Political Violence
Political Violence course content:
The field of “political violence” objectively encompasses a wide range of organised violence (guerrilla warfare, conventional warfare, terrorism, etc.). In this course, we will study the “manufacturing of political violence” in the various stages that shape and constitute the (non-linear, but oscillatory) process of engagement in political violence.
Indeed, we will study the “drivers” leading to political violence at several levels of analysis (micro, meso and macrosociological). Divided into three parts, this course aims to understand the process of engagement in political violence in contexts of national and/or international conflict (civil war, internationalized civil war, inter-state armed conflict, etc.).
The first part of the course is devoted to the “structural drivers” through which an individual or a group engages in political violence, and the influence of international or political opportunity structures.
The second part looks at the cognitive mechanisms of political violence, through the central role of ideology and the means by which it is disseminated, and through the socialisation processes and logics of organization that familiarize the individual or group with political violence, and sometimes even compel them to engage in it.
The third part of the course examine the incentive factors (selective incentives) and the “psycho-sociological” or emotional factors in armed struggle, before proposing a synthesis in the form of a schematic model.
The main aim of this course is to provide students with a conceptual framework to help them analyse and deconstruct the “processes” by which an individual or group adopts a violent form of action, directly linked to an ideology and which challenges the (inter)national order.
Objectives of the Political Violence course:
At the end of the course and reading seminars, students will be able to:
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Identify the mechanisms of political violence applicable to various configurations of armed conflict (guerrilla warfare, interstate warfare, terrorism, etc.);
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Identify the stages in the process of an individual’s or group’s engagement in political violence;
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Understand what makes ideology violent and ideologized violence;
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Apply different theoretical models and concepts to the same phenomenon of contemporary or past political violence;
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Understand the scientific debates and the main controversies surrounding the phenomenon of political violence;
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Understand the process of radicalization and de-radicalization;
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Improve their ability to deal, even critically, with existing scientific literature on the topics examined in class;
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Improve their understanding of the ethical and political issues involved in the study of political violence, and their ability to grasp the differences between scientific analysis and cinematographic, media or political points of view, and to adopt the appropriate distance from these positions;
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To put into practice concrete skills, such as the analysis of scientific sources, including in a language other than their first language, and academic writing;
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To develop students’ ability to think autonomously while giving them the theoretical and practical skills they need for professional careers linked to homeland and international security issues.
Prerequisites:
This is a master’s and doctoral-level course. It assumes that participants have already successfully completed one or more courses in political or social sciences (sociology, ethnography, anthropology, etc.).
A good command of the French language is required. In addition, the course includes compulsory readings, and most of these texts are in English. Therefore, a good command of academic English is strongly recommended.
Teaching methods:
12 online courses of 1 hour and 30 minutes each, along with compulsory readings. Before each course, students will be required to read one or two compulsory texts. These texts, read carefully and reflectively, will enable students to better understand the elements presented in class.
The compulsory readings will be available on the Policy Center website or sent by email. They will mainly constitute of academic articles, but may also include non-academic material (political or media discourses, extracts from film productions and other elements of popular culture) that provides useful additional material to the lectures.
The teaching language and evaluations are in French. For reasons that will be discussed during the course, however, most of the compulsory readings are in English. Additional readings in French are available if you have any difficulties understanding the English language.
Evaluation:
Students will be evaluated on the basis of an essay (2000 words) analyzing popular culture (literary, cinematographic or musical productions, a political or media discourse, the latest news, etc.) and demonstrating their link with the course and compulsory readings. For example, showing how the concepts developed in class could be applied to another real situation (historical and contemporary events) or fictional situation (a film, a TV show, a novel, etc.).
This assignment will be graded on a 20-point scale:
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Ability to present the chosen material (film, TV show, book, political speech, archives, etc.) in a simple, clear, educational and relevant way: 5 points
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Ability to make the link with the course and compulsory readings: 10 points
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Ability to make a link with a relevant issue in the news: 5 points
