Course # 32740 Section Number 1 Day(s) Tu- Th Time(s) 11:00am-12:20pm Term Fall 2024 Specialization Global Conflict Studies International Policy Course Instructor Christopher Blattman Syllabus Syllabus 2/16/24 Most countries in the world have been independent for about 50 years. Some are peaceful and have prospered, while some remain poor, war-torn, or both. What explains why some countries have succeeded while others remain poor, violent, and unequal? Moreover, fifty years on, a lot of smart people are genuinely surprised that these countries’ leaders have not been able to make more progress in implementing good policies. If there are good examples to follow, why haven’t more countries followed these examples into peace and prosperity? Finally, we see poverty and violence despite 50 years of outside intervention. Shouldn’t foreign aid, democracy promotion, peacekeeping, and maybe even military intervention have promoted order and growth? If not why not, and what should we do about it as citizens? This class is going to try to demystify what’s going on. There are good explanations for violence and disorder. There are some good reasons leaders don’t make headway, bureaucrats seem slothful, and programs get perverted. The idea is to talk about the political, economic, and natural logics that lead to function and dysfunction. Recent News More news Free medical school tuition unlikely to have a major impact on the U.S. health care system Thu., July 25, 2024 After a shooting, community and health leaders step up to help survivors heal Tue., July 23, 2024 Student Profile: Vladimir Bejdo, DPSS’23 Thu., July 18, 2024 Upcoming Events More events Get to Know Harris! MACRM and PhD Information Session Thu., August 01, 2024 | 8:30 AM Get to Know Harris! A Virtual Information Session Wed., August 07, 2024 | 12:00 PM Harris Evening Master's Program Information Session Wed., August 21, 2024 | 12:00 PM