A Statement on Sources Task Force on Political Violence and Terrorism

The task force received 81 syllabi in response to our request for support on this project. From these we constructed this guide to to political science resources on political violence and terrorism. The guide identifies readings on each of 5 major categories: 

1. Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism
2. Civil War and State Failure
3. Peacekeeping Operations and Nation Building
4. International Security in a Changing World
5. Genocide, Politicide, and Human Rights

In addition, the guide provides a summary of select regional studies, identifies relevant datasets, and provides links to exemplary syllabi in each of the first four categories.

The articles and books in the guide are derived from many syllabi sent to the APSA Task Force by its members. Those chosen for inclusion in this general guide as the most salient political science contributions are those that met one of two criteria: (1) they have broad appeal; or (2) they make a unique contribution to our understanding of terrorism and political violence from a political science perspective.

Exemplary syllabi were selected that exhibited the most depth and comprehensiveness. Our goal was to identify syllabi that would challenge the very best students in a semester length course, but could be edited down to fit instructors' specific needs.

More on the APSA Task Force on Political Violence and Terrorism Task Force Syllabi Task Force Bibliography