This course surveys theories of the causes of war and international
conflict and applies these theories to cases of international
conflict.  International conflict includes interstate wars (wars
between states), terrorist activities, contention over resources
which cross national boundaries and internal wars which draw in
other state actors. Theories of war are organized around the
following themes: structural arguments on balance of power, power
transitions and hegemonic change; national level explanations on
diversionary theories; democratic peace; resource-based concepts of
international conflict and misperceptions at the individual level.
We will also spend some time discussing causes of ethnic conflict
and terrorism as well as looking at conflicts created by competition
over natural resource access.