The focus is human rights in global, political, and developmental contexts, especially since 1945. Human rights are part of a wide range of academic disciplines, engineering, history, law, philosophy, and religion being among the obvious. These disciplinary perspectives will be touched upon; politics will be the central one. Some of the main topics include justifications; cross- cultural perspectives; global and international institutional developments and foreign policy. Selected topics will include war, hunger, life, reproduction, servitude, consent, information and the environment.

The focus is human rights in global, political, and developmental contexts, especially since 1945. Human rights are part of a wide range of academic disciplines, engineering, history, law, philosophy, and religion being among the obvious. These disciplinary perspectives will be touched upon; politics will be the central one. Some of the main topics include justifications; cross- cultural perspectives; global and international institutional developments and foreign policy. Selected topics will include war, hunger, life, reproduction, servitude, consent, information and the environment.

The focus is human rights in global, political, and developmental contexts, especially since 1945. Human rights are part of a wide range of academic disciplines, engineering, history, law, philosophy, and religion being among the obvious. These disciplinary perspectives will be touched upon; politics will be the central one. Some of the main topics include justifications; cross- cultural perspectives; global and international institutional developments and foreign policy. Selected topics will include war, hunger, life, reproduction, servitude, consent, information and the environment.

The existence and endurance of war provides one of the most important puzzles of politics: why is it that people keep making use of such a destructive and painful way of resolving their disputes? This course addresses this question and the related question of what factors contribute to peace, focusing on both academic and popular explanations for conflict, including among others anarchy, over-optimism, shifting power, diversionary war, the malevolent influence of war profiteers, and a variety of explanations grounded in culture, religion and other ideational variables. In this discussion, we will focus on both interstate and civil wars, and on both the onset and the eventual termination of war. At various points in the course we will discuss a wide range of historical and contemporary cases, including the World Wars, Vietnam, the Gulf War, the Iraq War, the various Arab-Israeli wars, the India-Pakistan rivalry, and a number of recent civil conflicts such as the wars in Yugoslavia, Congo, and Sudan. The course concludes with a discussion of strategies for managing ongoing conflicts and for securing peace in post war settings.

The existence and endurance of war provides one of the most important puzzles of politics: why is it that people keep making use of such a destructive and painful way of resolving their disputes? This course addresses this question and the related question of what factors contribute to peace, focusing on both academic and popular explanations for conflict, including among others anarchy, over-optimism, shifting power, diversionary war, the malevolent influence of war profiteers, and a variety of explanations grounded in culture, religion and other ideational variables. In this discussion, we will focus on both interstate and civil wars, and on both the onset and the eventual termination of war. At various points in the course we will discuss a wide range of historical and contemporary cases, including the World Wars, Vietnam, the Gulf War, the Iraq War, the various Arab-Israeli wars, the India-Pakistan rivalry, and a number of recent civil conflicts such as the wars in Yugoslavia, Congo, and Sudan. The course concludes with a discussion of strategies for managing ongoing conflicts and for securing peace in post war settings.

The existence and endurance of war provides one of the most important puzzles of politics: why is it that people keep making use of such a destructive and painful way of resolving their disputes? This course addresses this question and the related question of what factors contribute to peace, focusing on both academic and popular explanations for conflict, including among others anarchy, over-optimism, shifting power, diversionary war, the malevolent influence of war profiteers, and a variety of explanations grounded in culture, religion and other ideational variables. In this discussion, we will focus on both interstate and civil wars, and on both the onset and the eventual termination of war. At various points in the course we will discuss a wide range of historical and contemporary cases, including the World Wars, Vietnam, the Gulf War, the Iraq War, the various Arab-Israeli wars, the India-Pakistan rivalry, and a number of recent civil conflicts such as the wars in Yugoslavia, Congo, and Sudan. The course concludes with a discussion of strategies for managing ongoing conflicts and for securing peace in post war settings.

The existence and endurance of war provides one of the most important puzzles of politics: why is it that people keep making use of such a destructive and painful way of resolving their disputes? This course addresses this question and the related question of what factors contribute to peace, focusing on both academic and popular explanations for conflict, including among others anarchy, over-optimism, shifting power, diversionary war, the malevolent influence of war profiteers, and a variety of explanations grounded in culture, religion and other ideational variables. In this discussion, we will focus on both interstate and civil wars, and on both the onset and the eventual termination of war. At various points in the course we will discuss a wide range of historical and contemporary cases, including the World Wars, Vietnam, the Gulf War, the Iraq War, the various Arab-Israeli wars, the India-Pakistan rivalry, and a number of recent civil conflicts such as the wars in Yugoslavia, Congo, and Sudan. The course concludes with a discussion of strategies for managing ongoing conflicts and for securing peace in post war settings.

This course will focus primarily on epidoes of external intervention by Great Powers in the politics of Middle Eastern states. We shall begin by examining the emergence of the Middle Eastern state system after the disappearance of the Ottoman Empire in the early part of the 20th century. This discussion will provide opportunities to develop key concepts in the study of international politics and will serve as crucial historical background. We shall then turn our attention to the primary concern of the course - a systematic consideration of the motives, operational results, and long-term implications of a number of important examples of intervention by Great Powers in the Middle East. Among the episodes to be considered will be British policies toward the end of World War I, in Palestine in the 1930s, and, along with the French, in Suez in 1956. Soviet intervention in the first Arab-Israeli war, in 1948, will be analyzed along with Soviet policies toward Egypt in the early 1970s. American intervention in Iran in 1953 and in the Gulf War in 1991 will also be examined.

This course will focus primarily on epidoes of external intervention by Great Powers in the politics of Middle Eastern states. We shall begin by examining the emergence of the Middle Eastern state system after the disappearance of the Ottoman Empire in the early part of the 20th century. This discussion will provide opportunities to develop key concepts in the study of international politics and will serve as crucial historical background. We shall then turn our attention to the primary concern of the course - a systematic consideration of the motives, operational results, and long-term implications of a number of important examples of intervention by Great Powers in the Middle East. Among the episodes to be considered will be British policies toward the end of World War I, in Palestine in the 1930s, and, along with the French, in Suez in 1956. Soviet intervention in the first Arab-Israeli war, in 1948, will be analyzed along with Soviet policies toward Egypt in the early 1970s. American intervention in Iran in 1953 and in the Gulf War in 1991 will also be examined.

This course will focus primarily on epidoes of external intervention by Great Powers in the politics of Middle Eastern states. We shall begin by examining the emergence of the Middle Eastern state system after the disappearance of the Ottoman Empire in the early part of the 20th century. This discussion will provide opportunities to develop key concepts in the study of international politics and will serve as crucial historical background. We shall then turn our attention to the primary concern of the course - a systematic consideration of the motives, operational results, and long-term implications of a number of important examples of intervention by Great Powers in the Middle East. Among the episodes to be considered will be British policies toward the end of World War I, in Palestine in the 1930s, and, along with the French, in Suez in 1956. Soviet intervention in the first Arab-Israeli war, in 1948, will be analyzed along with Soviet policies toward Egypt in the early 1970s. American intervention in Iran in 1953 and in the Gulf War in 1991 will also be examined.