Land and Conflict

This first-year seminar considers the connection between land and political conflict. Disputes over territory have been a primary cause of war for centuries. Likewise, other types of conflicts over land continue to be a major factor in political struggles worldwide. Why, how, and when does territory become the subject of violent—or non-violent—conflict? The seminar will begin by thinking broadly about how land has factored into political conflict, both historically and today, and then we will move on to a series of case studies of recent or ongoing conflicts, including Israel/Palestine, Kashmir, the South China Sea, the Arctic, and global farmland.