This course explores political economy issues concerning war and peace. It will examine how states, rebel groups, and terrorist organisations finance violence and evaluate the economic and financial consequences of conflict on states and individuals.

The timetable for this course will be made available to students at the beginning of the academic year. There is no guarantee that this course will run in any given year. For further information, please check the Politics and International Relations Moodle page or contact the subject directly.

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Literature/case review, 1000 words (20%)

Essay, 4000 words (80%)

This course aims to introduce students to the study of conflict from the perspective of Political Economy. It will equip students with the analytical tools to analyse how economics affects conflict and evaluate how conflict affects economics. The course will draw extensively from research in this area and support students in developing skills on how to evaluate theoretical arguments and empirical evidence on the course topics.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Explain how states and other political actors finance organised violence and the political economic consequences of conflict on states, policy and individuals

2. Apply theories and concepts from the study of political economy to cases of conflict

3. Analyse evidence to support or contract plausible explanations for decisions related to conflict

4. Assess how financial decisions affect conflict processes and outcomes

5. Formulate and compose reasoned arguments, supported by empirical evidence.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.