Politics of Civil Wars

Course Description

This course examines the causes, dynamics, and aftermath of civil wars. Topics include security dilemmas and commitment problems, greed versus grievance debates, social networks, recruitment and participation, patterns of violence against civilians, counterinsurgency strategies, rebel governance, ideology, war duration and termination, and long-term legacies.

Learning Objectives

• Develop a critical understanding of major theoretical approaches to the causes, dynamics, and consequences of civil wars.
• Strengthen ability to critically assess scholarship: core claims, evidence, methodological strengths and weaknesses, and portability of findings.
• Improve ability to discuss, debate, and write about complex phenomena with clarity and precision.

Requirements

Component	Weight
Participation	20%
Midterm Exam	25%
Final Exam	25%
Research Paper (10–12 pages)	30%

Topics

1. What are civil wars? Old vs. new conflicts
2. Uncertainty and commitment problems
3. Greed and opportunities
4. Grievances and horizontal inequalities
5. Organizing for rebellion: networks and resources
6. Inside insurgencies: recruitment, fragmentation, cohesion
7. Violence against civilians
8. Varieties of violence: kidnapping, sexual violence
9. Counterinsurgency
10. Rebel governance
11. Ideology in civil war
12. Legacies of war
13. War duration and termination

Films

• No Man’s Land (2001)
• Blood Diamond (2006)
• The Motorcycle Diaries (2005)
• The East (2020)
• La Sierra (2005)
• Hotel Rwanda (2004)
• The Act of Killing (2012)
• Restrepo (2010)
• Beasts of No Nation (2015)
• 5 Broken Cameras (2011)
• The Look of Silence (2014)
• The Siege of Jadotville (2016)