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The seminar module offers a more extensive and more thorough analysis of a topic from within political science. To this end, the seminar module provides an overview and a critical discussion of the literature and the issues relevant for the topic of the seminar.
The objectives for this module are:
1. An in-depth understanding of the theories that dominate current debate on the causes of intrastate armed conflicts;
2. An overview of alternative theories that aim to explain the causes of intrastate armed conflicts;
3. Analytical skills that are requisite for the application of these theories in empirical analysis of the causes of particular conflicts;
4. An overview and analysis of the state-of-the-art empirical studies (both quantitative and qualitative) of intrastate armed conflicts.
By the end of the seminar students should be able to:
A total of 244 armed conflicts have been recorded since the end of the Second World War. Of these, 131 conflicts have been active in the post-Cold War period. These two straightforward facts suggest one clear conclusion: armed conflict remains to be a commonplace in contemporary world. However, the most striking fact is not the high number of these conflicts, but the fact that the majority of these violent events took place within states: out of those 131 conflicts , only eight have been fought between states. It simply means that the number of intrastate conflicts (at least in the post-Cold War period) is more than ten times higher than the number of interstate conflicts.
These numbers demonstrate how acute and widespread the phenomenon of intrastate armed conflict is. Identity wars, mass killings, violent coups and revolutions claim thousands of lives around the world every year. They cause shortage, famine, destruction, and underdevelopment. However, domestic effects are only the one side of the coin. The other side is that conflicts of this kind tend to spill (directly and indirectly) over the borders of the state where main fighting takes place. Such spill-over has an effect on the stability and development of whole regions. The export of terrorism and movement of refugees are only the few examples of this.
This course is aimed at examining causes of such devastating and wide-spread events. What are the factors that precede intrastate armed conflicts? Why do some of relatively stable countries erupt into mass violence and why do other seemingly unstable countries manage to solve internal issues by peaceful means? What are the main factors that researchers have identified associated with the risk of intrastate conflict?
These are the kinds of questions that could be asked in the context of particular conflicts as well: why did Hutus and Tutsis - ethnic communities that lived in neighbourhood for many years - throw themselves in an unprecedented slaughter of each other that claimed some 800 000 lives? What were the factors that inspired and motivated Croats, Bosnians and Serbs to immerse themselves in a bloody fight against each other after long years of peaceful coexistence? What were the structural reasons behind these conflicts? Are ethnic cleavages alone sufficient conditions for the eruption of violence?
These are the kinds of the questions that we will address and aim to answer in the course of the seminar. The seminar is divided into two main parts:
The first part is thus mostly concerned with the theoretical issues and the second is focused on empirical cases and theory application. It is important to note that this course deals explicitly with the initiation and onset of intrastate conflicts. The dynamics and termination of conflicts are not within the scope of this seminar. Therefore, issues related to conflict prevention, settlement, management, and resolution will not be explicitly dealt with in the seminar.
Applicants must be at Master level
Henrikas Bartusevicius
The assessment method is 6-hours written exam .
External examiner/Graded marking.
The seminar module requires active participation of students. At the beginning of the seminar module the lecturer and the students agree on specific "activity requirements" that the students have to fulfill.
The course is composed of introductory lectures, interactive discussion and student presentations. In the first part of the course the necessary theoretical background will be provided in the form of short lectures. The lectures will be followed with the analysis and discussion of the material indicated in the necessary and optional reading lists.
The second part of the course is composed of introductory lectures and student presentations. Students will be required to present analysis of particular conflicts and show the ability to choose and apply theoretical explanations introduced in the first part of the course to empirical cases of intrastate armed conflicts.
The module compendium consists of about 1,200 pages.
The complete reading list will be available prior to the beginning of the seminar. Examples include:
Collier, P., and Sambanis N. (eds.) (2005). Understanding Civil War: Evidence and Analysis, Vol. 1, Africa . Washington DC: World Bank.
-------. (2005). Understanding Civil War: Evidence and Analysis, Vol. 2, Other Regions . Washington DC: World Bank.
Collier, P., and Hoeffler, A. (2004). Greed and Grievance in Civil War. Oxford Economic Papers , 56 (4), 563-95.
Collier, P. (2007). Economic Causes of Civil Conflict and Their Implications for Policy. In Chester, C., Hampson D., and Aall, P. (Eds.). Leashing the Dogs of War: Conflict Management in a Divided World. Washington D.C.: United States Institute of Peace, 2007, 197-218.
Collier, P., Hoeffler, A., and Rohner, D. (2009). Beyond Greed and Grievance: Feasibility and Civil War. Oxford Economic Papers , 61 (1), 1-27.
David, R., Steven (1997). Internal War: Causes and Cures. World Politics , 49 (4), 552-576
Fearon, D., James, and Laitin, D., David (2003). Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War. American Political Science Review , 97 (1), 75-90.
Gurr, T. Robert (1971). Why Men Rebel? Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Gurr, T. Robert (2000). People versus States: Minorities at Risk in the New Century . Washington DC: United States Institute for Peace Press.
Harbom, L., and Wallensteen, P. (2010). Armed Conflicts, 1946-2009. Journal of Peace Research , 47 (4), 501-509.
Mueller, J. (2000). The Banality of ‘Ethnic War'. International Security , 25 (1), 42-70.
Smith, D. (2004). Trends and Causes in Armed Conflict. In Austin et al (eds.) Transforming Ethno-Political Conflicts: The Berghof Handbook. Berlin: Berghof Center for Constructive Conflict Management. Available at < http://www.berghof-handbook.net/ >.
Tilly, C. (1978). From Mobilization to Revolution . Reading MA: Addison Wesley.
