Postgraduate Module Descriptor

POLM088: State-building after Civil War

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

  • State-building and civil wars – key concepts and dilemmas
  • Origins of civil wars: security dilemmas
  • Origins of civil wars: identities and interests
  • Civil war onset and duration
  • Ending civil wars: negotiation, peace-keeping, partition
  • Constitutional design for divided societies
  • Strengthening institutions and maintaining political order after civil war
  • Promoting democracy in weak states
  • Case studies and student presentations

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
22278

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled learning and teaching activities2211 x 2 hour weekly seminars.
Guided independent study60Complete weekly reading assignments.
Guided independent study188Research, and drafting of policy memo, paper outline, and final paper
Guided independent study30Research and preparation for in-class presentation

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

PRIO data on armed conflict: https://www.prio.org/Data/Armed-Conflict/

Uppsala conflict data program: http://ucdp.uu.se

ETH Zurich international conflict research data: https://icr.ethz.ch/data/

Political violence at a glance: http://politicalviolenceataglance.org