PSCI226 - ETHNIC CONFLICT

This course explains ethnic conflict, focusing on its violent forms, especially civil wars. There have been more than 160 civil wars and many more episodes of lower-intensity armed conflict since 1945. Most of these conflicts have been fought along ethnic lines. Are these conflicts due to prejudice and hatred? Or are the causes mainly economic/resource-driven? Why do some conflicts turn violent and others stay non-violent? What interventions work to end ethnic wars? We address these questions with the help of cutting-edge scholarly literature and apply our insights to understand contemporary civil wars.