Please note: this is a theory and method heavy course and the application of both will be a mandatory requirement for the assignment(s). Students should be prepared to devote considerable time to familiarize themselves with methods and theory.
Civil war is the most common form of armed conflict today. While around thirty interstate wars have been fought since World War II, over one hundred civil wars have been recorded. Scholars have long focused their attention on civil conflict, producing a large body of literature on different aspects of civil war, e.g. exploring onset, duration, strategies, outcomes and termination, the formation of rebel groups, and the various forms of intervention in civil war. The module will introduce students to this body of research.
The module is divided into three parts. The first part provides an introduction to the study of civil war and an overview of the core concepts and theories that are common in the field. The second looks at explanations for conflict onset – why do civil wars break out in some places and not others? We especially focus on theories relevant to the well-known "greed versus grievance" debate and the "curse" of natural resources. Finally, we investigate the challenges of conflict resolution – why do some negotiated settlements successfully prevent the recurrence of conflict, while others are prone to failure?