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POLI_SCI 390-CN : Special Topics: Wars in the 2020s

Description

As the last months of 2023 unfold, we have two full blown wars going on: in Ukraine and in the Middle East. And that doesn’t count the small war in the Caucasus. We also face an ongoing crisis between the two Koreas and between Taiwan and China. Public intellectuals like Stephen Pinker keep trying to remind us that we live in a gentler age, but we find this hard to reconcile. What happened to the peace dividend? This course will focus primarily on the war between Ukraine and Russia and between Hamas and Israel. We will look at the long- and short-term causes, the role of other nations, the manner of fighting, and the prospects of conflict resolution. We will also devote some time to the two Asian situations and ask what the prospects are for peace or war. Readings will be both about the origins and the execution of these wars and much will be taken from newspapers and journals.

This course is also listed as POLI SCI 395 Political Research Seminar in CAESAR. Students who need to fulfill a research seminar requirement should register for POLI SCI 395.