Social Science and the Iraq and Syrian Wars
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this political science course examining the wars in Iraq and Syria through the lens of social science theory and methods. Students learn to combine theory, data, and description to explain variation in violent conflict, addressing the central question of how political science can account for the course these wars have taken over more than a decade. The materials include a syllabus, readings, and assignments drawn from MIT's graduate-level curriculum, with topics covering insurgency, sectarian violence, state collapse, and international intervention. The course is aimed at students who already have some grounding in political science and want to apply theoretical frameworks to a specific, ongoing set of conflicts. As with other MIT OCW offerings, all course materials are free to access, though there is no certificate or instructor interaction.