POL 690 After the Fall: The Politics of Reconstruction and Reparation in Post-Conflict Societies
This course looks at the politics of reconstruction, reparation and reconciliation in the wake of political disaster. Topics include the sorts of political settlements that emerge from such national catastrophes; the roles of international actors in shaping, enforcing and financing those settlements; the vexed questions of retaliation, reconciliation and reparation for the crimes of the past; the distribution of pain and rewards in post-conflict reconstruction; and the roles of state and "civil society" in recovery. Cases for research may include: Afghanistan today; Angola after the defeat of UNITA; Argentina after the generals; Bosnia under the Dayton Accords; Cambodia after the UN-brokered peace accords; Chiles after Pinochet; East Timor at Independence; El Salvador since 1992; Guatemala today; Indonesia after the fall of Soeharto; occupied Iraq; Mozambique after the peace accords; Rwanda after the genocide; Serbia and the breakup of Yugoslavia; and South Africa after apartheid. Students will develop and report on their own research projects centered on one aspect of one or more cases.