Ethnic Conflict and Civil War

Ethnic Conflict and Civil War Course Description SEST-537-01 Spring 2009 Mondays 6:15 8:05 pm ICC 219A Security Studies Program Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service Georgetown University Dr. Tammy S. Schultz E-mail: tss2@georgetown.edu Phone: (202) 550-3921 Office Hours: By Appointment The purpose of this course is to provide you with a framework for understanding and analyzing ethnic conflicts. The course starts by investigating if ethnic conflict and civil war are international security issues, and then delves into their various causes. Since responses to conflict cannot be divorced from the conflict s source, the bulk of the course is designed to offer various strategies that will continue to raise questions regarding the root causes conflict. Course Requirements This course is a seminar, which means you are expected to participate fully in the discussion during each class period. Each week s total amount of reading is limited as compared to some other graduate courses. The tradeoff is that you are expected to read each week s assignment before coming to class, and spent time thinking about issues the reading elicited. You should also follow current events relevant to this course. Given world events and the change of U.S. administrations, students are put on notice that this syllabus may change during the semester to best leverage opportunities for further study. In addition to providing substantive knowledge on ethnic conflict and civil war, you will also hone skills that will be useful following your education in the Security Studies Program. Instead of writing long research papers, you will write concise, well-research policy memoranda. You will also prepare a short oral briefing for the class. 1

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Your grade will be based on three memoranda, an in-class briefing, and class participation, with each worth the following percentage of your grade: First Memorandum 25% Second Memorandum 25% Third Memorandum 25% In-Class Briefing 20% Class Participation 5% Each of the memoranda should be 3 pages long, double spaced. Topics and further instructions shall be handed out in class, at least two weeks in advance. Topics and guidelines for the oral briefings shall be handed out after the President s Day Break. Deadlines are strict; no extensions will be granted in the absence of a genuine emergency. A late assignment will be downgraded a full letter grade for every 24 hour period that it is late starting with the first hour. All assignments are due at the start of class. Please note the University s policy on plagiarism as it will be followed for this course: Plagiarism, in any of its forms, and whether intentional or unintentional, violates standards of academic integrity. Plagiarism is the act of passing off as one s own the ideas or writings of another. While different academic disciplines have different modes for attributing credit, all recognize and value the contributions of individuals to the general corpus of knowledge and expertise. Students are responsible for educating themselves as to the proper mode of attributing credit in any course or field. Note that plagiarism can be said to have occurred without any affirmative showing that a student s use of another s work was intentional. For more information or if you have any questions, visit: http:// gervaseprograms.georgetown.edu/honor/system/53377.html, or see your University Handbook. 3

Books The following books are available at the Georgetown University Bookstore and at other book retailers. We will be using them extensively during the semester and I recommend you buy them. Daniel Byman, Keeping the Peace: Lasting Solutions to Ethnic Conflicts. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002 Jock Covey, Michael J. Dziedzic, and Leonard R. Hawley, The Quest for a Viable Peace: International Intervention and Strategies for Conflict Transformation. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace, 2005 Course Schedule Week Date Topic 1 January 7 note Monday class held on WEDNESDAY Are Ethnic Conflict and Civil War International Security Issues? 2 January 12 Sources of Ethnic Conflict and Civil War January 19 3 January 26 Genocide NO CLASS, Martin Luther King Day 4 February 2 Overview of Strategies for a Viable Peace MEMORADUM #1 TOPIC GIVEN 5 February 9 Strategies for a Viable Peace: Identity Transformation/ Reconciliation February 16 NO CLASS, President s Day 6 February 23 Domestic Strategies for a Viable Peace MEMORADUM #1 DUE IN-CLASS BRIEFING INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN 7 March 2 Political Strategies for a Viable Peace Part I March 9 NO CLASS, Spring Break 8 March 16 Political Strategies for a Viable Peace Part II 9 March 23 Political Strategies for a Viable Peace Part III MEMORADUM #2 TOPIC GIVEN 10 March 30 Intervention Strategies for a Viable Peace Part I 11 April 6 Intervention Strategies for a Viable Peace Part II MEMORADUM #2 DUE MEMORADUM #3 TOPIC GIVEN April 13 NO CLASS, Easter Break 4

12 April 20 Strategies for a Viable Peace: Securing the Peace 13 April 27 Holistic Strategies for a Viable Peace MEMORADUM #3 DUE Week 1: January 7, Are Ethnic Conflict and Civil War International Security Issues? Human Security Centre, The University of British Columbia, Canada, Human Security Report 2005: War and Peace in the 21 st Century. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005, Overview, Part 1, and Part 4. Available at: <http://www.humansecurityreport.info/hsr2005_pdf/overview.pdf> <http://www.humansecurityreport.info/hsr2005_pdf/part1.pdf> <http://www.humansecurityreport.info/hsr2005_pdf/part4.pdf> The Economist Magazine. The Price of Peace, April 22, 2004 Week 2: January 12, Sources of Ethnic Conflict and Civil War Daniel Byman, Keeping the Peace, Chapter 1 Ethnic Conflict in Today s World, and Chapter 2 Causes of Ethnic Conflict Samuel Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations, Foreign Affairs. Summer 1993 Barry Posen, The Security Dilemma and Ethnic Conflict, Survival, Spring 1993, pp. 27-47 Stephen Van Evera, Hypotheses on Nationalism and War, International Security, Spring 1994, pp. 5-39 Paul Collier, The Market for Civil War, Foreign Policy, May-June 2003, pp. 38-45 John Mueller, The Banality of Ethnic War, International Security, Summer 2000, pp. 42-70 5

Week 3: January 26, Genocide Samantha Power, Bystanders to Genocide, The Atlantic, September 2001. Available at: <http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200109/power-genocide> Human Security Centre, The University of British Columbia, Canada, Human Security Report 2005: War and Peace in the 21 st Century. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005, Part 2. Available at: <http://www.humansecurityreport.info/hsr2005_pdf/part2.pdf> Madeleine K. Albright and William S. Cohen, Preventing Genocide: A Blueprint for U.S. Policymakers, Washington, DC: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, The American Academy of Diplomacy, and the Endowment of the United States Institute of Peace, 2008. Available at: < http://www.usip.org/ genocide_taskforce/pdf/final%20report.pdf> NO CLASS JANUARY 19, MLK HOLIDAY Week 4: February 2, Overview of Strategies for a Viable Peace The Quest for a Viable Peace, Introduction Susan E. Rice and Stewart Patrick, Index of State Weakness in the Developing World. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution, 2008. Available at: <http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/files/rc/reports/2008/02_weak_states_index/ 02_weak_states_index.pdf> Week 5: February 9, Strategies for a Viable Peace: Identity Transformation/Reconciliation MEMORADUM #1 TOPIC GIVEN Isak Svensson, Fight with Faith: Religion and Conflict Resolution in Civil Wars, Journal of Conflict Resolution, December 2007: pp. 930-949. Available at: <http://jcr.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/51/6/930> Dan Byman, Keeping the Peace, Chapter 5 Manipulating Ethnic Identities In Class Movie: The Power of Forgiveness 6

Week 6: February 23, Domestic Strategies for a Viable Peace Quest for a Viable Peace, Chapter 8 Forging a Viable Peace: Developing a Legitimate Political Economy Daniel Byman, Keeping the Peace, Chapter 3 Control Policies, Chapter 4 Co- Optation, and Chapter 6 Participatory Systems NO CLASS FEBRUARY 16, PRESIDENT S DAY Week 7: March2, Political Strategies for a Viable Peace Part I MEMORADUM #1 DUE Week 8: Daniel Byman, Keeping the Peace, Chapter 7 The Promise and Perils of Partition Nicholas Sambanis, Partition as a Solution to Ethnic War: An Empirical Critique of the Theoretical Literature, World Politics, July 2000, pp. 437-483, Available at: http://0-muse.jhu.edu.library.lausys.georgetown.edu/journals/world_politics/ v052/52.4sambanis.pdf Carter Johnson, Partitioning to Peace: Sovereignty, Demography, and Ethnic Civil Wars, International Security, Spring 2008, Vol. 32, No. 4, Pages 140-170 March 16, Political Strategies for a Viable Peace Part II James L. Gibson, Does Truth Lead to Reconciliation? Testing the Causal Assumptions of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Process, American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 48, No. 2 (Apr., 2004), pp. 201-217. Available at: <http://0-www.jstor.org.library.lausys.georgetown.edu/stable/pdfplus/ 1519878.pdf> Megan Shore, Christianity and Justice in the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission: A Case Study in Religious Conflict Resolution, Political Theology, 2008: pp. 161-178, Available at: <http:// www.politicaltheology.com/ojs/index.php/pt/article/view/5517/3644> Paul Van Zyl, Dilemmas of Transitional Justice: The Case of South Africa s True and Reconciliation Commission, Journal of International Affairs, Spring 1999, pp. 647-668, Available at: <http://www.fathom.com/feature/ 121825/2392_van_zyl.pdf> 7

Week 9: March 23, Strategies for a Viable Peace: Political Responses Part III MEMORADUM #2 TOPIC GIVEN Quest for a Viable Peace, Chapter 4 The Custodian of the Peace Process, and Chapter 5 Making a Viable Peace: Moderating Political Conflict NO CLASS MARCH 9, SPRING BREAK Week 10: March 30, Intervention Strategies for a Viable Peace Part I Quest for a Viable Peace, Chapter 3 Advance Political-Military Planning: Laying the Foundation for Achieving Viable Peace * Other reading to be determined based on current U.S. policy * Week 11: April 6, Intervention Strategies for a Viable Peace Part II MEMORADUM #2 DUE MEMORADUM #3 TOPIC GIVEN Daniel Byman, Keeping the Peace, Chapter 8 Military Intervention in Ethnic Conflict * Other reading to be determined based on current U.S. policy * NO CLASS APRIL 13, EASTER BREAK Week 12: April 20, Strategies for a Viable Peace: Securing the Peace Quest for a Viable Peace, Chapter 6 Securing a Viable Peace: Defeating Militant Extremists Fourth-Generation Peace Implementation, and Chapter 7 Safeguarding a Viable Peace: Institutionalizing the Rule of Law Week 13: April 27, Holistic Strategies for a Viable Peace MEMORADUM #3 DUE Daniel Byman, Keeping the Peace, Chapter 9 Dilemmas and Choices 8

Quest for a Viable Peace, Chapter 9 Linkages among the Transformation Strategies, and Chapter 10 Conclusion 9