Civil War
MIT's Civil War course surveys the social science literature on why civil wars start, why some drag on for years while others end quickly, and how they terminate. The syllabus works through competing explanations for onset, including greed versus grievance arguments, ethnic and religious cleavage, weak state capacity, and natural resource wealth, then turns to the dynamics that prolong fighting, such as external intervention, rebel financing, and battlefield stalemate. Termination is treated as its own problem, covering negotiated settlements, military victory, and the difficulty of enforcing peace agreements once a war ends. The course is deliberately interdisciplinary, pulling from political science, economics, and sociology, and draws on a wide range of cases rather than focusing on one conflict or region. Materials include a full reading list of scholarly articles and assigned discussion questions for each session, in the standard MIT OpenCourseWare format. There is no video lecture series and no certificate; it is a self-directed syllabus and reading course for advanced students already familiar with basic conflict studies.