Course Overview
Civilians consistently comprise a large proportion of those killed and injured in contemporary armed conflicts. Repression extends beyond the battlefield, too. In addition to the high-profile genocides, ethnic cleansings, and mass displacements of the past century, civilians are regularly targeted by state and non-state actors in less headline-grabbing ways around the world. Notably, in the words of Carl von Clausewitz, “War is a continuation of politics by other means.” If indeed this is true, why do civilians so frequently become victims of violence as a tool of war?
This course investigates the dynamics influencing both state and non-state armed actors in their resort to various forms of violence across a range of conflicts. Specifically, this course will examine the causes and consequences of the use of violence in the context of armed conflict and contentious politics, with a focus on the targeting of civilians. Through this course, students will investigate a series of important and still-debated questions surrounding the use of political violence, including:
- What is political violence, and who carries it out?
- Can we explain political violence?
- Why use violence as a political tool? Is it rational?
- How do factors such as organizational structure, identity, or psychology complicate our explanations of political violence?
- What are the consequences of political violence?
- Can political violence be prevented?
In addition to critically examining these and other questions, students will acquire substantive understanding of various cases in which political violence was employed, develop their analytical skills in reading and evaluating social science research, and strengthen their abilities to practically apply their knowledge.