grade will be dropped, so only 5 quizzes will count towards your final grade. Research Presentation: 25% As part of a 4-person group, you will be assigned one civil war or violent event and asked to prepare a 15-minute presentation to the class. In the presentation, you will need to outline

2 the causes of the conflict. Who were the actors involved? Why was violence used? Are there competing accounts of the cause or function of the violence? What other strategies were available? Why did people take part? Was the violence organized? Could or should external forces have acted to prevent it? Policy Paper: 35% This 10-page final assignment will be in the form of a policy paper. You will be asked to choose among various violent groups (for example, Boko Haram, the Afghan Taliban, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Abu Sayyaf Group, FARC) and will be asked to provide: 1) an overview of the group and its objectives; 2) the group s recruitment policy and the nature of its members; 3) how and when it utilizes violence; and 4) policies to limit the groups effectiveness. You will be expected to relate the topics we covered in the course to analyzing the group. Accommodations: Reasonable accommodations will be provided for students with documented physical, sensory, systemic, cognitive, learning, and psychiatric disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring accommodation in this class, please go here and arrange for an academic accommodation letter to be sent to me. If you wish to discuss academic accommodations for this course, please also inform me as soon as possible. Plagiarism: Please familiarize yourself with the description in the undergraduate bulletin If you are involved in plagiarism the penalty will be failure in the course and you will be reported to judicial affairs. If you are not sure if something violates standards: ask. If you are not sure whether to cite or not to cite: cite. Every student is expected to go through the following tutorial: Late Policy: For every day that an assignment is late, you will be penalized one letter grade. For example, if you turn in an A- paper 1 day late, you will receive a B+. There will be no extra credit to make up for late or missing assignments. Class attendance: You will be expected to attend class. Each student is permitted to miss two days of class per term with no questions asked and no penalties or reductions in his or her class participation grade. Any classes missed beyond those two will be taken into account in determining your class participation grade, regardless of the reason. Re-grading of materials: You may request re-grading of materials. If you wish to make such a request, contact the professor for a copy of the re-grading policy. You will be asked to provide a written explanation of why you wish to have the assignment re-graded.

3 Course Schedule August 28 August 30 Sept 4 Sept 6 Sept 11 Sept 13 Sept 18 Sept 20 Sept 25 Sept 27 Oct 2 Overview of course, readings, assignments, and introductions Concepts and Definitions Blattman, Christopher and Edward Miguel Civil War. Journal of Economic Literature 48(1): 3 57 NO CLASS: LABOR DAY Studying Violence and Civil War McGovern, Mike Popular Development Economics An Anthropologist among the Mandarins. Perspectives on Politics 9(2): Causes of Civil War I Scott, James The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Rebellion and Subsistence in Southeast Asia. New Haven: Yale University Press. Introduction, chapter 1 and chapter 7. Causes of Civil War II: Poverty Collier, Paul and Anke Hoeffler Greed and Grievance in Civil War. Oxford Economic Papers 56 (4): Causes of Civil War III: Ideology Sanín, Francisco Gutiérrez, and Elisabeth Jean Wood Ideology in Civil War: Instrumental Adoption and Beyond. Journal of Peace Research 51(2): Who Participates? (I) Gurr, Ted R Why Men Rebel. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Chapter 2. Who Participates? (II) Kuran, Timur Now Out of Never: The Element of Surprise in the East European Revolution of 1989, World Politics 44 (1): Ethnic Violence I Varshney, Ashutosh Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflict. In The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics, edited by Carles Boix and Susan Stokes. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ethnic Violence II Green, Donald P., and Rachel L. Seher What Role does Prejudice Play in Ethnic Conflict Annual Review of Political Science 6:

4 Oct 4 Oct 9 Oct 11 Oct 16 Oct 18 Oct 23 Oct 25 Oct 30 Nov 1 Nov 6 Nov 8 Nov 13 Ethnic Violence III Mueller, John The Banality of Ethnic War. International Security 25(1): Religious Violence I Grzymala-Busse, Anna Why Comparative Politics Should Take Religion (More) Seriously. Annual Review of Political Science 15: Religious Violence II Ron Hassner, To Have and to Hold: Conflicts over Sacred Space and the Problem of Indivisibility, Security Studies 12 (4): 133. Political Violence Wilkinson, Steven I Votes and Violence: Electoral Competition and Ethnic Riots in India. New York, Cambridge University Press. Chapters 1 and 2. In-class Movie: The Killing Fields Genocide and Mass Participation Straus, Scott Darfur and the Genocide Debate. Foreign Affairs 84 (1): Violence against Civilians: Sexual Violence Wood, Elisabeth J Variation in Sexual Violence during War. Politics & Society 34 (3): Terrorism Kydd, Andrew and Barbara Walter The Strategies of Terrorism, International Security 31 (1): Non-Violent Resistance I Stephan, Maria J. and Erica Chenoweth Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict. International Security 33(1): Non-Violence Resistance II Shridharani, Krishnalal War Without Violence: A Study of Gandhi's Method and Its Accomplishments. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, Brace and Company, Inc. Chapters 9 & 10. International Law: Just War Michael Walzer Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations. New York: Basic Books, 4th ed. Chapters 1 and 2 Case Study I: Party Violence in Karachi, Pakistan Gayer, Laurent Karachi: Ordered Disorder and the Struggle for the City. New York: Oxford University Press, pp

5 Nov 15 Nov 20 Nov 22 Nov 27 Nov 29 Dec 4 Dec 6 Dec 11 Case Study II: The Evolution of Warfare in Africa Reno, William The Evolution of Warfare in Africa, Afrika Focus 22 (1), 719. In-class Movie: The Act of Killing NO CLASS: THANKSGIVING Case Study III: Genocide in Rwanda Gourevitch, Philip We Wish To Inform You That We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda. New York: Picador. Selections. Case Study IV: FARC and Colombia Gonzalo, Sanchez G Introduction: Problems of Violence, Prospects for Peace. In Violence in Colombia, : Waging War and Negotiating Peace, edited by Charles Bergquist, Ricardo Penaranda, and Gonzalo Sanchez G. Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources Book. Student Presentations I Student Presentations II Conclusion