Political Science - International Conflict

Catalog description

The goal of this course is to gain an analytical understanding of the conditions, processes, and events which lead to the outbreak and escalation of war. This course focuses predominantly on the causes of interstate conflict, but also includes a brief examination of the causes of civil war. The course highlights the complexity of the conflict subject matter, scrutinizing through the many lenses of International Relations (IR) theory, including but not limited to realism and the balance of power, levels of analysis, misperception, rivalries, grievances, bargaining, and insecurity. In addition, the course applies existing theoretical and empirical research to an examination of case studies which include World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. Prerequisite: Sophomore level or consent of the instructor.