The student gains understanding of how the vast majority of conflicts and potential conflicts of concern to the international community are internal conflicts, most often in states or across regions undergoing major political, social, and economic transition and dislocation.

The student gains understanding of how conceptualizations of peace and peacemaking have changed during the past two decades.

The student familiarizes himself or herself with new approaches to conflict management and prevention as well as peace mediations.

The student is able to use conflict analysis tools.

The student recognizes the complexity of current conflicts and shortcomings of rational management models.

The student learns to recognize and critically discuss about peacemaking dilemma between international (peaceful) intervention to end violent conflict and to build conditions for sustainable peace (good aims) and the ignorance of local ownership and practices (interventionist coercion).

The student familiarizes himself or herself with peace practitioners? work.

This course is an introduction to conflict analysis and peace mediation as an approach to conflict resolution in the international political sphere. We will look at the practices of conflict analysis and mediation, their methods and analyze the opportunities and challenges in applying these in peace processes. The course seeks to simplify the field and bridge theoretical approaches with more practice oriented approaches on the one hand and equip students with practical tools and skills in conflict analysis and mediation that can be applied in diverse policy fields on the other.

Lectures: Each lecture gives an introduction and presents different aspects of a given topic. Students are expected to have done the recommended reading and engage in the discussion.

Seminar & small group discussion: In this round, students will discuss together with the instructors the subject matter and raise questions for consideration. Students are expected to read relevant newspapers and other social media and to come prepared to discuss current affairs.

Conflict Analysis Exercises: Students will be asked to form smaller groups and work interactively.

Role-plays:  These are meant to practice the lessons learned in the lectures and seminars.

Degree students of the Peace programme can either include this course in the module PEACE046 Practices of Peace or compensate the course PEACE047 Peace Mediation and Dialogue Processes within "Professional and Transferable Skills".

Students will be accepted to the course in the following order:

1. degree students of the MDP in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research

2. degree students of the other Global Society programmes (MDP in Global and Transnational Sociology, MDP in Public Choice, MDP in Comparative Social Policy and Welfare, MDP in Gender Studies)

3. other degree students of UTA

4. exchange students