Thesis seminar will start in mid-September 2013 and will last until end of the academic year. 3 hours/ week

In a thesis seminar students are required to complete written work and participate in presentations. During the seminar a student will submit:

1)      Literature review

2)      Research plan

3)      Full chapter of the thesis

The course is available only for the degree students in the programme.

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

1) 9.9. and 11.9. Tuomo Melasuo, Professor, Director of TAPRI: 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
- different peace sciences outside to Eurocentric world and which have existed in various epochs.
- understanding peace and conflict in multicultural world

2) 12.9. and 18.9.Helena Rytövuori-Apunen, University Teacher: 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.

3) 19.9.and 25.9. Please note the change in lecture time  19.9. at 11.00-12.30 Marko Lehti, Senior Researcher: International peace building
- how understanding of “war” and “peace” has changed and what is understood as new wars
- how human rights have been adapted into international politics and how international community has interfered with large scale peace building operations

4) 26.9.and 30.9. Benedikt Schoenborn, University Researcher: Fragile Peace during the Cold War

- historical views on elements of European peace 1945-90

- how military conflict was avoided in the European Cold War

- attempts to create sustainable peace structures in times of high political tension

5) Frank Möller, University Researcher: Peace and Security

6) 7.10 and 9.10 Geneviève Souillac, University Teacher: Ethics, Modernity and Peace: Dilemmas and the Way Forward
- understanding of the role of religious ethics in modern social and political ethics
- contextualization of the evolution of ethical thought in intellectual history
- complexities of the dialectic between ethics and critical thought in modernity
- conceptual and critical vocabulary that will assist the student in all her/his studies of peace and conflict from the point of view of philosophy, society and culture

7) 10.10 and 14.10 Teemu Palosaari, Post Doc Researcher: 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

8) 16.10 and 17.10 Alina Curticapean University Researcher: Security and Identities

All degree students of the PEACE programme are automatically enrolled to this course.

Some places available for exchange students. Requirements: Master level students who have very good academic English and good background knowledge in the field of study. To sign up, please contact the teacher responsible.

Course content and associated goals include
1) increasing awareness of the dimensions and social contexts of conflict situations through the comparison of institutions in various cultures and nations
2) examining and analyzing a range of conflict resolution practices, conflict prevention strategies, and peace-building, peacekeeping, and reconciliation techniques, and
3) gaining an understanding of the options available for dealing with conflict within and among nations and at the global level.

The students of the University of Tampere will complete this course unit from the Åbo Akademi University via a classroom real-time video link.

In this module we study different approaches to peace through the examples of specific individuals who have earned recognition for their actions in the cause of peace. The lectures will introduce a selection of individuals, the conflict situations they faced, and their coping with the conflict by peaceful means. These personalities will include some acclaimed peacebuilders, e.g., Aung San Suu Kyi and Mohandas Gandhi, Mikhail Gorbachev and Willy Brandt, Nelson Mandela and Rosa Parks. Special attention will be paid to the peacebuilders’ own explanations of their motivations, actions and objectives, and the – potentially different – international perception of their work in hindsight.

Furthermore, each student will present a research paper on a chosen individual and thereby contribute one approach to the complex topic of peacebuilding. The sources used for the research paper should ideally include original writings and speeches by the selected peacebuilder.

Max 24 students
Priority is given for degree students in Master's programme in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research (1st and 2nd year students in order of enrolment and then students from collaboration University Åbo Academy).
If places are available, students outside the programme are selected in the following order:
- UTA degree students from other programmes
- UTA exchange and visiting students
Prerequisites:
- Master level students who have a very good academic English and good background knowledge in the field of study.

Thesis seminar will start in mid-September 2013 and will last until end of the academic year. 3 hours/ week

In a thesis seminar students are required to complete written work and participate in presentations. During the seminar a student will submit:

1)      Literature review

2)      Research plan

3)      Full chapter of the thesis

The course is available only for the degree students in the programme.

Max 20 students. Priority is given to PEACE students. Pre-enrolment by 15.10.2013 by sending e-mail to the teacher.

In this module we study different approaches to peace through the examples of specific individuals who have earned recognition for their actions in the cause of peace. The lectures will introduce a selection of individuals, the conflict situations they faced, and their coping with the conflict by peaceful means. These personalities will include some acclaimed peacebuilders, e.g., Aung San Suu Kyi and Mohandas Gandhi, Mikhail Gorbachev and Willy Brandt, Nelson Mandela and Rosa Parks. Special attention will be paid to the peacebuilders’ own explanations of their motivations, actions and objectives, and the – potentially different – international perception of their work in hindsight.

Furthermore, each student will present a research paper on a chosen individual and thereby contribute one approach to the complex topic of peacebuilding. The sources used for the research paper should ideally include original writings and speeches by the selected peacebuilder.

Max 24 students
Priority is given for degree students in Master's programme in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research (1st and 2nd year students in order of enrolment and then students from collaboration University Åbo Academy).
If places are available, students outside the programme are selected in the following order:
- UTA degree students from other programmes
- UTA exchange and visiting students
Prerequisites:
- Master level students who have a very good academic English and good background knowledge in the field of study.

The history of European colonial empires is a story of conquest, domination, exploitation, war and conflicts. The 20th century was characterized by the collapse of those empires and by the independence of their former colonies with lot of hopes for better future in developing world.
- The last quarter of the 20th century witnessed disillusions of those hopes when the Western world strengthened its domination of globalized economic relations. Today only the so called emerging countries, the BRICS are able to challenge this domination.
- This longue durée evolution is approached from the point of view of peace and conflict research, because the era of colonial empires and their collapse is full of different kind of latent and violent conflicts. The main purpose is to understand the meanings of those conflicts for today. What kind of new conflicts they probably generate as well as what kind of mediation and resolutions might be appropriate in order to strenghten a sustainable peace?

Priority is given for degree students in Master's programme in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research (1st and 2nd year students in order of enrolment and then students from collaboration University Åbo Academy).
If places are available, students outside the programme are selected in the following order:
- UTA degree students from other programmes
- UTA exchange and visiting students
Prerequisites:
- Master level students who have a very good academic English and good background knowledge in the field of study.

This module is made up of class sessions including group work (20 hours), as well as independent out of class tasks (61 hours). The module will be two periods long and will take place in the autumn semester of the first year of the master’s degree programme.

This module examines intersectional approaches to human mobility in peace and conflict research. Violent conflicts, ethnic and religious discrimination and human rights abuses produce forced displacement, understood as both refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). The perspectives of states, international organizations, civil society organizations as well as migrants themselves in responding to these crisis situations are considered. During the course these perspectives are approached through three types of intersections. These include a) intersections between theoretical approaches to the question of forced migration, b) those between theory and practice, and c) those between different empirical situations of forced migration.

Priority for degree students in Master's programme in Peace, Mediation and Coflict Research. Some places available for exchange students. Requirements: Master level students who have very good academic English and good background knowledge in the field of study.

Thesis seminar will start in mid-September 2013 and will last until end of the academic year. 3 hours/ week

In a thesis seminar students are required to complete written work and participate in presentations. During the seminar a student will submit:

1)      Literature review

2)      Research plan

3)      Full chapter of the thesis

The course is available only for the degree students in the programme.

The course deals with the role of the environment and natural resources in conflicts and peace building. Among the key themes are environmental impacts of conflicts and warfare, and post-conflict environmental analysis. Moreover, the course describes how natural resources can function both as a source of conflicts and as tools in peace building and in post-conflict economic recovery and reconciliation. The theoretical underpinnings of environmental security are also discussed.

Enrolment through Nettiopsu.
Enrolment and participation for the course:
Priority is given for degree students in Master's programme in Peace, Mediation and Coflict Research (1st and 2nd year students in order of enrolment and then students from collaboration University Åbo Academy).
If places are available, students outside the programme are selected in the following order:
- UTA degree students from other programmes
- UTA exchange students
Prerequisites:
- Master level students who have a very good academic English and good background knowledge in the field of study.

LECTURE TOPICS

fri 17. 1. Introduction to main concepts

• Conflict and its solution in human life  
• Security: individual, group and cultural dimensions  
• Theories of human mind
• Tutorial for students’ work (presetations in February)

fre 24.1.  Psychhological knowledge in war-fare  

• War propaganda
• Nature, aims and consequnces of torture  
• Research on soldiers’ psyche  

fre 31.1  Reconsiliation, thruth and justice  (Learning diary)

• Forgiveness: theories, models and empirical research                             
• Models of change: competences, values, emotions and attitudes
• Examples of reconsiliation process  

fre 7.2.  Human development: indications for peace education  (Learning diary)

• Child development for empathy, aggression and socialization 
• Cultural differences in parenting and socialization

fre 14.2.  Conflict resolution: psychological and group processes

• Cooperation and competitive orientations 
• Cycles of violence and
  •  Practicing group process skills

fre 21.2.   Psychological consequences of war: implication for peace building

• Mental health and resilience
• Posttraumatic symptoms and posttraumatic growth
  • Students’ presentations (topics and material agreed in January)

fre 28.2.     Students’ presentations

• Topics and material agreed in January

Enrolment through Nettiopsu.
Enrolment and participation for the course:
Priority is given for degree students in Master's programme in Peace, Mediation and Coflict Research (1st and 2nd year students in order of enrolment and then students from collaboration University Åbo Academy).
If places are available, students outside the programme are selected in the following order:
- UTA degree students from other programmes
- UTA exchange students
Prerequisites:
- Master level students who have a very good academic English and good background knowledge in the field of study.

Attendance is compulsory to all 1st year Peace-students and absence need to be compensated.

Aim: This course introduces to students how to choose their research topic, frameworks and questions. It also offers an introduction to selected methodical approaches relevant in peace and conflict studies.

The course explores what forms of knowledge on war, conflict and peace images produce. Images are understood here as invitations to discussions widening the discursive frames within which human activities unfold. Methodologically hybrid, the course discusses different forms of visual representation such as photography, film and comics, their interaction with language and their multi-sensory operations on the observer.

Lectures plus students’ papers and discussion: 12 h lectures, 12 h seminars. Students are expected to read articles/chapters during the lecture period and present their own papers in the seminar.

Enrolment through Nettiopsu.

Enrolment and participation for the course:
Priority is given for degree students in Master's programme in Peace, Mediation and Coflict Research (1st and 2nd year students in order of enrolment and then students from collaboration University Åbo Academy).
If places are available, students outside the programme are selected in the following order:
- UTA degree students from other programmes
- UTA exchange students
Prerequisites:
- Master level students who have a very good academic English and good background knowledge in the field of study.

This module is made up of class sessions including group work (20 hours), as well as independent out of class tasks (61 hours). The module will be two periods long and will take place in the autumn semester of the first year of the master’s degree programme.

Form:
Lectures, 16 hours (in four batches), analysis of videos, pictures and texts from conflicts with the help of closed discussion blogs related to these analyses. Each student will participate in a student working group of 4-6 people which each produce a presentation either on the central arguments of one of the books mentioned in the bibliography or an analysis of case of conflict resolution using the theoretical inputs from the course.

Objective:
The objective of the course is to introduce the student to a selection of theories of conflicts and their prevention by means of conflict management, dispute resolution and conflict transformation. Conflict theories will be presented as diagnoses that aim at revealing junctures on the path to conflict that can be influenced by blocking or redirecting the path to violence.  

Pre-requirements:
The series of lectures requires an interest in peace research. Some of the basic concepts of peace and conflict studies will be discussed in the class in a way that would be more meaningful if students were familiar with the basics of Peace Studies. Discussions will also rely on some of the basic concepts of political science and world politics/international relations theory. The course would optimally be placed at the end of B.A. studies in political science/international relations or peace research or sociology/social anthropology.  

Description of the lecture:

A. The lecture will start with a presentation of the concepts of conflict and peace in theories by classical security studies scholars, Johan Galtung, Louis Kriesberger, Chris Mitchell, quantitative peace research (COW, PRIO and Uppsala datasets) and discusses the conceptual “gerrymandering” in political thinking of peace and the political implications of different constructions of peace and war to the efforts to prevent political violence.

B. From there the course proceeds to the presentation of two kinds of ideas on the sources of conflict: ideas that produce generalizations on correlative regularities between conditions and violence, on the one hand, and ideas that look at more specific paths to conflict violence by studying the specific, socially created meanings of elements of conflict. The former ideas will be presented by introducing the ideas on

1. Conflict opportunities by Charles Tilly’s resource mobilization theory, James Fearon’s theory of rational explanations to conflicts and the traditional security studies theories of the resource/opportunity-based sources of conflict.
2. Non-violent opportunities for change and protest by the theorists of the relationship between democracy and peace (this discussion will be discussed in conjunction with the less correlative research on peaceful change by Patomäki and Miall). 
3. Conflict motives by
   a. Theorists of greed-motivated conflicts (theorists of relative deprivation, such as Gurr, Runciman, and Davies)
   b. Theorists of economic threshold of violence (Collier, Hoeffler)
   c. Theorists of conflict incentives (Collier, Hoeffler, Fearon) and resource curse (Sachs, Kaldor).
   
   The theories of sources of conflict that are more idiografic, and based on more interpretative methods of understanding the sources of conflict will be presented in a discussion that will be based on pictures of ethnic warfare in West Kalimantan, Indonesia and a video about a negotiation process on Mindanao between the leadership and regional leaders of the Moro National Liberation Front, as well as propaganda material of the MNLF and some other rebel groups. With this picture material it will be possible to analyze the ways in which ethnic clothing argues and articulates interpretations of the collective nature of the violent actions, the structures of actors in the conflict, how traditional amulets tackle with fear and how traditional headbands give responsibility for killing to an entire group (and relieve the individual from the blame). In short, the intention after the presentation of the generalizable, observable correlative regularities between material conditions and war is to show the sources of conflict that are specific to the context of the conflict and the local interpretations of the elements and dynamics of it. The intention is also to show how violence is not necessarily action in its traditionally understood form where its focus is in its consequences, but that instead, how sometimes violent action is an argument or a demonstration of a reality that the conflicting party favors of the social structure that frames interaction between the conflicting parties.

C. After the presentation of the sources of conflict, the lecture moves to the theories of conflict prevention, including theories of containment of conflict behavior (conflict management, military defence or deterrence of violence, etc.), dispute resolution that goes beyond the level of conflict behavior to the disputes that motivate conflict, and conflict transformation that looks at the level of conflict structures that gives rise to conflicts. In this section theories of conflict conducive conditions (correlative regularity-focused theories) and more interpretative theories will be looked at. Building on the earlier analysis of the pictures and videos and explanations of the symbolic meanings of different visual demonstrative elements in the conflict in West Kalimantan there will be a presentation on the ways in which the conflict narratives and socially constructed realities on the causal path to the conflict of West Kalimantan could be changed by offering alternative ways to argue for constructions of the actors and their relationships in the conflict area, by making some interpretations less credible, by denaturalizing some conflict constructions and by tackling some of the material conditions that created the need to demonstrate specific conflict constructs violently.

D. After the presentation of these ways of analyzing conflict prevention and peace facilitation, the course will focus on a number of cases of conflict prevention and peace facilitation. In addition to the cases that the lecturer is familiar with, group work will be used for the presentation of cases that will be analyzed with the theoretical tools presented in the previous sections of the series of lectures.

The course will consist of a standard lectures with discussions in the entire class and combine them with group work assignments and discussions in groups of 4-6 students.  Groups will use self-evaluation where each student will inform the teacher her/his assessment of the percentage of innovative contributions to the work of the group of each of the student. This tends to help groups with the problem of free-riding.

Plenum and group discussions will utilize the lecturer’s and openly available archives of pictures and videos of meetings with conflicting parties and documentary texts from peace processes in order to make the teaching on the meanings of acts of violence, construction of conflicting parties and myths that are being used to get around fear and norms of normal societies in conflict situations.

Moodle will be used to facilitate the continuation of group discussions after the lecture in a chat forum. Participation to this chat could be made compulsory and it would be possible to set a minimum quantitative limit to the participation in the development of arguments in the chat forum.

Participants: Maximum 40 students (priority on students majoring international politics). Enroll by filling out the form below.

Thesis seminar will start in mid-September 2013 and will last until end of the academic year. 3 hours/ week

In a thesis seminar students are required to complete written work and participate in presentations. During the seminar a student will submit:

1)      Literature review

2)      Research plan

3)      Full chapter of the thesis

The course is available only for the degree students in the programme.

Max 20 students. Priority is given to PEACE students. Pre-enrolment by e-mail.

Course is full, no more enrollments!

In this course, after reviewing core theoretical ideas about peace and conflict, we will approach the study of peace ethics from a critical point of view in the context of modern thought. Ideas about rationality, autonomy and justice, and about the anthropology of society, autonomy and conflict, have all contributed to our understanding of freedom and justice, but how is this to be translated into a contemporary vision of peace with justice? We will explore and discuss key authors in the history of philosophical modernity who have grappled with the question of rationality and ethics with reference to social, political and cultural life, with reference to the question of religious conflict in the public sphere, and with special focus on the issue of hospitality.

Enrolment through Nettiopsu.

Enrolment and participation for the course:
Priority is given for degree students in Master's programme in Peace, Mediation and Coflict Research (1st and 2nd year students in order of enrolment and then students from collaboration University Åbo Academy).
If places are available, students outside the programme are selected in the following order:
- UTA degree students from other programmes
- UTA exchange students
Prerequisites:
- Master level students who have a very good academic English and good background knowledge in the field of study.

Lectures (8 h) introduce the student to different policy approaches as identified in research literature and discuss
them in the context of protracted international conflicts and their resolution processes. Workshop (12 h)

Lectures:

- 10.3 at 12-14

- 12.3 at 13-15

- 14.3 at 13-15

- 17.3. at 12-14

Workshop sessions:

- 1.4 at 10-12

- 2.4 at 10-12

- 3.4 at 12-14

- 8.4 at 10-12

- 9.4 at 10-12

- 10.4 at 13-15