IR130: War, Power and Morality: Divisive Debates and Contentious Conflicts

This course will introduce students to the state-of the-art in debates on how and why wars arise, along with the complex ethical dilemmas they create, while illustrating competing arguments from political theory with studies of key cases of violent political conflict. 

The course is organized around a set of enduring questions relating to the use of force in conflicts both between and within states that have divided scholars and tested political leaders as they face choices between war and peace. Why do states fight? How do we decide if a war is just? What drives people to rebel? When is it permissible to kill civilians for a political cause? Should we be willing to give up our liberties for our security? Does democracy produce peace? When is outside intervention to stop atrocities justified? These are a few of the challenging issues the course addresses and invites students to grapple with.

During the course students will be exposed to the ideas of some of the world’s major political thinkers on these questions. This will include thinking from classical western philosophers such as Hobbes, Macchiavelli, Kant, and Arendt. It will also involve understanding perspectives from beyond the western world as pioneered by, for instance, Ibn Taymiyyah, Frantz Fanon, W.E.B.Du Bois, and Sayyid Qutb.

On these foundations in political theory, the course examines its key themes and questions through touchstone cases of conflict. The aim is to encourage students to apply critically the theories of war and conflict they are taught to instances of real-world political violence and evaluate their causes and conduct. Students will, for example, study anti-colonial liberation struggles; the rise of militant Islam and the War on Terror; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; and the Rwandan civil war and genocide.

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course. 

Level: 100 level. Read more information on levels in our FAQs

Fees: Please see Fees and payments

Lectures: 36 hours

Classes: 18 hours

Assessment: One examination and one essay

Typical credit: 3-4 credits (US) 7.5 ECTS points (EU)

Please note: Assessment is optional but may be required for credit by your home institution. Your home institution will be able to advise how you can meet their credit requirements. For more information on exams and credit, read Teaching and assessment

This course is suited to those who would like to familiarise themselves with debates in the public sphere relating to the causes, conduct, and ethics of wars. It would also be useful to students who are considering careers focused on policy and advocacy in relation to peace and conflict. 

By the end of this course, students will:

• Acquire an understanding of key theories of how and why states, non-state actors, and individuals engage in political violence
• Understand and be able to use various arguments in key ethical debates relating to war and peace
• Develop knowledge of key cases of violent political conflict and be able to evaluate them normatively and empirically

The design of this course is guided by LSE faculty, as well as industry experts, who will share their experience and in-depth knowledge with you throughout the course.