1. POL 302
Policy and Politics of Conflict
Summer Session 1
Instructor: Nicholas Thorne
Office: Social Sciences 328 A1
Office Hours: Contact for meeting times
Email: nothorne@email.arizona.edu
Course Description and Objectives:
The study of conflict is at the core of International Relations scholarship and
each year thousands of papers are published trying to explain when, why, and
where conflict occurs. The objective of this course is to give you an understanding of
how IR scholars approach the issue of conflict and then use this approach to analyze
conflict (and the flip side, cooperation) throughout history. We will cover quite a
few different periods of history in a short period of time but by utilizing common
research frameworks you will be able to connect them all together in no time.
I cant stress this enough, If you have any difficulty in the class, or would like
to discuss the material in more detail, feel free to contact me and set up an
appointment to meet. I am usually in the office during the week from 10-4.
Requirements:
- (60% of final grade) Answering study questions at the end of each
chapter (Due each Friday by 8p.m.)
o At the end of each chapter there is a set of study questions. Pick
any 5 questions from each set to answer.
- (40% of final grade) 1 page thought papers once a week. (Due each
Monday by 8p.m.)
o I really want you to engage the text and in order to do that I
will require short thought papers concerning particular topics that
you have reviewed in your readings in a given week. I expect each
paper to show that you are able to engage and interpret the text in
a novel way. Each Friday I will post three questions, pick one and
give a 1-page answer (double space). These questions will due on
the following Monday by 5 p.m.
-
Reading:
-Joseph Nye and David Welch. Understanding Global Conflict and Cooperation:
An introduction to theory and history. 9th edition
- Possible supplemental articles that I will suggest in order to help you grasp
certain concepts more fully.
Course Outline:
Week 1

2. (The chapters are crucial because they lay out the main IR research frameworks such
as Realism and Liberalism. If you can really grasp these frameworks it will make the
rest of the course considerably easier to understand.)
- Chapter 1: Are there enduring Logics of conflict and cooperation in world
politics?
- Chapter 2: Explaining Conflict and Cooperation: Tools and Techniques
Week2
- Chapter 3: From Westphalia to WW1
- Chapter 4: The Failure of Collective Security and WWII
Week3
- Chapter 5: The cold war
- Chapter 6: Post Cold War Cooperation, Conflict, Flashpoints
Week4
- Chapter 7: Globalization and Interdependence
- Chapter 8: The information Revolutions and Transnational Actors
(Feel free to read chapter 9. “Clash of civilizations” is an incredibly interesting text as
well as “the end of history and the last man”. Chances are you have either read these
books or you will encounter them in future IR courses.)