GOVT 3867 - War: Causes and Conduct

(SBA-AS)

Fall. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

S. Ward.

The possibility of major war – on the Korean Peninsula, in the Persian Gulf, in Eastern Europe, in the South China Sea – is higher today than it has been at any point since the end of the Cold War. This makes it critical for informed citizens to understand the dynamics of armed conflict between states. What kinds of factors make war more or less likely? How do shifts in power – like the rise of China – affect the likelihood of war? What role do nuclear weapons – which China, Russia, and now North Korea have – play? How do the personal and psychological characteristics of leaders – like Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un – matter? What about domestic politics? Do political crises and polarization make war more or less likely? In this course, we will investigate all of these questions and more through a survey of relevant theoretical work by political scientists, an exploration of significant conflicts from modern history, and an application of these insights to contemporary conflict hot spots. (IR)