Police are often the state institution that we are most likely to interact with regularly, and they are the main institution mandated to provide day-to-day security, one of the most fundamental governance functions. However, while police are responsible for public safety, they can also be an instrument for control and even repression by the state. And, in general, security can be hard to (re)establish, especially after civil war.
This seminar therefore focuses on policing in various global contexts, especially post-conflict, and it examines the politics around these security institutions. We will examine what state forces look like during civil war, how the design of state security institutions changes post-conflict, especially with regard to the police, and how these institutions function and potentially contribute to peacebuilding. Post-conflict orders are especially prone to failure. We will also think beyond these states that have had civil conflict to understand questions about policing more broadly.
The seminar is especially aimed at both the substantive of this topic, as well as the research process, beginning focused study of specific cases. In this course, taking the comparative perspective seriously, all students will develop case studies on how policing structures and controls change at pivotal moments of conflict termination and then how those changes affect outcomes such as citizen trust and cooperation. Students may also choose to code variables about post-conflict state policing, rebel demobilization, and peacekeeper patrolling if they wish for a mixed-method approach. Significant portions of the class will focus on collecting and assembling descriptive evidence in case studies.
The Junior Seminars are intense writing seminars which focus on the research area of the faculty member teaching the course. The seminars provide an opportunity for students to have direct intellectual interactions with faculty members while also giving the students an understanding for faculty research.
Subfield: Either International Relations or Comparative Politics
Political Science Majors of Junior and Senior status (must be 3rd or 4th year students with at least 60 units completed) with a minimum overall UC GPA of 3.25. Interested and eligible students must email Professor Aila Matanock at matanock@berkeley.edu with a 250-word maximum statement of interest, ideally a week before they would like to enroll, and Prof. Matanock will review and contact them with enrollment instructions.