PS 481

Credit: 3 hours.

Examines the life-cycles of violent non-state actors (VNSAs), like ISIS, Sudan’s Janjaweed, and the Mexican Los Zetas Cartel. Some of the most pressing security concerns facing the world’s governments today stem from non-state actors, not other states in the international system. This course examines the development of these organizations, their political and military structures, their activities, the alliances and rivalries they form, and the processes by which they sometimes evolve into legitimate, non-violent political actors.

3 undergraduate hours. No graduate credit. Prerequisite: PS 280 or PS 281 or PS 283, or at least six hours of Political Science credit, or consent of instructor.