Second Congo Civil War

Paper Description: This paper will be an analytic paper about an ethnic conflict of separatist movement you have chosen. It will have three possible parts: 1. To introduce the topic, you will present an abridged version of describing the conflict, the ‘what’.  2. If relevant,  you can discuss a proximate cause for the conflict that set it off. This would be a specific event that was unique to that moment – like the onset of coronavirus, or a violent incident (like the train fire in Gujarat, etc. 3. The central focus of the paper will be on the ‘why’ –  discussing two or three analytic explanations used in academic studies to explain the deeper or more fundamental reasons for the conflict, which should relate to the analyses we have covered: historical institutions (like colonial policies/administration), institutions contemporary to the time of the conflict, political leadership/ethnic entrepreneurs – political mobilization/ethnic mobilization, demographic shifts – migrations, resource competition elections If you find a compelling reason that does not fit with these categories, you may use it instead (for example influence from other countries or from expatriate communities) so long as you clear it with me – but you must make sure it is something that I will accept. Time permitting, those of you who would like to can share what you learned about your country with the class. Paper Form: The case study will is due on Dec 11th and should be about 6 to 8  pages. It will be uploaded to Canvas as a word document. Please use normal font (preferably Time New Roman 11 or 12 point), normal margins (1″). I have no preference between single or double spaced.  In the paper, you will be expected to include quotations from the articles you are discussion, and possibly from other lit that we have studied in class. When you include quotes or even if you paraphrase ideas from a specific article, I expect you to use parenthetical quotations. Parenthetical quotations are quotes that are followed by information about where the quote came from in parentheses. The information in the parentheses should include the author’s last name, date, and page number (note that the period comes after the parentheses, not after the quote) and look like this: Using aggressive nationalism, elites create “a context where ethnicity is all that counts, and where other interests are no longer relevant” (Gagnon 1994, 137). If it is from a document that I created that is an excerpt, you can just use the author’s name and excerpt, (and page number if possible) “primordial explanations ignore the role that the institutions of the state play in easing, perpetuating, or triggering cultural conflict by structuring incentives in ways that either exacerbate or attenuate the political relevance of cultural identity” (Crawford excerpt, 2). If the quote is very long, please take the important parts and eliminate the parts that are not important by using ‘elipses’ (…) If groups “are large enough to constitute viable coalitions…the cleavage that divides them will become politically salient” (Posner 2004, 259-260). MAKE SURE TO SITE YOUR SOURCES. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. OTHERWISE YOU COULD BE ACCUSED OF PLAGIARISM.  I do actually check quotes to make sure they are from the right place and accurately cited. I will go over over in class what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it. For example, you can use information you find on the web – even from something like Spark notes (not that I recommend doing that) – so long as you properly cite it. You can also look at Rutgers’ policy:  http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/integrity.shtml Finally, you should have a bibliography. I prefer the APA style which you can copy directly from Google Scholar. Make sure you explain how the past has caused the most recent civil war in the Congo Republic.