Selected Topics in International Relations:Civil Conflict and International Intervention

Politically-motivated violence is frequently committed in the form of civil conflict, and, even so, it often occurs with the involvement of international actors.   This course explores two main sets of questions: when, why, and how are terrorist campaigns and civil wars fought? And, when, why, and how do international actors intervene to end them?   This course draws on different theoretical and empirical approaches to answer these questions.   It is designed to help political science graduate students: (1) understand the causes, strategies, and consequences of civil conflict and international intervention, (2) broaden their theoretical framework in international relations generally, (3) engage with the existing work in the field and begin original research on civil conflict and international intervention.   The research projects should serve as the basis for dissertation prospectuses, dissertation chapters, or publishable articles.