83664 - International Conflict

Learning outcomes

The course examines the main dynamics of international conflict as well as the relevant conceptual and theoretical contributions that are available in the literature. This will enable students to develop the analytical skills that are needed to interpret both international conflict, as a repetitive phenomenon and a substantial number of case-studies.

Course contents

International crises; classification of wars and historical trends in warfare; game theory for dummies; compellence, coercive diplomacy, and deterrence; the bargaining model of war; selection effects; psychology, organizations, and armed conflict; costly signal and audience costs; change in warfare; ethnic conflict; origin and duration of civil wars; the impact of climate on human conflict; gender attitude toward the use of force; gender inequality and conflict; historical trends in modern terrorism; psychological and rationalist explanations of terrorism; origins of genocide; psychology of perpetrators of atrocities and genocides.

Readings/Bibliography

I. CRISI INTERNAZIONALI

Brecher, M. (2008), International Political Earthquakes, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, pp. 6-27.

II. COERCIZIONE

Snyder, G.H. e P. Diesing (1977), Conflict Among Nations: Bargaining, Decision Making, and System Structure in International Crises, Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, pp. 198-205.

George, A.L. (1994), Coercive Diplomacy: Definition and Characteristics, in George, A.L., e W.E. Simon, (a cura di), The Limits of Coercive Diplomacy: Second Edition, Boulder (CO), Westview, pp. 7-11.

George, A.L. (1994), Theory and Practice, in George, A.L., e W.E. Simon, (a cura di), The Limits of Coercive Diplomacy: Second Edition, pp. 13-21.

Schelling, T. (2015), Deterrence and Compellence, in Art, R.J. e K.M. Greenhill (a cura di), The Use of Force: Military Power and International Politics, Lanham (MD), Rowman and Littlefield (ottava ed.), pp. 20-27.

III. EQUILIBRIO/PREPONDERANZA

Organski, A.F.K. (1958), World Politics, New York, Knopf (seconda ed. 1968), pp. 363-376.

Waltz, K.N. (1979), Theory of International Politics, Reading, Addison-Wesley; trad. it. Teoria della politica internazionale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1987, pp. 301-312.

IV. BARGAINING MODEL OF WAR

Fearon, J. (1995), Rationalist Explanations for War, in «International Organization», Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 379-414.

V. ORGANIZZAZIONI E PSICOLOGIA

Cottam, M., B. Dietz-Uhler, E.M. Mastors e T. Preston (2004), Introduction to Political Psychology, Londra, Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 257-274.

Post, J. (2003), Psychobiography: "The Child Is the Father of the Man", in Sears, D.O., L. Huddie e J. Levy, Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology, Oxford, Oxford University Press (seconda ed. 2013), pp. 459-488.

VI. AUDIENCE COSTS

Snyder, J.L. e E. Borghard (2011), The Cost of Empty Threats: A Penny, Not a Pound, in «American Political Science Review», Vol. 105, No. 3, pp. 437-456.

Fearon, J.D. (2013), “Credibility” is not everything but it's not nothing either, in «The Monkey Cage», 7 settembre. <http://themonkeycage.org/2013/09/credibility-is-not-everything-either-but-its-not-nothing-either/>

VII. CONTRATTAZIONE DURANTE LA GUERRA

Wagner, R.H. (2007), War and the State: The Theory of International Politics, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, pp. 131-151; 162-165.

VIII. ANALISI DEI CASI

Mitchell, A.W. (2015), The Case for Deterrence by Denial, in «American Interest», 12 agosto. <http://www.the-american-interest.com/2015/08/12/the-case-for-deterrence-by-denial/>

Gabuev, A. (2016), Friends with Benefits?Russian-Chinese Relations after the Ukraine Crisis, Carnegie Moscow Center, 29 giugno. < http://carnegie.ru/2016/06/29/friends-with-benefits-russian-chinese-relations-after-ukraine-crisis/j2m2>

Weinstein, A. (2017), Saudi Arabia's Coalition Could Accidentally Unleash Iran, in «National Interest»,8 giugno. <http://www.the-american-interest.com/2015/08/12/the-case-for-deterrence-by-denial/>

IX. MUTAMENTI DEL WARFARE

Henderson, E. e J.D. Singer (2002), New Wars and Rumors of ‘New Wars’, in «International Interactions», Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 165-190.

Mello, P.A. (2016), In Search of New Wars: The Debate about a Transformation of War, in «European Journal of International Relations», Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 1-13.

Giles, K. (2016), Handbook of Russian Information Warfare, NATO Defense College, Defense Monograph No. 9, pp. 46-60.

X. CLIMA, RISORSE NATURALI E CONFLITTO

Wolf, A.T. (1998), Conflict and Cooperation along International Waterways, in «Water Policy», Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 251-265.

Hsiang, S.M., M. Burke e E. Miguel (2013), Quantifying the Influence of Climate on Human Conflict, in «Science», Vol. 341, No. 6151, 1235367.

XI. CONFLITTO ETNICO/GUERRE CIVILI

Walter, B. (1997), The Critical Barrier to Civil War Settlement, in «International Organization», Vol. 51, No. 3, pp. 335-364.

Fearon, J.D. e D. Laitin (2003), Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War, in «American Political Science Review», Vol. 97, No. 1, pp. 75-90.

XII. TERRORISMO

Rapoport, D.C. (2004), The Four Waves of Modern Terrorism, in Cronin, A.K., e J.M. Ludes (a cura di), Attacking Terrorism: Elements of a Grand Strategy, Washington, DC, Georgetown University Press, pp. 46-73.

Victoroff, J. (2005), The Mind of the Terrorist: A Review and Critique of Psychological Approaches, in «Journal of Conflict Resolution», Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 3-42.

Byman, D. (2016), Understanding the Islamic State ―A Review Essay, in «International Security», Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 127-165.

XIII. GENERE E CONFLITTO

Wrangham, R. e D. Peterson (1996), Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence, Boston (MA), Houghton Mifflin; trad. it. Maschi Bestiali: Basi biologiche della violenza umana, Roma, Franco Muzzio, 2005, pp. 197-214.

McDonald, M.M., C.D. Navarrete e M. Van Vugt (2011), Evolution and the Psychology of Intergroup Conflict: The Male Warrior Hypothesis, in «Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences», Vol. 367, No. 1589, pp. 670-679.

XIV. GENOCIDIO

Bandura, A. (1999), Moral Disengagement in the Perpetration of Inhumanities, in «Personality and Social Psychology Review», Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 193-209.

Jones, A. (2006), Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction, Londra e New York, Routledge (seconda ed. 2011), pp. 3-50.

Teaching methods

Lectures

Assessment methods

Readings and exams are the same for both attending and non-attending students

Two in-class exams (15 questions: multiple-choice and short-answer questions). Each exam will count for 50% of your final grade. The first exam will be given in mid-November; the second one at the end of classes.

If you fail an exam, you can retake it. You can also take a single, comprehensive, exam in January-February, June-July, or September.

Teaching tools

Readings and lectures.

Office hours

See the website of Marco Cesa

See the website of Davide Fiammenghi