Topics: Land Rights & Conflict in Global Perspective

This class explores how struggles over land and territory shape different forms of conflict and violence between, for example, squatters and state officials, different ethnic or religious communities, or rebel groups and the state. The course examines questions of land and conflict such as: What does land, property, and territory mean to different groups of people? What are the institutions that shape land access and security? How can land explain different conflict dynamics? And what policy implications emerge from a close study of land rights around issues of economic development, food security, peacebuilding, or environmental conversation? We apply these questions to different regional contexts and country-specific case studies including Kenya, China, Indonesia, Colombia, and Afghanistan. The course is interdisciplinary in its approach, drawing from political science, as well as economics and anthropology. It should appeal to students interested in peace and conflict issues, environmental politics, international development, and human rights.

Cross-listed as POLI_SCI 390-0-25.