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? Reading Reflections #1 Due Date: Two day grace period

A Path Appears

Peace, Inc.

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:

Reading Reflections  “Notetaking” test – if it just looks like notes it’s not enough  Informal but understandable writing  Polishing and wordsmithing not necessary (for this)  Short quotes (not included in the word count) okay  No “one-size-fits-all” expectations  Short or long bullet points are okay  Word count comparisons ~ words  Depends on writing style

Reading Reflections  Stream of consciousness reflections on readings  Multi-track notetaking  Things to remember  Related thoughts that come to mind  Points to make  Things to investigate (for project for other things)  Article by article notetaking not necessary (though maybe easier)  Recognize that these are preliminary drafts

Reading Reflections  Good things to include  Highlight smarter ways of thinking about an issue (include comparisons with alternatives)  Compare and contrast points made in different readings  Highlight general principles underlying particular points made (e.g. danger of winner take all politics)  Lessons for other places (e.g. the US could wind up like Iraq)  “Ah Ha” insights  Surprising things  Critiques  Additions

Reading Reflections  Good things to include  Implications  Other good sources  The emotional, subjective side of things  Explained personal opinion  Overall themes for a Unit  Tough challenges / questions  Personal world view changes

Reading Reflections  Things to avoid  Things that seem superficial and self-evident  Don’t just say “I liked this” or “its important” explain why

Reading Reflections  Grades  Graduate school grading

Favorite News Sources???       

Jobs, Grad School, Career Discussion Fast track???

The United States’ Divide

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

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

Liberal Conservative Differences 14/10/21/political- polarization-media-habits/

Liberal Conservative Differences 14/10/21/political- polarization-media-habits/

Read for Tuesday’s Class politics-get-so-personal.html

Not in Our Family Democrat and Republican ratings of the opposition party had dropped to just below 32 degrees. In comparison, Protestants gave Catholics a 66 rating, Democrats gave “big business” a 51, and Republicans rated “people on welfare” at 50.

Ukraine

Ukraine: Geopolitics

Table Numbers Group Assignments Windows Door Screen Front

The Fundamentalism Challenge

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.

Discussion Questions  Take and send in notes.  Define the “Islamist terrorism problem”  List steps that are being advocated (and often pursued) to deal with the problem  Assess the impact (positive and negative) of each step  As currently being pursued  As could be pursued  Identify the most effect, positive steps that might be taken