| The purpose of this seminar course is to understand the logic and dynamics of state repression and insurgent collective action. We will explore the transformation of social movements (seeking social justice) and criminal organizations (seeking profits) into insurgent guerrilla groups. Our focus is on the state: Failed states may be a privileged terrain for the emergence of criminal organizations and for their mutation into rebel and terrorist groups, but repressive states in authoritarian regimes may also contribute to the transformation of peaceful dissent into violence. Based on the work of Hobbes, Weber, Tilly, Olson, and Bates the course first introduces the role of the state and its primary responsibilities (i.e. taxation, security, and border controls) and analyzes the conditions under which state actors fail to fulfill their role or inflict violence on their own population. In the second part, we analyze why states repress their own citizens and the conditions under which state-sponsored violence may lead to the escalation of peaceful protest into armed rebellions. In the third section, we focus on the opportunities that state failure may open for criminal action and for the transformation of criminal networks into insurgent groups. The course covers material from all different theoretical and methodological persuasions. We will read game-theoretic work, as well as large-N statistical analyses, comparative case studies, ethnographies, and studies that combine different approaches. Geographically, the course covers cases mainly from Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. |
