M.A. Program in Peace and Conflict Management Studies Faculty of Social Sciences Theories and issues in intergroup conflict: A multi-disciplinary perspective Fall Semester, 2011-2012, Wednesday 12-4 pm Instructor: Dr. Keren Sharvit Office: 7104 Rabin Complex (Psychology Department) Office hours: by appointment Email: ksharvit@psy.haifa.ac.il Course Description: This is a core course intended to lay the foundations for studying inter-group conflicts of different levels. Inter-group conflicts have been studied by scholars from different disciplines, who offer differing perspectives on similar issues. In this course we will survey different approaches, and will also compare, contrast and relate them to each other in an attempt to arrive at an integrative understanding of the issues at hand. To allow such comparison and integration, the course is arranged by themes that recur in the scholarly literature about conflicts rather than by scholarly discipline. Throughout the course, we will use examples from actual cases of inter-group conflicts in various regions of the world. Course requirements: 1. Required reading (11%) Students are expected to: (a) Read all the required reading items for each class (items marked with * below) (b) Actively participate in class discussion of the reading materials (c) Submit approximately one page of your thoughts and responses to the reading materials to the instructor by email no later than 8:30 pm on Tuesday. There is no need to summarize the reading materials; I already know what is in them. I am interested in your original thoughts as you read through them. Your reactions will not be graded for the quality of their contents; you fulfill the requirement simply by submitting. To aid the writing of the response paper, some guiding questions will be posted on the course s website. Note: Failure to submit 3 or more response papers without a valid excuse will result in an incomplete grade, regardless of the other grade components. 2. Class presentation (19%) Every week starting on the 4 th week of classes, a student or team of students (depending on class size) will present a real-world case of intergroup conflict and analyze it according to the week s theme. Suggested cases for each week appear below, but the students are free to choose other cases in consultation with me. Students are especially encouraged to choose cases from their countries of origin, which may not be known worldwide. On the week of your presentation, you are exempt from submitting a response paper. 3. Final paper (70%) Analysis of a real case of inter-group conflict according to at least 3 of the themes discussed in the course. The case can be one of those presented in class or a different one. Approximately 10 pages double spaced (including a brief history of the conflict).
Schedule of classes: Week 1: Introduction, some basic definitions Week 2: Realistic approaches to conflict *Dougherty, J. E. & Pfaltzgraff, R. L. Jr. (1990). Contending theories of international relations: A comprehensive survey (3 rd ed.) (chapter 3: Power and realist theory). New York: HarperCollins. *Jackson, J. W. (1993). Realistic group conflict theory: A review and evaluation of the theoretical and empirical literature. The Psychological Record, 43(3), 395-414. Lebow, R. N. (2003). The tragic vision of politics: Ethics, interests and orders (chapter 7: The wisdom of classical realism). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Waltz, K. N. (1988). The origins of war in neorealist theory. Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 18(4), 615-628 Week 3: Rational choice approaches to conflict *Bornstein, G. (2003). Intergroup conflict: Individual, group, and collective interests. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 7, 129-145. *Dougherty, J. E. & Pfaltzgraff, R. L. Jr. (1990). Contending theories of international relations: A comprehensive survey (3 rd ed.) (chapter 12: Game theory, Gaming, Simulation and Bargaining) Fearon, J. (1995), Rationalist explanations for war. International Organization, 49(3), 379-414 Bueno de Mesquita, B. (1985). The war trap revisited: A revised expected utility model. American Political Science Review, 79, 156-177. Week 4: Perceptions and conflict *Jervis, R. (1988). War and misperception. Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 18(4), 675-700. *Fisher, R. J. & Kelman, H. C. (2011). Perceptions in conflict. In Bar-Tal, D. (ed.), Intergroup conflicts and their resolution: Social psychological perspective (pp. 61-81). New York: Psychology Press. Suggested cases for presentation: Cold war (U.S.-U.S.S.R.), U.S.-Iraq Week 5: Identity and conflict
* Brewer, M. B. (2011). Identity and conflict. In Bar-Tal, D. (ed.), Intergroup conflicts and their resolution: Social psychological perspective (pp. 125-143). New York: Psychology Press. * Jabri, V. (1996). Discourses on violence: Conflict analysis reconsidered (chapter 5: The construction of identity and the discourse of violence). Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press. Northrup, T. (1989). The dynamic of identity in personal and social conflict. In L. Kriesberg, T. Northrup, & S. Thorson, (Eds.), Intractable conflicts and their transformation (pp. 55-82). Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. Suggested cases for presentation: Northern Ireland, South Africa Week 6: Class conflict and inequality *Boswell, T. & Dixon, W. (1993). Marx's theory of rebellion: A cross national analysis of class exploitation, economic development and violent revolt. American Sociological Review, 58, 681-702. *Sidanius, J. & Pratto, F. (1999). Social Dominance (Chapter 2). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Schock, K. (1996). A conjectural model of political conflict: The impact of political opportunities on the relationship between economic inequality and violent political conflict. The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 40(1), 98-133. Suggested cases for presentation: El Salvador, Korea Week 7: Collective action and rebellion *McAdam, D., Tarrow, S., & Tilly, C. (2009). Comparative perspectives on contentious politics. In M. I. Lichbach & A. S. Zuckerman (Eds.), Comparative politics: Rationality, culture and structure (2 nd ed., pp. 260-290). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. *Useem, B. (1998). Breakdown theories of collective action. Annual Review of Sociology, 24, 215-238. Klandermans, B. (2004). The demand and supply of participation: Socialpsychological correlates of participation in social movements. In D. A. Snow, S. A. Saule, & H. Kriesi (Eds.), The Blackwell companion to social movements (pp. 360 379). Oxford, England: Blackwell. Suggested cases for presentation: Algerian independence, Basques in Spain Week 8: Ethnicity and conflict *Horowitz, D. L. (2001). The deadly ethnic riot (Chapter 2). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
*Sambanis, N. (2001). Do ethnic and nonethnic civil wars have the same causes? Journal of Conflict Resolution, 45, 259-282. Belanger, S. & Pinard, M. (1991). Ethnic movements and the competition model: Some missing links. American Sociological Review, 56, 446-457. Suggested cases for presentation: Cyprus, Balkans Week 9: Culture and conflict *Huntington, S. P. (1993). The clash of civilizations? Foreign Affairs, 72(3), 22-49. *Ross, M. H. (1998). The cultural dynamics of ethnic conflict. In D. Jacquin, A. Oros, & M. Verweij (Eds.), Culture in world politics (pp.156-186). Houndmills: Macmillan Galtung, J. (1990). Cultural violence. Journal of Peace Research, 27(3), 291-305 Suggested cases for presentation: Kashmir (India-Pakistan), Lebanon civil war Week 10: Extreme violence in conflict: Terrorism *Crenshaw, M. (1998). The logic of terrorism: Terrorist behavior as a product of strategic choice. In W. Reich (Ed.), Origins of terrorism: Psychologies, ideologies, theologies, states of mind (pp. 7-24). Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center Press. Reprinted in Betts, R. K. (Ed.), Conflict after the cold war (pp. 491-504). New York: Pearson Education, 2005. *Atran, S. (2003). Genesis of suicide terrorism. Science, 299, 1534-1539. Suggested cases for presentation: Sri Lanka, Al Qaeda vs. the West Week 11: Extreme violence in conflict: Genocide *Fein, H. (2002). Genocide: A sociological perspective. In Laban Hinton, A. (Ed.), Genocide: An anthropological reader (pp. 74-90). Malden, MA: Blackwell. *Staub, E. (1999). The roots of evil: personality, social conditions, culture and basic human needs. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3, 179-192. Suggested cases for presentation: Rwanda, Sudan Week 12: Intractable conflict (no class meeting on this week, presentation will take place on week 13) *Goertz, G., & Diehl, P.F. (1993). Enduring rivalries; Theoretical constructs and empirical patterns. International Studies Quarterly, 37, 147-171. *Bar-Tal, D. (2007). Sociopsychological foundations of intractable conflicts. American Behavioral Scientist, 50, 1430-1453. Coleman, P. T. (2003). Characteristics of protracted, intractable conflict: Towards the development of a metaframework - I. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 9(1), 1-37.
Suggested cases for presentation: Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Chechnya Week 13: Ethics and justice in conflicts *Johnson, J. T. (1999). Morality and contemporary warfare (chapter 1). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. *Krisch, N. (2002). Legality, morality, and the dilemma of humanitarian intervention after Kosovo. European Journal of International Law, 13(1), 323-335. Walzer, M. (2006). Just and unjust wars. New York: Basic Books. Suggested cases for presentation: East Timor, Ethiopia-Eritrea