Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer: 

The purpose of the term paper is to evaluate your ability to compare different theoretical arguments, hypotheses, research designs, and to determine whether a theoretical argument receives empirical support on a topic related to the study of civil war. If you submit a draft of your term paper by November 17th, we will be able to provide feedback on your paper in enough time for you to make revisions before submitting the final version on December 3rd. If you submit an outline of your term paper by October 22nd, we will be able to provide feedback on your outline in enough time for you to make changes before submitting a draft of your term paper on November 17th.
For your term paper you will select a topic from the list of research topics listed below. Read all of the articles listed under that topic. Note: You do not need to do any extra reading aside from the articles listed for each topic.
Your paper may be up to 15 pages and should contain the following:
1. A summary of the main arguments and hypotheses of each article.
2. A comparison of the articles’ research designs.
3. A discussion of whether the hypotheses in each article receive empirical support.
Structure of Paper
Your paper may be up to 15 double-spaced pages, should have 1 inch margins, and be written using Times New Roman 12-point font. Note: there is no minimum page requirement but I do not believe you will be able to complete the requirements in less than 10 pages. You will want to proofread and spell check your paper before submitting the final version. Before you start writing your paper you will want to spend some time thinking about how to organize your paper, present the arguments, etc. A well written paper makes for a better grade than a poorly written one.
A good structure for the term paper is the following (feel free to use the headings below):
1. Introduction: In your introduction you will want to 1) present the specific research question(s) addressed in each article, 2) mention why the author(s) of each article believe the research question(s) is important in the study of civil war, 3) provide a brief glimpse of the findings of each article (e.g., Author(s) X finds that ethnic fractionalization does not seem to influence the onset of civil wars but author(s) Y finds that ethnic fractionalization influences whether a country will experience a civil war), and 4) provide a brief overview of the paper.
2. Theory: In this section you will want to present the broad theoretical arguments used in each of the articles. Next, you need to pick 1 hypothesis from each article and explain how the author(s) derived that hypothesis, that is, what specific theoretical arguments does the author(s) provide to come up with that hypothesis. Note: A hypothesis is a statement that entails an expectation of a relationship between two or more factors that needs to be supported or refuted by an empirical analysis. A hypothesis is typically denoted Hypothesis 1, H1, or Proposition 1. An article may have multiple hypotheses but you only need to present and explain the arguments for 1 hypothesis for each article. Finally, compare the hypotheses across the articles. For example, author(s) X argues that ethnic fractionalization should increase the likelihood of civil war because [insert theoretical argument]. Author(s) Y expects the same relationship between ethnic fractionalization and civil war but argues that this relationship is due to [insert theoretical argument]. In contrast, author(s) Z argues that there should be no relationship between ethnic fractionalization and civil war onset because [insert theoretical argument]. In short, you will want to compare the different theoretical arguments that are made across the articles as well as the hypotheses that follow from the theoretical arguments.
3. Research Design: In this section you will want to compare the different research designs used in the articles. You need to identify the unit of analysis, spatial domain, and temporal domain used in each of the articles. Next, discuss whether the articles use the same unit of analysis or different units of analysis? Do the authors examine the same spatial and temporal domains, or do they examine different spatial and temporal domains?
You need to identify the dependent variable the author(s) of each article used to test the hypothesis you identified above, describe how the dependent variable is measured, and what data source is used.
For the hypothesis you selected above, what is the independent variable that the au- thor(s) used to test this hypothesis? How is this variable measured? What data source is used to measure this independent variable? Note: you only need to discuss the measurement of 1 independent variable for each article and the independent variable you examine should be associated with the hypothesis you presented above.
4. Empirical Analysis: Is there empirical support for the hypothesis you identified in each of the articles? You will need to locate the relevant table in the article that speaks to that hypothesis and discuss whether the variable has a positive or negative effect on the dependent variable and whether that relationship is statistically significant. The author(s) will usually let you know which table (or figure) provides the evidence that supports or does not support the hypothesis the author(s) proposed. Next, compare the results of the empirical analysis across the articles. Do the findings support or contradict each other?
5. Conclusion: In this section you should summarize the conclusions you draw from the articles. In general, describe what the effect your topic has on the study of civil war. For example, based on the results of author’s X, Y, and Z, we can conclude that there

is no effect of ethnic fractionalization on civil war onset. However, author(s) Y finds that in ethnic civil wars, there is a positive and statistically significant relationship between ethnic fractionalization and ethnic civil war onset. Overall, we can conclude that ethnic fractionalization is an important predictor of civil war onset but the effect appears to be isolated to ethnic civil wars. At this point, you might also provide a short critique of shortcomings of the articles and propose ways that research on this topic could be advanced in the future.
Rules of Citation1
The general rule for citing or referring to sources in a paper is to use the author’s (or au- thors’) name/s, the date of publication, and the page numbers in parentheses next to the argument that refers to a particular source. There are two ways of referring to an article:
Example 1: Cederman, Wimmer, and Min (2010) find that leader’s of an ethnic group that are excluded from state power are more likely to challenge the government for control of state power using violence.
Example 2: Leader’s of an ethnic group that are excluded from state power are more likely to challenge the government for control of state power using violence (Cederman, Wimmer, and Min, 2010).
If you use a direct quote then you must place that quote in parentheses and list the page number.
Example 3: Cederman, Wimmer, and Min (2010) conceptualize “ethnic politics as the struggle over control of the state between various ethnically defined organizations and their constituencies” (95).
1Keep in mind the policies on Academic Dishonesty. You may want to consult the syllabus for the policies on academic dishonesty as well as tips for how to avoid plagiarism.
Topics
• Natural Resources and Civil War
– Michael L. Ross. 2004. “How Do Natural Resources Influence Civil War?: Evi-
dence from Thirteen Cases.” International Organization 58(1): 35-67.
– Pa ̈ivi Lujala, Nils Petter Gleditsch, and Elisabeth Gilmore. 2005. “A Diamond Curse?: Civil War and a Lootable Resource.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 49(4): 538-562.
– Patrick M. Regan and Daniel Norton. 2005. “Greed, Grievance, and Mobilization in Civil Wars.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 49(3): 319-336.
• Civil War Severity
– Macartan Humphreys and Jeremy M. Weinstein. 2006. “Handling and Manhan-
dling Civilians in Civil War.” American Political Science Review 100(3): 429-447.
– Bethany Lacina. 2006. “Explaining the Severity of Civil Wars.” Journal of
Conflict Resolution 50(2): 276-289.
– Lindsay Heger and Idean Salehyan. 2007. “Ruthless Rulers: Coalition Size and
the Severity of Civil Conflict.” International Studies Quarterly 51(2): 385-403. • Consequences from Civil Wars
– Hazem Adam Ghobarah, Paul Huth, Bruce Russett. 2003. “Civil Wars Kill and Maim People—Long After the Shooting Stops.” American Political Science Review 97(2): 189-202.
– Thomas Plu ̈mper and Eric Neumayer. 2006. “The Unequal Burden of War: The Effect of Armed Conflict on the Gender Gap in Life Expectancy.” International Organization 60(3): 723-754.
– Idean Salehyan and Kristian Skrede Gleditsch. 2006. “Refugees and the Spread of Civil War.” International Organization 60(2): 335-366.
• Civil War and Genocide
– Matthew Krain. 1997. “State-Sponsored Mass Murder: The Onset and Severity
of Genocides and Politicides.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 41(3): 331-360.
– Barbara Harff. 2003. “No Lessons Learned from the Holocaust? Assessing Risks of Genocide and Political Mass Murder since 1955.” American Political Science Review 97(1): 57-73.
– Benjamin Valentino, Paul Huth, and Dylan Balch-Lindsay. 2004. “‘Draining the Sea’: Mass Killing and Guerrilla Warfare.” International Organization 58(2): 375-407.
• Civil War and State Failure
– Gary King and Langche Zeng. 2001. “Improving Forecasts of State Failure.”
World Politics 53(4): 623-658.
– Zaryab Iqbal. 2006. “Health and Human Security: The Public Health Impact of
Violent Conflict.” International Studies Quarterly 50(3): 631-649.
– Zaryab Iqbal and Harvey Starr. 2008. “Bad Neighbors: Failed States and Their
Consequences.” Conflict Management and Peace Science 25(4): 315-331. • Reconstruction After Civil War
– Nicholas Sambanis. 2000. “Partition as a Solution to Ethnic War: An Empirical Critique of the Theoretical Literature.” World Politics 52(4): 437-483.
– Barbara F. Walter. 2004. “Does Conflict Beget Conflict? Explaining Recurring Civil War.” Journal of Peace Research 41(3): 371-388.
– David E. Cunningham. 2006. “Veto Players and Civil War Duration.” American Journal of Political Science 50(4): 875-892.
• Ending Civil War through Bargaining
– Barbara F. Walter. 1997. “The Critical Barrier to Civil War Settlement.” Inter-
national Organization 51(3): 335-364.
– Caroline A. Hartzell. 1999. “Explaining the Stability of Negotiated Settlements
to Intrastate Wars.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 43(1): 3-22.
– Katherine Glassmyer and Nicholas Sambanis. 2008. “Rebel-Military Integration
and Civil War Termination.” Journal of Peace Research 45(3): 365-384. • Secession and Autonomy as Alternatives to Civil War
– Barbara F. Walter. 2006. “Building Reputation: Why Governments Fight Some Separatists but Not Others.” American Journal of Political Science 50(2): 313- 330.
– Halvard Buhaug. 2006. “Relative Capability and Rebel Objectives in Civil War.” Journal of Peace Research 43(6): 691-708.
– Erin K. Jenne, Stephen M. Saideman, and Will Lowe. 2007. “Separatism as a Bargaining Posture: The Role of Leverage in Minority Radicalization.” Journal of Peace Research 44(5): 539-558.
• Geography and Civil War
– Halvard Buhaug and Scott Gates. 2002. “The Geography of Civil War.” Journal
of Peace Research 39(4): 417-433.
– Halvard Buhaug and Jan Ketil Rød. 2006. “Local Determinants of African Civil
Wars.” Political Geography 25(3): 315-335.
– Nils B. Weidmann. 2009. “Geography as Motivation and Opportunity.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 53(4): 526-543.