PACS 4500 Senior Seminar in Peace and Conflict Studies Guy Burgess Co-Director Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado UCB 580, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO , (303) Copyright © 2014 Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess

Due Dates Project Topic Questions Project Team Matchmaking?

Web Forms to Use Please don’t use PACS “Contact Us” Forms

Grades and Comments  D2L for Attendance and Assignment Grades  As well as major assignment upload “drop box”  for  Comments  Electronic reserve reading  Access--username: pacs4500; password: pacs4500  Comment ID gburgess1234  Format:

Oil Dependent Alaska

Median Household Income

Income Growth

Class Identification

Koch Brothers million-on-2016-campaign.html

The Escape of the Super Rich??? public-leaders- network/2015/jan/23/nervou s-super-rich-planning- escapes-davos-2015

European Union & Greek Depression “…overall unemployment rising to 28 percent and youth unemployment rising to almost 60 percent”

International Comparisons

Ukraine

Pew Taxonomy Partisan Anchors 1 -- Steadfast Conservatives – socially conservative populists (the tea party) 2 -- Business Conservatives – Pro Wall Street, pro-immigrant 3 -- Solid Liberals – liberal across-the-board Less Partisan, Less Predictable 4 -- Young Outsiders – conservative views on government, not social issues 5 -- Hard-pressed Skeptics – financially stressed and pessimistic 6 -- Next-generation Left – young, liberal on social issues, less so on social safety net 7 -- Faith and Family Left – racially diverse and religious Bystanders – young, diverse, on the sidelines of politics

Pew Taxonomy The new typology has eight groups: Three are strongly ideological, highly politically engaged and overwhelmingly partisan – two on the right and one on the left. Steadfast Conservatives are staunch critics of government and the social safety net and are very socially conservative. Business Conservatives share Steadfast Conservatives’ preference for limited government, but differ in their support for Wall Street and business, as well as immigration reform. And Business Conservatives are far more moderate on social issues than are Steadfast Conservatives. At the other end of the spectrum, Solid Liberals express liberal attitudes across almost every realm – government, the economy and business and foreign policy, as well as on race, homosexuality and abortion – and are reliable and loyal Democratic voters. Steadfast Conservatives Business Conservatives Solid Liberals Taken together, these three groups form the electoral base of the Democratic and Republican Parties, and their influence on American politics is strong. While Solid Liberals, Steadfast Conservatives and Business Conservatives collectively make up only 36% of the American public, they represent 43% of registered voters and fully 57% of the more politically engaged segment of the American public: those who regularly vote and routinely follow government and public affairs. The other typology groups are less partisan, less predictable and have little in common with each other or the groups at either end of the political spectrum. The one thing they do share is that they are less engaged politically than the groups on the right or left. Young Outsiders Young Outsiders lean Republican but do not have a strong allegiance to the Republican Party; in fact they tend to dislike both political parties. On many issues, from their support for environmental regulation to their liberal views on social issues, they diverge from traditional GOP orthodoxy. Yet in their support for limited government, Young Outsiders are firmly in the Republicans’ camp. Hard-Pressed Skeptics Hard-Pressed Skeptics have been battered by the struggling economy, and their difficult financial circumstances have left them resentful of both government and business. Despite their criticism of government performance, they back more generous government support for the poor and needy. Most Hard-Pressed Skeptics say they voted for Obama in 2012, though fewer than half approve of his job performance today. The Next Generation Left are young, relatively affluent and very liberal on social issues like same-sex marriage and abortion. But they have reservations about the cost of social programs. And while most of the Next Generation Left support affirmative action, they decisively reject the idea that racial discrimination is the main reason why many blacks are unable to get ahead. Next Generation Left

Table Numbers Group Assignments Windows Door Screen Front

Have/Have-Not Complexity Problems at the Top Natural Selection New Class Differences Superstar Effect Money Addiction Boundless Greed Rationalization Zero-Sum Thinking Concentration of Wealth Discrimination Problems at the Bottom Family Disintegration Withdrawal from the Workforce Low Educational Expectations Scarcity Thinking Crime Estimate the Percentage of “Explained Variance” associated with each factor. Systemic Problems Prison Industrial Complex Poverty Capitalism Cheating Advantages Automation Technological Advance Kludgeocracy Employer's Market (Fear Economy) Lack of Compassion Underperforming Schools Tax Structure Red Tape Regulations

Discussion Questions  For your group, estimate what the group thinks about the importance of the various causes of inequality. Rank according to truthfulness, impact, and susceptibility to change.  Discuss the differences between your views and the views of other groups.  Think ways in which you might be able to build a working coalition with other groups.  Try to avoid the “51% Hammer” syndrome.

The New Culture Wars 11e4-9f a573f8_story.html?hpid=z3

Think Before You March I charlie-hebdo-islamist-terrorism/ Things to think about: Are you magnifying the importance of an attack? Is political opportunism influencing the response? Is there a “terrorism industrial complex” at play? Is an overly harsh response likely to drive the backlash effect and increase rather than decrease terrorism? Is the response likely to increase rather than decrease intergroup hostility? Are you failing to put the terrorism risk in proper perspective with other risks? Are we recognizing the many ways in which our actions have understandably contributed to hostility against the West? Are we being morally consistent in condemning acts of terror committed by our friends? Wes and Mark Wes and Mark

Think Before You March II charlie-hebdo-islamist-terrorism/ Accept that we are playing the long game of containment, Recognize that the heart of the struggle is elsewhere, Offer the lived idea of equality as citizens as an alternative to violent jihad, Address the frustrations that marginalized populations feel Accept the need for security measures while recognizing they never ensure completely safety, Remain true to our ideals (rule of law, no torture, etc.). Stop trying to engage in regime change and/or social engineering in the Arab and Islamic worlds, Stop using force there in an inconsistent and often indiscriminate fashion.

The Fundamentalism Challenge