This course will introduce students to the study of security in international relations. The course will begin by considering international conflict drawing from prominent theories of international relations. The course will then explore more specific conceptual approaches to studying the behavior of actors involved in, affected by, or in positions to potentially avert conflict. The concepts introduced in this course will be paired with recent (or still ongoing) case studies that will assist students in applying them to the study of contemporary international security affairs. Throughout the semester, guest speakers from various professional backgrounds will join the class to both engage in discussion with the class about the course material as well as share details related to their work in positions related to international security. Throughout the course, I will introduce students to more general concepts that will assist them in thinking critically about the subject matter and, specifically, about associations and causal relations between variables. Through the writing assignments, the course will introduce students to the process of drafting policy memoranda and opinion editorials.
About the Professor: Andrew Shaver is a scholar of sub-state conflict and the founding director of the Political Violence Lab. In his doctoral dissertation, he focused on particular emotional influences on the judgments and behaviors of combatants and civilians during organized conflict. In other research, Professor Shaver and his co-authors examine how refugees affect conflict likelihood and, separately, how conflict affects refugee outflows; how countries' terrain affects their likelihood of experiencing conflict; and how combatant harm to civilians' affects the latter's willingness to supply or withhold valuable information on insurgents and, separately, how intelligence provided by civilians during conflict influences conflict dynamics. Professor Shaver is currently engaged in research on the effects of drone warfare on insurgent violence and, separately, on how biases in media reporting may affect how governments, academics, and others understand conflict dynamics.