Understanding War - JTM669

• Anglický název: Understanding War
• Český název: Pochopit válku
• Zajišťuje: Katedra severoamerických studií (23-KAS)
• Fakulta: Fakulta sociálních věd
• Platnost: od 2023
• Semestr: zimní
• E-Kredity: 6
• Způsob provedení zkoušky: zimní s.:
• Rozsah, examinace: zimní s.:1/1, Zk [HT]
• Počet míst: 15 / neurčen (30)
• Minimální obsazenost: neomezen
• 4EU+: ne
• Virtuální mobilita / počet míst pro virtuální mobilitu: ne
• Stav předmětu: vyučován
• Jazyk výuky: angličtina
• Způsob výuky: prezenční
• Způsob výuky: prezenční
• Poznámka: předmět je možno zapsat mimo plán; povolen pro zápis po webu; při zápisu přednost, je-li ve stud. plánu
• Garant: Dr. Stephen Long
• Vyučující: Dr. Stephen Long
• Třída: Courses for incoming students

Anotace

Poslední úprava: Dr. Stephen Long (07.09.2023)

An exploration of the academic literature on the causes of war.

Cíl předmětu

Poslední úprava: Dr. Stephen Long (07.09.2023)

The first goal of the course is to guide students through the literature that has resulted from decades of scientific research on the causes of international conflict. Students will gain a more advanced understanding of traditional theories of international relations, such as realism and liberalism, as well as research that views conflict in terms of historical relationships, contentious issues, ethnicity and identity, and other concepts and frameworks. The second goal of the course is to provide a structure in which students successfully complete a research project design consistent with the standards of social science research. 

Podmínky zakončení předmětu

Poslední úprava: Dr. Stephen Long (15.11.2023)

1. Class Participation and Discussion Leadership

 

This is a discussion-oriented class in which there will be no lectures. Each week, two students will assist me in leading the discussion. Student leaders will prepare an outline of the assigned readings for their week and a list of five discussion questions, which will be due by 5 pm the day before class.

Outline and questions: 10 points.

Discussion leadership: 10 points.

 

Attendance is required. A weekly grade for participation in class will be assigned. Unexplained absences will result in a zero for the weekly discussion grade. 10 points.

 

2. Exploratory Annotated Bibliography. Covering a research question of their choice, students will compile an annotated bibliography of at least 15 peer-reviewed publications. Each entry will include a summary identifying the main argument, specific hypotheses tested, evidence used for analysis, and important conclusions. 20 points. Due November 3 by 5pm.

 

3. Literature Review. Covering a research question of their choice, students will prepare a review of the relevant academic literature discussing at least 15 peer-reviewed publications. The review should group publications into general perspectives on the question or schools of thought, contrasting the arguments and approaches of the publications to “tell the story” of the literature. The end of the review should identify opportunities for new work on the topic. Up to 7 pages double-spaced, excluding bibliography. 25 points. Due November 24 by 5pm.

 

4. Argument and Research Plan: Building on the literature review, students will their own explanation of the phenomenon in question. Extending or adapting existing theories about the phenomenon or a related one, students will offer a logically consistent argument, concluding with at least one testable hypothesis. Students will then offer a rough outline of a plan to test the hypothesis with available data or a plan to collect the data necessary for testing. Up to 7 pages double-spaced, excluding bibliography. 25 points. Due 8.1.2023 by 5 pm.

 

Grading:

 

100 - 91 points: A

90 - 81 points: B

80 - 71 points: C

70 - 61 points: D

60 – 50 points: E

less than 50 points: F (fail)

More in SMĚRNICE S_SO_002: Organizace zkouškových termínů, kontrol studia a užívání klasifikace A–F na FSV UK. 

Class Ethics:

(A) Any use of quoted texts in submitted papers must be acknowledged. Such use must meet the following conditions:

1. the beginning and end of the quoted passage must be shown with quotation marks
2. when quoting from periodicals or books, the name(s) of author(s), book or article titles, the year of publication, and page from which the passage is quoted must all be stated in footnotes or endnotes;
3. internet sourcing must include a full web address where the text can be found as well as the date the web page was visited by the author.

It is recommended to use the style of Chicago Manual of Style.

(B) Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT to produce drafts or final versions of any written assignments is prohibited. This includes using AI to produce references, evidence, ideas, phrasing, or any element or starting point for a written assignment.

(B) In case the use of any texts other than those written by the author is established without proper acknowledgment as defined in (A) or use of generative AI as defined in (B), the paper will be deemed plagiarized and handed over to the Disciplinary Commission of the Faculty of Social Sciences.

Literatura

Poslední úprava: Dr. Stephen Long (07.09.2023)

See the syllabus.

Metody výuky

Poslední úprava: Dr. Stephen Long (07.09.2023)

Guided discussion with students.

Sylabus

Poslední úprava: Dr. Stephen Long (13.12.2023)

Week 1. Class overview and political realism (4.10.2023)

Optional:

·      Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics chs. 3-5

 

Week 2. Power transitions (11.10.2023)

Required:

·      Tammen, Kugler, and Lemke, “Foundations of Power Transition Theory” (57 pages)

Optional:

·      Kim and Gates, “Power Transition Theory and the Rise of China” (8 pages)

Student Leaders: Johannes, Paolo D.

 

Week 3: Liberalism (18.10.2023)

Required: 

·      Simpson, “Making Liberal Use of Kant? Democratic Peace Theory and Perpetual Peace” (19 pages)

Optional:

·      Russett and ONeal, Triangulating Peace chs. 2-5

Student Leaders: N/A

 

Week 4: Psychological and biological approaches (25.10.2023)

Required:

·      Levy, “Loss Aversion, Framing, and Bargaining: The Implications of Prospect Theory for International Conflict” (17 pages)

·      Leblanc, “The Origins of Warfare and Violence” (19 pages)

Student Leaders: N/A

 

Week 5: Rationalist and bargaining approaches (1.11.2023)

Required:

·      Reiter, “Exploring the Bargaining Model of War” (16 pages)

·      Fearon, “Rationalist Explanations for War” (35 pages)

Assignments: Annotated bibliography due Friday 5 pm

Student Leaders: Elisa, Ken

 

Week 6: Geography, territory, and conflict (8.11.2023)

Required:

·      Toft, “Territory and War” (14 pages)

·      Cox, “The Razor’s Edge: A Review of Contiguity in Conflict Studies and an Argument for Redefining Neighbors” (23 pages)

Student Leaders: Maële, Davide, Maria C.N.

 

Week 7: History and conflict (15.11.2023)

Required:

·      Crescenzi, “Reputation and International Conflict” (15 pages)

·      Thompson, “Principal Rivalries” (29 pages)

Optional:

·      Goertz and Diehl, “The Initiation and Termination of Enduring Rivalries: The Impact of Political Shocks” (23 pages)

Student Leaders: Shirsha, Elisabeth

 

Week 8: Civil wars and insurgency (22.11.2023)

Required:

·      Dixon, “What Causes Civil Wars? Integrating Quantitative Research Findings” (29 pages)

·      Denny and Walter, “Ethnicity and Civil War” (14 pages)

Optional:

·      Kathman, “Civil War Contagion and Neighboring Interventions” (24 pages)

Assignments: Literature review due Friday 5 pm

Student Leaders: Francesca, Mejra, Vadym

 

Week 9: Alliances (29.11.2023)

Required:

·      Leeds, “Do Alliances Deter Aggression? The Influence of Military Alliances on the Initiation of Militarized Interstate Disputes” (13 pages)

·      Morrow, “Alliances and Asymmetry: An Alternative to the Capability Aggregation Model of Alliances” (30 pages)

Optional:

·      Leeds, “Alliance Reliability in Times of War: Explaining State Decisions to Violate Treaties” (27 pages)

Student Leaders: Gabriella, Sonja

 

Week 10: War outcomes (6.12.2023)

Required:

·      Biddle, Military Power: Explaining Victory and Defeat in Modern Battle chs. 1-4 (77 pages)

Student Leaders: Pinja, Sophia, Anna-Mariia

 

Week 11: Securing the peace (13.12.2023)

Required:

·      Lo, Hashimoto, and Reiter, “Ensuring Peace: Foreign-Imposed Regime Change and Postwar Peace Duration, 1914-2001” (19 pages)

Optional:

·      Fortna, “Scraps of Paper? Agreements and the Durability of Peace” (65 pages)

Student Leaders: Basile, Alejandra

 

Week 12: The future of war (20.12.2023)

Required:

·      Gleick and Shimabuku, “Water-Related Conflicts: Definitions, Data, and Trends from the Water Conflict Chronology” (12 pages)

·      Akoto, “Accountability and Cyber-Conflict: Examining Institutional Constraints on the Use of Cyber Proxies” (22 pages)

Optional:

·      Valeriano and Maness, “The Dynamics of Cyber Conflicts between Rival Antagonists, 2001-2011” (14 pages)

Student Leaders: Jude, Diana, Donja

Assignments: Please note that the final installment of the project, the argument and research plan, is due 8.1.2023 by 5:00 pm.

NOTE: All texts available in this syllabus are for study purposes of this course only. They are protected by copyright and must not be further distributed.