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War in World Politics (E568)

Course Organization

Time & Location:

Friday, 10:15-12:00, R3

Professor:

Jim Morrow
Office: Rigot 22
Office hours: Tuesday 09:00-12:00
Telephone: 022 908 59 39
E-mail: morrow@hei.unige.ch

 

 

Course Description

This course covers the causes and consequences of war in world politics. I have organized the material in the order of first why war breaks out, then what happens during war, and ending with the consequences afterwards. The goal is to introduce the graduate student to recent research on these topics. Because the syllabus draws heavily on recent research, much of the reading uses statistics or formal models.

Each week two students will help lead the discussion with me. These assignments will be set at the initial meeting. When you are scheduled to help lead the discussion, you are to write a brief paper identifying the key questions and arguments in the reading; one page should be sufficient. This paper should be submitted to me in advance; electronic copies by email works well for me. These papers are designed to force you to think about the reading before class and put your ideas down on the weeks when you will be leading discussion.

The grading will be based on these short papers, discussion in class, and a final paper. This final paper can be either original research developing ideas in the class or using the ideas from the class to explain a particular case.

 

 

Course Outline and Readings


Week 1 (March 16):
Introductory Meeting, and Introduction to Conflict Data


Background reading:

  • Levy, War in the Great Power System, 1495-1975
  • Small and Singer, Resort to Arms
  • Sarkees, “The Correlates of War Data on War: An Update to 1997,” Conflict Management and Peace Science 18,1(2000):123-144.
  • Marshall and Jaggers, Polity IV Dataset, available at http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/inscr/polity/index.htm



Week 2 (March 23)

  • Geoffrey Blainey, The Causes of War


Part I: The Outbreak of War


Week 3 (March 30)
Bargaining Approaches to War

  • Reiter, “Exploring the Bargaining Model of War,” Perspectives on Politics 1,1(2003):27- 43.
  • Fearon, “Rationalist Explanations for War.” International Organization 49(1995):379- 414.
  • Fearon, “Domestic Political Audiences and the Escalation of International Disputes.” American Political Science Review 88(1994):577-592.
  • Sartori, “The Might of the Pen,” International Organization 56(2002):121-50.
  • Guisinger and Smith, “Honest Threats: The Interaction of Reputation and Political Institutions in International Crises,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 46(2002):175- 200.



April 6 and 13:
No class

Week 4 (April 20)
The Evidence

  • Danilovic, “The Sources of Threat Credibility in Extended Deterrence,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 45,3(2001):341-369.
  • Schultz, “Looking for Audience Costs,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 45,1(2001):32-60.
  • Werner, “Choosing Demands Strategically,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 43,6(1999):705-726.
  • Reiter, “Military Strategy and the Outbreak of International Conflict,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 43,3(1999):366-387.
  • Eyerman and Hart, “An Empirical Test of the Audience Cost Proposition,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 40,4(1996):597-616.



Week 5 (April 27)
Democratic Peace

  • Huth and Allee, The Democratic Peace and Territorial Conflict in the Twentieth Century


Part II: Politics while Shooting


Week 6 (May 4)
Bargaining during Wartime

  • Wittman, “How a War Ends,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 23,4(1979):743-763.
  • Bennett and Stam, “The Duration of Interstate Wars, 1816-1985,” American Political Science Review 90,2(1996):239-257.
  • Wagner, “Bargaining and War,” American Journal of Political Science 44,3(2000):469- 484.
  • Slantchev, “The Principle of Convergence in Wartime Negotiations,” American Political Science Review 97,4(2003):621-632.
  • Slantchev, “How Initiators End Their Wars,” American Journal of Political Science 48,4(2004):813-829.
  • Smith, “Fighting Battles, Winning Wars,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 42,2(1998):301- 320.



Week 7 (May 11)
Politics during War

  • Goemans, War and Punishment



Week 8 (May 18)
Democracies Rule! Or Do They?

  • Reiter and Stam, Democracies at War
  • Desch, “Democracy and Victory, International Security 27,2(2002):5-47.



Week 9 (May 25)
The Laws of War

  • Morrow, Order within Anarchy, selected chapters to be provided
  • Legro, “Culture and Preferences in the International Cooperation Two-Step,” American Political Science Review 90,1(1996):118-137.
  • Arreguin-Toft, “How the Weak Win Wars,” International Security 26,1(2001):93-128.
  • Valentino et al., “'Draining the Sea',” International Organization 58,2(2004):375-407.


Part III: The Aftermath of War


Week 10 (June 1)
When Does Peace Hold?

  • Werner, “The Precarious Nature of Peace,” American Journal of Political Science 43,3(1999):912-934.
  • Fortna, “Scraps of Paper? Agreements and the Durability of Peace,” International Organization 57,2(2003):337-372.
  • Werner and Yuen, “Making and Keeping Peace,” International Organization 59,2(2005):261-292.
  • Gelpi, “Crime and Punishment: The Role of Norms in Crisis Bargaining,” American Political Science Review 91,2(1997):339-360.
  • Edelstein, “Occupational Hazards,” International Security 29,1(2004):49-91.



Week 11 (June 8)
Political Consequences of War

  • Bueno de Mesquita and Siverson, “War and the Survival of Political Leaders,” American Political Science Review 89(1995):841-855.
  • Bueno de Mesquita et al., The Logic of Political Survival, Ch. 9
  • Chiozza and Goemans, “International Conflict and the Tenure of Leaders,” American Journal of Political Science 48,3(2004):604-619.
  • Aldrich, Sullivan, and Borgida, “Foreign Affairs and Issue Voting: Do Presidential Candidates "Waltz before a Blind Audience?,” American Political Science Review 83(1989):123-42.
  • Gartner and Segura, “War, Casualties and Public Opinion,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 42(1998):278-300.



Week 12 (June 15)
Long-term Consequences of War

  • Tilly, “War Making and State Making as Organized Crime,” in Evans et al., Bringing the State Back In
  • Rasler and Thompson, “War Making and State Making,” American Political Science Review 79,2(1985):491-507.
  • Thies, “War, Rivalry, and State Building in Latin America.” American Journal of Political Science 49,3(2005):451-465.
  • Schultz and Weingast, “The Democratic Advantage,” International Organization57,1(2003):3-42.
  • Thomson, “State Practices, International Norms, and the Decline in Mercenarism,” International Studies Quarterly 34,1(1990):23-48.
  • Avant, “From Mercenary to Citizen Armies,” International Organization 54,1(2000):41- 72.

 

 

Syllabus-War-World-Politics.pdf (43 Kb) Feb 23, 2008