Electoral Violence:Analysis

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This class offers students the opportunity to gain skills in analyzing risks for violence surrounding contentious elections and developing recommendations (programmatic and diplomatic) to prevent or mitigate such conflict. Students will perform an assessment of risks for violence surrounding an upcoming election and develop policy recommendations for preventing/mitigating identified risks. To perform their assessment, students will use the main analytic methodologies employed in the U.S. Department of State for assessing electoral violence—the Interagency Conflict Assessment Framework (ICAF) and the Electoral Violence Assessment Framework. Students will draft a report and prepare an oral briefing on their findings. Through completing this course, students will gain proficiency and skills in: policy analysis; writing for a policy audience; delivering oral policy briefings; employing core analysis frameworks used within and outside of the U.S. government; and a deep understanding of the (i) causes of electoral violence, (ii) key actors involved in perpetrating or attempting to prevent such violence, and (iii) diplomatic and programmatic options available for prevention and mitigation.