GI6002 - Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding (2017/18)
Module specification | Module approved to run in 2017/18 | ||||||||||||
Module title | Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding | ||||||||||||
Module level | Honours (06) | ||||||||||||
Credit rating for module | 30 | ||||||||||||
School | School of Social Sciences | ||||||||||||
Total study hours | 300 | ||||||||||||
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Assessment components |
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Running in 2017/18(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change) |
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Module summary
This module examines a range of approaches to the cessation of contemporary conflicts and the creation of peaceful, productive conditions for interethnic and international cooperation, using case studies as a basis for discussion and analysis. It explores both the theory and practice of conflict resolution and peacebuilding, including liberal and critical approaches. Students will have the opportunity to develop their skills of independent research through an analysis of a case study of a contemporary conflict and efforts to achieve its resolution.
Module aims
This module aims to:
- examine a range of approaches to the cessation of contemporary conflicts and the conditions that may be necessary for peace
- focus upon both the domestic and international actors involved in these processes
- provide students with an understanding of relevant theories and empirical material for comparative analysis
- explore the differing ways in which particular conflicts tend to be viewed by participants, external commentators and public policy-makers
Syllabus
Interethnic conflict; civil wars; interstate wars; regions in sustained crisis; international institutions and regimes of security; conflict prevention, conflict resolution, peacemaking, peacebuilding and state building strategies; liberal and critical approaches to peacebuilding; humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect; truth commissions, forgiveness and reconciliation; national and sub-state actors; local, national and international resources for conflict resolution and peacebuilding; case studies.
Learning and teaching
- Teaching will comprise weekly lectures and seminars
- Lectures will focus on the approaches, theories and analysis of Conflict Resolution
- Seminars will involve small group discussions, debates and group work.
- Reflective and independent learning is encouraged through the research and writing of an extensive case study report, and also through the interactive lectures and seminar discussions
- The module makes extensive use of blended learning, primarily through its dedicated Weblearn site, including interactive use of the mail and discussion tools, module information, lecture PowerPoint slides, full reading lists, and scanned copies of key texts not otherwise electronically available
- Although it is primarily concerned with the academic study of conflict resolution, this module provides students with a range of opportunities to enhance their employability, especially the enhancement of students’ communication, research and writing skills through the essay and case study components of assessment, and seminar discussions
- Students will be required to attend all classes, to engage in the set activities, to prepare in advance by attempting assigned readings, to complete coursework by deadlines, and to reflect and act on the feedback they receive
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module students will have gained:
- a critical appreciation of the range of contemporary approaches to international conflict resolution and peacebuilding, and the relative successes of these approaches
- awareness of the principal international and domestic actors and the resources at their disposal
- an appreciation of how to apply the analytical frameworks they have studied to the investigation of specific case studies
- an ability to engage in independent research in the field through researching their own case studies
Assessment strategy
Assessment is based on the following elements:
FORMATIVE
- A 250-word introduction to one of the essay questions for the module. This must be submitted by week 9.
SUMMATIVE
- An essay, worth 50% of the final grade. It will be 2500 words in length. This must be submitted by week 13.
- A case study report, worth 50% of the final grade. It will be 3000 words in length. This must be submitted by week 28.
Bibliography
Books
Barash, D. and Webel, C. (2013) Peace and Conflict Studies, 3rd edn. (London: Sage)
Bellamy, A. J. (2011) Global Politics and the Responsibility to Protect: From Words to Deeds (London: Routledge)
Darby, J. and Mac Ginty, R. (eds) (2008) Contemporary Peacemaking: Conflict, Peace Processes and Post-War Reconstruction, 2nd edn. (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan)
Darweish, M. and Rank, C. (eds) (2012) Peacebuilding and Reconciliation: Contemporary Themes and Challenges (London: Pluto Press)
Galtung, J. (2002) Searching for Peace: The Road to Transcend, 2nd edn. (London: Pluto)
Heinze, E. A. (2009) Waging Humanitarian War: The Ethics, Law, and Politics of Humanitarian Intervention (Albany: SUNY Press)
Jacoby, T. (2008) Understanding Conflict and Violence (London: Routledge)
Jeong, H. (2010) Conflict Management and Resolution: An Introduction (London: Routledge)
Lederach, J. P. (2005) The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
Mac Ginty, R. (2006) No War, No Peace: The Rejuvenation of Stalled Peace Processes and Peace Accords (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan)
Mac Ginty, R. (2011) International Peacebuilding and Local Resistance: Hybrid Forms of Peace (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan)
Miall, H. (2007) Emergent Conflict and Peaceful Change (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan)
Miall, H. et al. (eds) (2015) The Contemporary Conflict Resolution Reader (Cambridge: Polity)
Paris, R. (2004) At War’s End: Building Peace after Civil Conflict (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Ramsbotham, O., Woodhouse, T. and Miall, H. (2016) Contemporary Conflict Resolution, 4th edn. (Cambridge: Polity Press)
Richmond, O. (2005) The Transformation of Peace (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan)
Richmond, O. (2011) A Post-Liberal Peace (London: Routledge)
Richmond, O. and Franks, J. (2009) Liberal Peace Transitions: Between Statebuilding and Peacebuilding (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press)
Sandole, D. (2010) Peacebuilding: Preventing Violent Conflict in a Complex World (Cambridge: Polity)
Wallensteen, P. (2011) Peace Research: Theory and Practice (London: Routledge)
Wallensteen, P. (2015) Understanding Conflict Resolution, 4th edn. (London: Sage)
Zartman, I. W. (ed.) (2001) Preventive Negotiation: Avoiding Conflict Escalation (Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers)
Zartman, I. W. (2005) Cowardly Lions: Missed Opportunities to Prevent Deadly Conflict and State Collapse (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner)
Useful Websites
• Stockholm International Peace Research (www.sipri.org)
• Peace Research Institute Oslo (www.prio.org)
• Uppsala University, Department of Peace and Conflict Research (www.per.uu.se)
• Virtual Library: Peace, Conflict Resolution and International Security (www2.etown.edu/vl/peace.html)
• International Alert (www.international-alert.org)
• Search for Common Ground (www.sfcg.org)