Why do civil wars begin and end? Which people join rebellions? Why do states and non-state groups hurt civilians? What are the differences between rebel groups, terrorist organizations, and organized criminal groups? The seminar-based class aims introduce students to theories about and cases of sub-state political violence. It primarily draws on research in Political Science, though it also includes work from Economics, Criminology, and Philosophy. Grades will be based on class participation, a written critique of a course reading, a written application of an argument made in a course reading to a new empirical case not discussed in that reading, and a literature review.
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Understand and critique the key arguments made in social science research publications
- Draw from empirical cases to evaluate theoretical arguments
- Use scholars’ theoretical arguments to inform their understanding of empirical cases
- Marshal evidence and logic to present their arguments in both written and verbal form
After taking the course, students will be prepared to take POL S 488 (Honors Thesis Design Seminar) and POL S 489 (Honors Thesis Writing).