Civil War, Insurgency, and the International Response
This course examines why civil wars begin, how they are fought, how they end, and what the international community can do to mitigate their cost. We use these ideas to understand trends in civil conflict throughout the world and to inform in-depth analyses of U.S. counterinsurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each student writes a policy memo and a research paper examining a civil war of their choice. The course is designed to build students' skills using conceptual frameworks and empirical analyses to inform high-stakes policy debates.