Conflict Analysis

Catalog description

This seminar will explore seminal writings on the nature and causes of contemporary intra-state armed conflict, political violence, and civil war; the political economy of armed conflict; the state of the art on conflict prevention, mediation, and negotiation; and assessments of peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts in countries emerging from conflict. Students will have the option of producing a major paper as part of the requirement for the POL major, or a more modest research paper if they do not need to meet the POL major paper requirement. One or more joint class sessions may be held with Batton visiting professor Stephen Kalin’s course on reporting from war zones. Prerequisites & Notes POL 182 (Methods), taken either in advance of the seminar or taken during the fall 2025 semester; and permission of the instructor.