Author:
Katherine Michel
Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Module
Level:
Community College / Lower Division
Tags:
  • Civil War
  • Conflict
  • Terrorism
  • War
  • civil war
  • civil-war
  • conflict
  • international relations
  • international-relations
  • terrorism
  • war
  • License:
    Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial
    Language:
    English
    Media Formats:
    Downloadable docs

    Conflict

    Overview

    Module on conflict in international relations. Intended for community college students and aligned with the requirements for POLS 140: Introduction to International Relations within the California Community College system. Includes lesson plan, required readings, and ancillary materials (lecture slides and worksheet).

    Lesson Plan: Conflict

    Lesson Plan: Conflict

    Topic: Key Topics and Contemporary Issues: Conflict

    Week #: 8

    Estimated Time: 150-180 minutes

     

    Assigned Readings:

    1. Strand, Håvard, Siri Aas Rustad, Henrik Urdal, and Håvard Mokleiv Nygård. 2019. “Trends in Armed Conflict, 1946-2018.” Conflict Trends, 3. Oslo: PRIO. (4 pages, briefing)
    2. Fearon, James D. 2006. “Iraq: Democracy or Civil War?” Testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations. (12 pages, briefing)
    3. Brown, Katherine E. 2017. “Transnational Terrorism.” In International Relations, Stephen McGlinchey, ed, pp. 152-162. (11 pages, core reading)
    4. Khalfey, Sameera. 2013. “The Duality of Syria: Civil War and The War on Terror.” E-International Relations. Adapted by Katherine Michel. (6 pages, news piece)

     

    Total page count: 33 pages

    Learning Objectives:

    By the end of this lesson plan, students will be able to:

    1. Define conflict and identify the difference between conflict and war.
    2. Apply major international relations theoretical approaches to the study of conflict.
    3. Compare types of conflict, including interstate, intrastate, and “internationalized” intrastate conflict.
    4. Define terrorism and assess the role in plays in conflict today.

    Misconceptions of Topic:

    1. Students may narrowly define “conflict” as militarized conflict.
    2. Students may approach terrorism through a US-centric lens (e.g., overestimating the prevalence of international terrorism, underestimating occurrences of domestic terrorism, focusing on the “war on terror”).

     

     

    Lesson Component

    Ancillary(ies)

    Lecture: Review learning objectives

    Lecture slides

    Lecture: What is conflict?

    Lecture slides

    Think-pair-share: theoretical approaches and conflict

    Lecture slides

     

     

    Lecture: Why does conflict occur?

    • Realist perspective
    • Liberal perspective
    • Constructivist perspective
    • Rationalist perspective

    Lecture slides

     

    Online video resource (embedded in slides, 5:42):

    Vox. 2019. “This photo almost started a nuclear war.” Available online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HRU5yonyK8.

    Lecture and discussion: (Select) types of militarized conflict

    • War
      • Interstate war
        • Preventive war
        • Preemptive war
      • Intrastate (civil) war
        • Center-seeking war
        • Separatist war
      • “Internationalized” intrastate conflict

    Lecture slides

    Readings 1, 2

    Discussion: Iraq--interstate, intrastate, or “internationalized” intrastate conflict?

    Worksheet

    Optional:

    • Documentary evaluating the role of U.S. foreign intervention on civil war in Iraq

    Frontline. 2009. “Endgame.” PBS documentary. Available online at https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/endgame/.

    Lecture and discussion: (Select) types of militarized conflict

    • Terrorism

    Readings 3, 4

    Lecture slides

    Optional:

    • Documentary considering U.S. response to both civil war and terrorism in the case of Syria

    Frontline. 2015. “Obama at War.” PBS documentary. Available online at https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/obama-at-war/.

    Conclude and wrap-up

    Lecture slides

     

    Required Readings: Conflict

    Contents:

    • Reading #1: Strand, et al. 2019
    • Reading #2: Fearon 2006
    • Reading #3: Brown 2017
    • Reading #4: Khalfey 2013

    Introducing the readings:

    This unit's readings introduce students to militarized conflicts where there is use of deadly force (as opposed to other types of conflict, such as economic or cultural). Strand, et al. (2019) offer a brief overview of trends in armed conflict from 1946-2018, focusing on the categories of extrasystemic conflict, interstate conflict, internal conflict, and internationalized internal conflict. The Fearon (2006) reading (testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006) provides a discussion of Iraq, which instructors can use to facilitate a debate among students of whether Iraq constitutes a case of interstate, internal (intrastate), or internationalized internal (intrastate) conflict.

    The Brown (2017) reading expands the unit's focus from war to include transnational terrorism--another form of conflict--and provides an overview of terrorist motivation, goals, activities, organization, and resources. The Khalfey (2013) reading (adapted by Katherine Michel) builds on the first three readings by considering how the case of Syria simultaneously presents two challenges: (1) internal (intrastate) war and (2) the "war on terror." This reading serves to remind students that while intrastate war is the most common type of war, this type of war can be very messy and sometimes the line between insurgent or guerrilla tactics and terrorism can become unclear.

    Ancillary Materials: Conflict

    Contents:

    • lecture slides
    • worksheet