PSCI452 - CIVIL WARS

This course examines the causes, dynamics, and resolution of civil wars. The first section of the course examines competing theoretical arguments regarding causes of civil war, looking at how economic and political grievances may motivate groups to rebel against the government; why political leaders may sometimes encourage violence; and what role factors such as ethnicity, national identity, and a sense of insecurity play in the initiation of internal conflict. The second section of the course looks at how civil wars are fought, with discussion of guerilla warfare, counterinsurgency strategies, terrorism, and the role of humanitarian aid in conflict settings. In the third part of the course, focusing on the resolution of internal conflicts, topics include international intervention and peacekeeping; negotiated political arrangements such as power-sharing and partition; and post-conflict justice strategies such as domestic and international trials and truth commissions. Throughout the course, we will consider specific cases of civil war - for example, wars in El Salvador, Kosovo, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Uganda.