International Conflict

Module Code: PO8008

Module Name: International Conflict

• ECTS Weighting: 10
• Semester/Term Taught: Michaelmas
• Module Personnel: Lecturer - Professor Koji Kagotani

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module students will be able to

• Demonstrate knowledge of patterns of international conflict during and after the Cold War
• Understand both domestic and international explanations for war.
• Understand the politics of great power intervention and coercion in international conflict
• Understand the politics of weapons of mass destruction
• Research and test hypothesis on war and other forms of international conflict

Module Learning Aims

This course will survey the theoretical and empirical literature on international conflict. It has three main goals:
(1) to get familiar with the well-known literature in the study of international conflict
(2) to develop the skills of critical judgment
(3) to find interesting topics that turn into your individual project. This course explores a variety of topics to grasp the patterns of international conflict over the 19th and 20th century, with a primary emphasis on strategic interaction among states. Scholars have long investigated the origins of war and have pointed out some factors such as leaders, domestic political systems, and international system. However, the research on strategic interactions in the past twenty years has shown the importance of understandings of political decisions behind international conflicts. That is, attributes of leaders and states and/or characteristics of international system are not always translated into international outcomes in an intuitive way. In order to prevent war, it is necessary to understand state behaviour in crisis. The class covers various topics such as the structural causes and the behavioural origins of war, bargaining, deterrence, democratic peace, economic interdependence and international conflict, and alliance politics.

Module Content

This module is a comprehensive introduction to scholarship on war and international conflict. It will cover interstate war, conflict short of war and related topics, including the impact of weapons of mass destruction on international conflict.

Recommended Reading List

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Assessment Details

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