Political Violence

Catalog description

This course explores the main debates on the causes and consequences of political violence. We will focus on three major topics: civil wars, state-sponsored violence, and terrorism. Since the end of World War II, domestic conflict has largely outpaced international wars as the dominant type of violence. But what makes civil wars so prevalent in recent years? Why do some groups resort to terrorism while others use nonviolent tactics? The class has three goals. First, students will become familiar with the literature on political violence, its most important debates and recent findings. Second, students should be able to evaluate research methods and critically assess distinct theoretical approaches. Lastly, the course will develop the students’ writing skills by asking them to review academic articles and present a paper of their own by the end of the semester.