STV4325B - The Causes of Political Violence
Course description
Course content
The study of political violence, defined as organized violence utilized for a political rather than personal economic goal, has changed substantially over the last decade. As war between states has almost ceased to exist, other forms of political violence has gained more attention. The course provides an overview of the most important theories on the causes of political violence, and the empirical analyses supporting (or negating) them. The data from these analyses will be made available for the class. A particular focus will be on the most current topics in the literature and the questions we believe will be important in the years ahead.
Learning outcome
Knowledge
The students will become familiar with:
- how conflict is defined, operationalized and coded.
- central theoretical and empirical contributions to the scholarly literature on intrastate, one-sided and non-state conflicts.
- issues relating to non-state violence, and discuss issues relating to conflicts that do not involve the state as an actor.
- bargaining and war, where the most important works on bargaining theory and conflict are presented.
- development and conflict, and discuss issues relating to the role of development in inducing especially civil conflict
- recent research on non-violent conflict, with a particular focus on non-violence as a strategy for regime-change in dictatorships
- issues relating to ethnicity, cleavages and conflict, and discuss issues relating to the link between economic inequality, political exclusion, ethnic cleavages and conflict.
- the research on regimes and conflict, and discuss the connection between regime characteristics, as well as topics relating to the democratic civil peace theory.
- institutional design and conflict, and discuss the link between specific institutions – with a focus on elections, institutional quality, and power-sharing institutions – and conflict.
- the debate about geography and conflict, and be able to discuss geographical and environmental issues, including the debate on climate change and conflict.
- issues relating to recruitment to war, and discuss how fighting organizations recruit and retain personnel, and what this implies for conflict.
Skills
The students will:
- develop the ability to assess empirical contributions to the literature on armed conflict .
- develop practical skills in conducting systematic search for literature and data.
- acquire practical skills in conducting independent empirical study.
Competences
The students will:
- enhance their capability to think critically and reason about central arguments about the causes of armed conflict
- get a practical problem-driven approach to investigating the causes of conflict
Admission
Students admitted to other Master programmes may be qualified to apply for the course. Please see the webpage on Admission to single master's courses.
For incoming students: All Master's courses in Political Science must be registered manually by the Department, they will not appear in Studentweb. Contact your international coordinator at UiO.
Prerequisites
Formal prerequisite knowledge
BA in political science or similar, plus STV4020, PECOS4021 and/or STV4025.
Recommended previous knowledge
Intermediate knowledge of quantitative methods and comparative research designs
Overlapping courses
10 credits overlap with STV4232B - Causes of War (discontinued)
Teaching
10 lectures will be given. The lectures are held intensively for a period of 5 weeks, with the exam in the sixth week. Some of the lectures will be given by guest lecturers from the Centre for the Study of Civil War at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO).
Examination
One academic paper (10-15 pages in total), and a 3-hour written exam.
The paper may be written alone or in groups of 2 (20 pages allowed) or 3 (30 pages allowed). In order to receive a passing grade on the essay, your topic will have to reflect the course readings and curriculum. All chosen topics should be approved by the course instructor before the deadline. An essay topic not reflecting the curriculum, will receive a failing grade (F).
The final paper counts 60% of the grade, and in order to pass the course, your essay and your written exam must be passed in the same semester as the course is taught. You will receive one overall grade for the course.
Examination support material
Students may use dictionaries at this exam. Dictionaries must be handed in before the examination. Please read regulations for dictionaries permitted at the examination.
Language of examination
It is possible to submit your response in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
Explanations and appeals
- Explanation of grades - deadline and processing time
- Appeal about grades
- Complaint about formal exam errors
Ask for explanation of your grade in this course
Resit an examination
Withdrawal from an examination
If you wish to withdraw from the exam you must do so in StudentWeb at least two weeks prior to the deadline. Failure to do so will be counted as one of the three opportunities to sit the exam.
Special examination arrangements
If you have a disability or a health problem that entails significant inconvenience in an examination situation, you may be considered for special examination arrangements. Mothers who are breastfeeding may apply for extra time to complete the exam.
Evaluation
Feedback from our students is essential to us in our efforts to ensure and further improve the high quality of our programmes and courses. All courses are subject to continuous evaluation. At regular intervals we also ask students on a particular course to participate in a more comprehensive, periodic evaluation of this course.