Civil Wars the Middle East

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor

This course seeks to bridge our understanding of civil wars with the phenomenon as it has and continues to transpire within the broader Middle East. As such, from week to week we will probe broad questions about civil wars from a theoretical and empirical perspective to establish a general basis of knowledge about civil wars. What do we know about civil or domestic wars? What are some of the limits to our knowledge? We will then bring this to bear on various civil conflicts in the Middle East, both historical and contemporary. The goal is to bridge (if possible) what we know or think we know about civil wars with episodes of conflict throughout the Middle East? Do our theories fit or help to explain the civil violence in the Middle East? Why or why not? Civil war is now a far more prevalent form of violence than international wars. Among the important general questions we will examine through the course of the semester include the following: What is a civil war and what causes it? What are the global trends in episodes of civil violence? Why do some wars last longer than others? How and when do civil wars end? Why do civil wars recur once they have seemingly been resolved? How and why does violence manifest itself during civil wars? We will also probe the internationalization of civil wars via peacekeeping and third-party involvement. These questions will be examined from both a theoretical and quantitative perspective, as well as with case studies. Students will be encouraged to assess how the dominant theoretical claims in the literature fit with actual episodes of civil war, and particularly those in the Middle East. The readings for each week will combine both scholarly articles and policy briefs based on insights from practitioners and academicians. In general, the course will alternate by week between a theory or large issue in civil wars and a more detailed examination of that issue within a narrower Middle East context or Middle East country.