Contentious Politics
GLOB1-GC2470
Credit:
Global Affairs
On any given day, a newspaper reader is likely to come across reports of contentious politics from around the world: protest marches, coups d'état, genocide and ethnic conflict, terrorism, and cyberactivism campaigns. A common feature of these political struggles is the disruptive, non-institutionalized, and episodic nature of political action, as groups of people mobilize to change the rules of the political game that govern the interaction between citizens or between citizens and the state. Contentious politics is a relatively new, interdisciplinary field of study that covers a wide variety of political conflicts ranging from independence struggles and nationalistic movements to revolutions, democratic transitions, terrorism, ethnic conflicts, indigenous movements, and genocide. This course examines the dynamics of contention and how it relates to the development of political institutions. It explores the competing ideas about citizenship, rights, and justice that motivate political struggles between state and society or between groups within a society. As these ideas have evolved through history contentious politics have undergone major changes. The course traces these changes and discusses how the impact of globalization on state sovereignty is fueling the emergence of new contentious issues.
To register for this course you must be an admitted student in an NYU credit or degree program or have special student status.
Admitted NYU credit or degree students may visit NYUHome to register through ALBERT.
To apply to an NYU-SCPS credit or degree program, call (212) 998-7100.
