NS4332 Ethnic Politics and Conflicts

The goal of this course is to examine issues of ethnic identity, ethnic politics and ethnic conflict around the globe, and to enable students to build a knowledge base about how ethnicity is mobilized and made conflictual in their regions of expertise. We place emphasis on the intersectional and social nature of ethnicity and how elites strategically utilize identities in political maneuvering. This course will be offered as an elective applicable to most of the regional studies subfields in the NS department. The course will provide students with theoretical tools and case background to analyze issues of ethnic politics and conflict in multiple-country contexts.

The course will is divided into three main subject areas: (1) the nature of ethnicity and ethnic politics, (2) explanations for ethnic conflict, and (3) cases of ethnic conflicts. Weekly course readings present a mix of theoretical approaches and case studies, and while we will cover all the major areas of the world, the case studies will come primarily from Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe.

Lecture Hours

4

Lab Hours

0

Course Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course students should have learned the following skills:

• Understanding of the concept of ethnicity and its different definitions and uses, particularly the difference between social and politicized ethnic identities.
• Appreciation for how and when ethnicity is used as a political resource and mobilizational tool.
• Understanding and integrating insights from various theories of how ethnic identities become mobilized into violence.
• Experience analyzing cases of ethnic conflict.
• The ability apply theory to help to assess a conflict cycle and identify critical turning points in it.
• The ability to propose intervention strategies that are appropriate to the various stages of an ethnic conflict.