GV537-6-FY-CO:
State Fragility, State Building and Conflict

The details
2023/24
Government
Colchester Campus
Full Year
Undergraduate: Level 6
ReassessmentOnly
Thursday 05 October 2023
Friday 28 June 2024
30
07 March 2022

 

Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)

 

(none)

Key module for

(none)

Module description

This module examines the interplay between state fragility, political and economic development, state building, and conflict. The first part of the module explores how state capacity and processes of state formation influence the risk of conflict. The second part examines how conflict, violence, and third-party intervention influence post-conflict state-building, development, and broader peace-building processes.

The topics covered in this module include (but are not limited to): the relationship between state capacity and conflict, the political dimensions of state fragility and their effect on civil war and terrorism, the causes and consequences of the "resource curse", the effects of refugee flows and the migration-security nexus, United Nations peacekeeping, post-conflict elections and election monitoring, constitution building, democratization, and human rights.

Module aims

The aims of this module are:

1. Analyze the interplay between state fragility, political and economic development, state building, and conflict.
2. Familiarize students with rigorous, empirically grounded research on state fragility and state building

Module learning outcomes

In this module students will learn to:

1. Apply theoretical frameworks to understand the dynamics of some of the most conflict prone and unstable areas of the world
2. Identify the challenges to post-conflict state building and assess relevant policy responses

By the end of the course you should be able to:

1. Understand and assess the multiple dimensions of (in)stability and state fragility.
2. Identify and understand the interplay of economic and political drivers of conflict
3. Understand the obstacles to political development and state building in post-conflict societies.
4. Understand the significance of key concepts in conflict resolution studies and their relevance for the analysis of state building.
5. Link theory and evidence in the study of peacekeeping and peacebuilding
6. Apply theoretical frameworks to understand the dynamics of specific conflict and post-conflict states
7. Identify, describe, and critically evaluate solutions to prevent, mitigate and manage civil wars.

Module information

No additional information available.

Learning and teaching methods

The module will be taught on the basis of one two-hour seminar, sometimes divided into a lecture followed by a class, sometimes combined as a two-hour discussion with a break in the middle. Students must prepare for each class by reading the materials assigned for the week (under required readings). Attendance is mandatory. Failure to read and/or to attend will make it hard to follow the course and even harder to do well on the essays and tests.

Bibliography

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam Description Deadline Coursework weighting
Coursework   In Class Test 2    30% 
Coursework   Essay     40% 
Coursework   In Class Test 1    30% 

Exam format definitions

  • Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
  • In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%

Reassessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Sara Polo, email: sara.polo@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Sara Polo
Dr Sara Polo email sara.polo@essex.ac.uk Module Administrator: Sallyann West, govquery@essex.ac.uk

 

Availability
Yes
Yes
Yes

External examiner

Dr Edward Morgan-Jones
University of Kent
Reader in Comparative Politics
Resources
Available via Moodle
Of 39 hours, 39 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).

 

Further information
Government

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