Causes and Prevention of War

Calendar

SES #	TOPICS	DUE DATES
I. Introduction
1	Introduction Do regular laws of motion govern international politics? If so, how can we identify them? And how can we explain specific events, like wars? Can we use methods like those of the natural sciences?
II. 34 Hypotheses on the Causes of War
2–3	8 Hypotheses on Military Factors as Causes of War
4–7	Misperception and War; Religion and War 10 hypotheses on perceptions, misperception and the causes of war Psychology Militarism Nationalism Spirals and deterrence Religion and war Defects in academe and the press	First response paper due Quiz
8–9	More Causes of War and Peace Culture Gender Patriarchy Language Democracy Social equality and social justice Minority rights and human rights Prosperity Economic interdependence Revolution Capitalism Imperial decline and collapse Cultural learning Emotional factors (revenge, contempt, honor) Polarity of the international system Causes of Civil War	Second response paper due
III. Cases: Wars and Crises
10	The Seven Years War
11	The Wars of German Unification, 1864, 1866, and 1870; and segue to World War I	Draft of first 8-page paper due 
12–14	World War I	First 8-page paper due  Debates in section on World War I responsibility
15–18	World War II	Debates in section on World War II responsibility  Quiz
19	Interlude: Hypotheses on Escalation and Limitation of War Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Strategy, Other Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Causes of War.
20–21	The Cold War, Korea and Indochina	Draft of second 8-page paper due
22–23	The Israel-Arab Conflict The 2003 U.S.-Iraq War
24	The Peloponnesian War	Second 8-page paper due
IV. The Future of War
25–26	Testing & Applying Theories of War Causation The Future of War Solutions to War