POLI4481 · Political Science
Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences
This course is major restricted to juniors, seniors, and graduate students. This course is a survey of the political science literature on civil wars. It begins by examining the global prevalence of civil war and examining the causes of violent internal conflicts. The course also discusses the factors that exacerbate an ongoing civil war - from ethnic fractionalization to geography, ideology, economic grievances, and others - and the factors that contribute to its resolution. The course concludes with an examination of how civil wars end and what role different actors, domestically and internationally, can play in the post-conflict aftermath. In the process, students will delve into a variety of case studies from around the world and reflect on their commonalities and differences.
Course experience
Averages use the original five-point historical evaluation scale.
Organization
5.0 / 5
How well the course was organized
Challenge
4.9 / 5
How intellectually challenging students found it
Attendance
4.9 / 5
How necessary attendance was
Assignments
5.0 / 5
How helpful assignments were
Weekly effort
~5
hours per week
Estimated from the original workload response buckets. Individual sections may differ.
Instructor options
Ratings below reflect only recovered evaluations connected to this course.
Across time
Section-level results available in the recovered archive.
Spring 2025
1 section