Mobilisation of Violent Collective Action in an Age of Terrorism

Course goals

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By completing this course module the student should attain the following learning outcomes:

• Familiarity with and knowledge of the core topics and issues currently debated within the study of non-state violent collective action, the mobilisation of non-state social-political movements, insurgency and counterinsurgency;
• Familiarity with numerous empirical case examples of the mobilisation of non-state violent collective action; 
• Ability to apply abstract theoretical ideas and concepts in systematic fashion in order to analyse, understand, and explain empirical case studies of non-state armed actors.  This skill will give the student the ability to "make sense" of complex realities in the real world using abstract concepts and ideas learnt in the course;
• Capability to work in a team to prepare and to present an oral presentation to a peer audience, while sharpening the skills of time management, clearly articulated communication, structured thinking, and creative and interactive teaching;
• Ability to give a high-quality peer-assessment of an oral presentation by orally raising questions for critical discussion and debate, and by writing up a critical assessment of the presentation and the answers given to the questions raised during discussion and debate. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND SKILLS: 

This course is concerned with the analysis of how intrastate armed conflicts happen, not as the inevitable outcome simply of emotions and motivations like fear, hate, grievance, and not just of conditions such as poverty or inequality, but rather as a product of human choice and coordinated collective human action that is organised through socio-political mobilisation.  To this end, the learning objectives and skills are as follows:

• To introduce students to core ideas and debates within, and exemplifying scholarly literature on, the subject;
• To show how to do "analysis" in practice:  that is to say, to demonstrate how to "make sense" of complex realities of violent collective action in the real work by using abstract concepts and ideas learnt in the course;
• To foster a grounded and sober appreciation for the complexity of the subject matter; namely, the process of mobilising violent collective action, and ways to respond to it; 
• To improve the skills of oral presentation, peer-evaluation, critical feedback and debate, time management, lucid oral and written communication, logical and structured thinking, and synergetic and cooperative team work.

  

 

Content

We break this statement down into four key questions that structure the course literature and guide the weekly lecture sessions: (1) How, and by whom, is non-state violent collective action framed, organised, and mobilised? (2) What motivates individuals and groups to engage in violent non-state collective action? (3) How do non-state armed actors expand and sustain violent collective action? (4) How do states respond to the violent collective actions of non-state armed actors?

Additional information

• Are enrolled in the Conflict Studies minor 
• Are an exchange student and meet the course’s entry requirements 

This is the third course of the Minor Conflict Studies.​

Please note that you need to enrol separately for both the minor Conflict Studies and the individual courses. 
Enrolling in the Minor does not automatically register you for its courses.