This is an archived course. A more recent version may be available at ocw.mit.edu.

Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 1 sessions / week, 2 hours / session

Description

This course surveys the social science literature on civil war. It studies the origins of civil war, discusses variables affecting duration, and examines termination of conflict. This subject is highly interdisciplinary and covers a wide variety of cases, although with concentration on various Balkan civil wars.

Requirements

The course is a seminar. Therefore, all students are expected to read the materials before each session and be ready to engage in class discussion.

A two-page position paper on an assigned topic will be due before most classes. A comparative paper of at least twenty pages is due at the end of the course.

Grading

ACTIVITIES PERCENTAGES
Class Participation 25%
Position Papers 25%
Final Comparative Paper 50%