Natural Resource Conflicts

(4 Credits)

This course is designed to introduce graduate students to the core concepts, processes, theories, and issues of natural resource conflicts. The focus throughout this course will be on divergent theoretical approaches to natural resource conflicts at three levels of analysis: domestic, international, and global. Our objective is to gain an understanding of the nature of resource-based conflicts and to acquire the necessary tools and knowledge to tackle the challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. The course is organized around the division of natural resources into three different categories: 1) non-renewable resources (such as oil, strategic minerals and gems); 2) renewable (such as water, forest, and fisheries); 3) and global common pool resources (the air, the oceans, forests, and fisheries). We will consider the various ways each category presents its own challenges and engenders different types of conflicts at the state, international, and global level.