PS 439G-001: Civil Conflict Course Time: MW 3:30-4:45pm Location: Whitehall Classroom Bldg, Rm. 208-CB Course Website: http://www.uky.edu/~clthyn2/ps439g/ps439g.htm Instructor: Dr. Clayton Thyne Office Hours: MW 1:00-2:30pm or by appointment Email: clayton.thyne@uky.edu Phone: 859-257-6958 COURSE DESCRIPTION This course exposes students to the burgeoning academic literature on civil wars, concentrating on the causes, duration, management, and consequences of civil wars. The first part of the class examines factors that make civil wars more or less likely to occur, such as greed, grievance, ethnic conflict, economic development, income, and regime type. These factors are studied in the context of several case studies of prominent civil wars. The second part of the course focuses on factors that increase or decrease the length or duration of civil wars including rebel group motivations, rebel group financing, misperceptions, commitment problems, military factors, and state capacity. The final section of the class seeks to understand the frequency and success of third party conflict management in civil wars and the broader internal and external consequences of civil wars, including economic growth, economic development, public health, education, and democratization. COURSE REQUIREMENTS Your course grade is based on class participation, quizzes, two exams, and a final paper. 1. Class Attendance and Participation (10%): This course will be run as an upper division seminar. Each class period will involve a discussion of the readings and audio/video clips assigned for that day. You must come to class and be prepared to discuss each reading. While you are reading the assigned course material, I encourage you to consider the following questions: a) What is the research question? b) What is the researcher's theoretical argument? c) What methods/approach does the author use to try to answer the question? d) Is this approach suitable for the question or theory? e) If the author provides empirical tests, are the operational measures of the concepts appropriate? f) What are the most significant research findings & how do these relate to other course readings? g) To what degree do you think the researcher has answered his/her research questions? In regards to attendance, I expect you to come to every session to get full participation points. I will pass around an attendance sheet daily, which you ll have to sign. I will subtract 2 points from your final grade for each unexcused absence. You must have documentation for an absence to be excused for an illness. Given the massive number of potential excuses, I will deal with all other excuses on a case-by-case basis using the reasonable man standard (e.g., grandma passing away, scholarship interview=excused; tailgating horse races, massive hangover=unexcused). 2. Research Paper (25%): You will write a research paper that applies concepts and theories discussed in the course to a specific civil war. I will distribute a description of the paper assignment on the first day of class and post a copy on the course website as well. You must turn in a hard copy and an identical electronic version of your paper. A hard copy of the paper is due at the beginning of class on December 10 th. Any paper turned in after the start of class will be penalized 10% for every 12 hours, or part thereof, that the paper is late. You are also required to email me an exact version of the paper in Microsoft Word format by 5pm on December 10th. The electronic version will allow me to use appropriate software to check for plagiarism. 3. Examinations (25% each): There are two exams in this course, a midterm exam and a final exam (not comprehensive). The midterm exam is scheduled on Wednesday, Oct. 22 and the final exam is scheduled on Monday,
Dec. 15 at 1pm. Make-up exams will be given only to students with medical or personal emergencies. You should make every reasonable effort to contact me before the exam or you will receive zero credit. 4. Quizzes (15%): You will have six announced quizzes throughout the semester. The quiz dates are listed in the course schedule below. While the exams will ask you to think deeply about the readings (i.e., be mostly essay), the quizzes are simply meant to make sure you are doing the readings. Thus, the questions will be multiple-choice and relatively easy. Five of the six quiz grades will count towards your final grade. The lowest grade will be dropped. Quizzes cannot be made up for any circumstance. If you miss class on a quiz date, that will be the quiz I drop when calculating your final grade. Final course grades will be assigned using the following scale: A 100% - 90% B 89.9% - 80% C 79.9% - 70% D 69.9% - 60% E 59.9% - 0% In order to receive a passing grade in this course, ALL COURSE WORK MUST BE COMPLETED. Any student who does not complete the Research Paper, or take both the Midterm and the Final Exam, will receive an automatic grade of E. A student wishing to appeal any grade given in this class must make their request in writing prior to meeting with the instructor. The written appeal must be typed and clearly state the reason(s) the student feels the grade they received is incorrect. Appeals that just ask for more points will not be considered by the instructor. The instructor reserves the right to re-grade the entire exam or assignment once an appeal is made, this may result in an increase or decrease in the score a student receives. Plagiarism and Cheating Students are advised to retain all notes and drafts for all work until after they receive their final grade. Students should also be aware that the instructor takes matters of plagiarism and cheating very seriously and is prone to imposing the most severe penalty allowed by university rules, which includes, but is not limited to, issuing an automatic grade of 0.0 for the entire course. Special Needs If you have a documented disability that requires academic accommodations, please see me as soon as possible during scheduled office hours. In order to receive accommodations in this course, you must provide me with a Letter of Accommodation from the disability Resource Center (Room 2, Alumni Gym, 257-2754, jkarnes@email.uky.edu). TEXTBOOKS (Available at UK Bookstore) Collier, Paul et al. 2003. Breaking the Conflict Trap: Civil War and Development Policy. The World Bank. Walter, Barbara F. 2002. Committing to Peace: The Successful Settlement of Civil Wars. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Electronic links to journal articles and audio/video can be found on the course website: http://www.uky.edu/~clthyn2/ps439g/ps439g.htm
SECTION I: INTRODUCTION Date Topic Required Readings/Audio/Video Wed, 08/27 Course introduction None Mon, 09/01 Labor Day no class None Wed, 09/03 What is a civil war? Gleditsch, Nils Petter, Peter Wallensteen, Mikael Eriksson, Margareta Sollenberg, and Håvard Strand. 2002. Armed Conflict 1946 2001: A New Dataset. Journal of Peace Research 39:615 637. Harbom, Lotta, and Peter Wallensteen (2007). Armed Conflict, 1989-2006. Journal of Peace Research, 44(5): 623-634. What Constitutes a Civil War? (NPR) Pentagon Report Acknowledges Civil War in Iraq (NPR) Mon, 09/08 Wed, 09/10 Why should we care about civil wars? Understanding scientific research Uchendu, Egodi (2007). Recollections of Childhood Experiences During the Nigerian Civil War. Africa, 77(3): 393-418. Former Child Soldier Recalls Experiences in Sierra Leone (Newshour) On Our Watch A Documentary about Genocide in Darfur (Refugees International) Liberia s Women Soldiers Fight for Dignity, Peace (NPR) Child Soldiers of the Lord s Resistance Army (NPR) Guide to Reading Statistical Articles Neill, James. 2007. Qualitative versus Quantitative Research: Key Points in a Classic Debate Del Siegle. 2008. Qualitative versus Quantitative
SECTION II: THE CAUSES OF CIVIL WAR Date Topic Required Readings/Audio/Video Mon, 09/15 Psychological factors Gurr, Ted (1968). Psychological Factors in Civil Violence. World Politics, 20(2): 245-278. QUIZ 1 covering 09/13 to 09/10 Countries on the Verge of Collapse (NPR) Palestinians Buy Supplies in Egypt After Wall Breach (NPR) Wed, 09/17 Greed vs. Grievance Collier, Paul and Hoeffler, Anke 2004. Greed and Grievance in Civil War. Oxford Economic Papers. 56: 563-595. Chad s Oil Money Raises Stakes (NPR) The Dark Side of Diamonds (NPR) Mon, 09/22 Ethnicity & Insurgency Fearon, James D. and David Laitin. 2003. Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War. American Political Science Review 97(1): 75-90. Kenya Unrest Rooted in Tribal Tensions, Corruption (NPR) Africa Update: Racial Tensions in Zimbabwe (NPR) The History Behind Recent Violence in Serbia (NPR) Wed, 09/24 Resources and Civil War Ross, Michael L. 2004. How Do Natural Resources Influence Civil War? Evidence from Thirteen Cases. International Organization 58: 35-67. FARC has Ability to Keep Fighting, Expert Says (NPR) Sierra Leone s Conflict Diamond Trade (NPR) Mon, 09/29 Resources and Civil War QUIZ 2 covering 09/15 to 09/24 Sorli, Mirjam E., Nils Petter Gleditsch and Havard Strand (2005). Why is there so much Conflict in the Middle East? Journal of Conflict Resolution, 49(1):141-165. Climate Change a Global and Diplomatic Issue (NPR) Climate Change Worries Military Advisors (NPR)
Wed, 10/01 The Geography of Civil War Buhaug, Halvard and Scott Gates. 2002. The Geography of Civil War. Journal of Peace Research 39(4): 417-433. Rebels Seize Control of Capital in Chad (NPR) Tajikistan Northern Alliance (NPR) Mon, 10/06 Ethnicity & Conflict Ellingsen, Tanja. 2000. Colorful Community or Ethnic Witches Brew? Multiethnicity and Domestic Conflict During and After the Cold War. Journal of Conflict Resolution 44(2): 228-249. Ethnic Conflict Persists in Bosnia, 10 Years After Pact (NPR) Study Questions Genocide s Toll on Hutus, Tutsis (NPR) Wed, 10/08 Democracy & Civil War Hegre, Havard, Tanja Ellingsen, Scott Gates, and Nils Petter Gleditsch. 2001. Towards a Democratic Civil Peace? Democracy, Political Change, and Civil War, 1816-1992. American Political Science Review 95(1): 33-48. Officials Begin Tallying Vote in Liberian Election (NPR) Shiite Power Struggle is Iraq s Last Battle (NPR) Mon, 10/13 Separatist & Non- Separatist Wars QUIZ 3 covering 09/29 to 10/08 Buhaug, Halvard. 2006. Relative Capability and Rebel Objective in Civil War. Journal of Peace Research 43(6): 691-708. Q&A: Russia-Georgia Conflict Has Deep Roots (NPR) Violence Escalates in Georgia (NPR) Africa Update: Somalia in Crisis (NPR) Wed, 10/15 Diffusion of Civil Wars Salehyan, Idean and Kristian Skrede Gleditsch. 2006. Refugees and the Spread of Civil War. International Organization 60: 335-366. Iraqi Kurds Prepare for Possible Turkish Invasion (NPR) Iraqi Refugees a Relief Problem for Neighbors (NPR)
Mon, 10/20 Transnational Forces Thyne, Clayton L. 2006. Cheap Signals with Costly Consequences: The Effect of Interstate Relations on Civil War, 1945-1999. Journal of Conflict Resolution. Wed, 10/22 Midterm exam N. Africa Anti-Terror Efforts Too Harsh, Critics Say (NPR) Chinese Influence in Sudan is Subtle, Complicated (NPR) Observers Warn of U.S. Manipulation in Nicaragua (NPR)
SECTION III: CIVIL WAR DURATION, OUTCOMES, AND CONSEQUENCES Date Topic Required Readings/Audio/Video Mon, 10/27 How Civil Wars End Mason, T. David and Patrick J. Fett. 1996. How Civil Wars End: A Rational Choice Approach. Journal of Conflict Resolution 40(4): 546-568. Analyst: Afghan Insurgents Unlikely to Succeed (NPR) Lebanese Still Seek Unity 30 Years after Civil War (NPR) Wed, 10/29 Civil War Duration Balch-Lindsay, Dylan and Andrew J. Enterline. 2000. Killing Time: The World Politics of Civil War Duration, 1820-1992. International Studies Quarterly 44(4): 615-642. Considering U.S. Intervention in Sudan (NPR) The U.N. and the World s Hot Spots (NPR) Mon, 11/03 Civil War Duration Collier, Paul, Anke Hoeffler, and Mans Soderbam. 2004. On the Duration of Civil War. Journal of Peace Research 41(3): 253-273. Media Ignores Bloody Conflict in the Congo (NPR) Army Seizes Control of Oil-Rich Mauritania (NPR) Wed, 11/05 Civil War Duration Fearon, James D. 2004. Why Do Some Civil Wars Last So Much Longer than Others? Journal of Peace Research 41(3): 275-301. Fighting Cuts Off Northern Sri Lankan City (NPR) Tibetan Sovereignty Has a Long, Disputed History (NPR) Mon, 11/10 Civil War Outcomes QUIZ 4 covering 10/27 to 11/05 DeRouen, Karl R. Jr. and David Sobek. 2004. The Dynamics of Civil War Duration and Outcome. Journal of Peace Research 41(3): 303-320. Africa Update: Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan (NPR) From Rebel to Official in Southern Sudan (NPR)
Wed, 11/12 Civil War Recurrence Walter, Barbara F. 2004. Does Conflict Beget Conflict? Explaining Recurring Civil War. Journal of Peace Research 41(3): 371-388. Congo Feeling Aftershocks of Civil War (NPR) Guatemala Seeks Peace after Decades of War (NPR) Mon, 11/17 Health & Social Consequences Ghobarah, Hazem Adam, Paul Huth, and Bruce Russett. 2003. Civil Wars Kill and Maim People Long After the Shooting Stops. American Political Science Review 97(2): 189-202. Fighting AIDS in Uganda (NPR) Efforts to Re-Open Liberia s Schools Delayed (NPR) Wed, 11/19 The Conflict Trap Collier et al. (2003), pages 1-49 Debt Relief Provides Limited Boost to Mozambique (NPR) Violence Takes Toll on Ivory Coast Economy (NPR) Mon, 11/24 Wed, 11/26 The Conflict Trap QUIZ 5 covering 11/10-11/19 Thanksgiving break no class Collier et al. (2003), pages 51-118 Insurgency Movements (NPR)
SECTION IV: BREAKING THE CONFLICT TRAP Date Topic Required Readings/Audio/Video Mon, 12/01 Committing to Peace Walter, Chapters 1-2 United Nations Peacekeeping (NPR) U.N. Debates Darfur Peacekeepers (NPR) Congo Feeling Aftershocks of Civil War (NPR) Wed, 12/03 Mon, 12/08 Wed, 12/10 Mon, 12/15 at 1pm Committing to Peace: Zimbabwe & Rwanda Breaking the Conflict Trap QUIZ 6 covering 11/24 to 12/03 Course wrap-up and review Final exam Walter, Chapters 6-7 Unrest in Zimbabwe (NPR) Africa Update: Racial Tensions in Zimbabwe (NPR) U.S., Yugoslavia and Rwanda (NPR) Rwanda (NPR) Collier et al. (2003), pages 121-188 The Bottom Billion (Paul Collier, Oxford lecture) Final paper due