Learning outcomes

After the course a student

- is able to describe in general terms the field of peace and conflict studies and research and knows its different traditions and orientations

- is familiar with the research performed in peace and conflict studies and can describe its main new trends, themes and domains

- is familiar with the basic issues to be analyzed within the specialization modules of the PEACE programme.

Student will become cognizant of key concepts and terms related to international and global conflict resolution, for example, collective security and human security, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, human rights and responsible to protect.

Student will gain an understanding of the linkage and interrelationships between peace and sustainable development, alleviation of poverty, economics, gender equality, human rights, access to justice, and participatory government.

Student gains an understanding of the options available for dealing with conflict within and among nations and at the global level.

Contents

Course is divided to different sections. Each of them consists of lectures and of selected literature:

Old and new trends in peace and conflict research
- general introduction on peace and conflict research, on its different traditions and different generations from Cold War to multipolar globalized world
- understanding peace and conflict in multicultural world

Peace and conflict research as a critical movement
- idea of peace and conflict research as a movement of the mind and critical of mere convention and established institutions of knowledge
- traditions emerging from British, Continental European, North American and Nordic historical contexts
- continuity and change in the idea of critical research is evaluated by examining how the variety of research today relates to these historical traditions, on the one hand, and the more recent debates in social and cultural research, on the other hand.

International peace building
-how the understanding of “war”, “peace” and “peacemaking” have changed from the 19th century to present.
-how human rights have been adapted into international politics and how the international community has interfered with large scale peace building operations in the post-Cold War era.
-phenomena like responsibility to protect, humanitarian intervention and liberal peace are explained.

Gender in crisis management
- reasons why gender aspect is relevant in peace support operations and the various forms of gender sensitive action in international military and civilian crisis management

Security studies and peace and conflict research
- development of the study of security after the end of the Cold War
- replacement of an (almost entirely) military approach to security by a more diversified understanding including, but not limited to, military, political, and societal (identity-related) dimensions of security

Environmental security
- introduction to environmental security in the context of global environmental change
- role of environment and natural resources in conflicts and peace building
- connections between climate change and security

Fragile Peace during the Cold War
-What was the nature of the Cold War? Are today's conflicts different?
-Why did no major war occur in Europe, between 1945 and 1990?
-How did the Europeans contribute to peace, prevent war?

Evaluation

Further information

The course will be organised in 1st year autumn term.

Belongs to following study modules

2013–2014

Teaching

Archived Teaching Schedule. Please refer to current Teaching Shedule.

-