At a time of increased number and intensity of armed conflicts around the world, this course will expose students to challenges and opportunities for the peaceful settlement of such conflicts. Based on both theoretical developments and case studies, students will be familiarised with concepts and tools to analyse conflicts from different social, political, cultural, and psychological perspectives, and identify options for dialogue across conflict divides.

Students are expected to engage in class discussions on typical dilemmas and trade-offs faced in conflict transformation, and to monitor peace initiatives that will be ongoing in different geographic locations throughout the course.

We will also have the privilege of engaging online with two guest speakers who are leading figures in their areas of expertise (negotiating ceasefires and proscription of armed groups).

A typical session will have a short introductory discussion on recent global peace-related developments, followed by a lecture on the topic of the day, and completed with a seminar discussion related to the same topic.

Assessment

Students assessment is continuous and will be based on:

• Attendance and active participation during class discussions (10%of the final grade).
• Peace updates: brief ora lpresentation in class (20%).
• Conference note: 2 page summary of arecent conference (20%).
• Case study: 20 page conflict and peace analysis (50%).

Further details of these tasks will be provided in class.

Competences, learning outcomes and teaching activities (PDF)