Lectures
,Peace Research and Conflict
Management
Lecture 1: Background information & conflict trends
Content
- interstate conflicts
focus trying to understand main theories and frameworks around interstate conflicts (internal
domestic violence conflicts)
- peace processes
how to build sustainable peace
Learning goals
- to describe the main characteristics and evolution of violent conflict
- to compare the main theories of conflict
- to explain the main challenges and complexities of peace processes
- to gain a critical perspective of the current peacebuilding practices
- to apply theories to the analysis of actual conflict cases
- to explain the conflict causes and peace challenges in at least two case studies
→ prepare discussion points/reflection questions on slides
,Organisation
purpose of studying case studies (through SELF-STUDY)
- gain a better understanding of the complexity of real cases
- testing ground - appreciate the literature
● You do not have to submit anything as part of this case study exercise → check list for
case studies for choices
• Who are the principal actors involved in the conflict?
• What are the root causes of the conflict? To what extent have horizontal inequalities
contributed to its emergence? To what extent has the abundance or scarcity of
natural resources influenced the outbreak and/or perpetuation of the conflict?
• When and under what circumstances did the violence begin, and how has the conflict
developed over time?
• What peacebuilding interventions have been implemented, and by which actors? How
effective have these initiatives been?
• Have the conflict parties sought to resolve their differences through negotiations?
Have external actors engaged in mediation efforts, and to what degree have these
efforts been successful or unsuccessful?
• What are the primary obstacles to the peacebuilding process? Are there spoilers
actively seeking to undermine peace efforts, and how has the international community
responded to them?
• To what extent is the international community engaged in the peacebuilding process?
• Has the country made tangible progress toward establishing a sustainable and
durable peace?
Sources
- quality
- Quantity
- Depends on what you are reading, 6-10 sources per case would probably
enough
Evaluation
- Case study knowledge
- Presentation
- Reading materials
- open -ended questions exam - theoretical knowledge, Empirical insights
, Conflict definitions, characteristics and trends
What is conflict? And does it matter how we define it?
Conflict definitions: some reflection
- Usually negative connotation
- Conflicts are everywhere!
- Not always negative, sometimes even useful
- Could set new mechanism in motion, mutual understanding, social
change
- But violent conflicts usually are negative
- Breakdown of trust, people and culture
→ much more difficult to repair
- Conflict are an important field of study
- Who studies conflict?
- A lot of people, on different scholarly levels
- No agreement on an exact definition - but we need to be able to speak about the same
concept of conflict
- But as Cramer notes "definitional frames are often than purely descriptive”
- Empirically and theoretically relevant how we define conflict:
- Sambanis - very few variables are robust to different definitions
- GDP/capita is one of the best variables to look into conflict
How you define conflict matters a great deal of you define the event, its emergence and the
steps we could take to prevent conflict in the future
,Peace Research and Conflict
Management
Lecture 1: Background information & conflict trends
Content
- interstate conflicts
focus trying to understand main theories and frameworks around interstate conflicts (internal
domestic violence conflicts)
- peace processes
how to build sustainable peace
Learning goals
- to describe the main characteristics and evolution of violent conflict
- to compare the main theories of conflict
- to explain the main challenges and complexities of peace processes
- to gain a critical perspective of the current peacebuilding practices
- to apply theories to the analysis of actual conflict cases
- to explain the conflict causes and peace challenges in at least two case studies
→ prepare discussion points/reflection questions on slides
,Organisation
purpose of studying case studies (through SELF-STUDY)
- gain a better understanding of the complexity of real cases
- testing ground - appreciate the literature
● You do not have to submit anything as part of this case study exercise → check list for
case studies for choices
• Who are the principal actors involved in the conflict?
• What are the root causes of the conflict? To what extent have horizontal inequalities
contributed to its emergence? To what extent has the abundance or scarcity of
natural resources influenced the outbreak and/or perpetuation of the conflict?
• When and under what circumstances did the violence begin, and how has the conflict
developed over time?
• What peacebuilding interventions have been implemented, and by which actors? How
effective have these initiatives been?
• Have the conflict parties sought to resolve their differences through negotiations?
Have external actors engaged in mediation efforts, and to what degree have these
efforts been successful or unsuccessful?
• What are the primary obstacles to the peacebuilding process? Are there spoilers
actively seeking to undermine peace efforts, and how has the international community
responded to them?
• To what extent is the international community engaged in the peacebuilding process?
• Has the country made tangible progress toward establishing a sustainable and
durable peace?
Sources
- quality
- Quantity
- Depends on what you are reading, 6-10 sources per case would probably
enough
Evaluation
- Case study knowledge
- Presentation
- Reading materials
- open -ended questions exam - theoretical knowledge, Empirical insights
, Conflict definitions, characteristics and trends
What is conflict? And does it matter how we define it?
Conflict definitions: some reflection
- Usually negative connotation
- Conflicts are everywhere!
- Not always negative, sometimes even useful
- Could set new mechanism in motion, mutual understanding, social
change
- But violent conflicts usually are negative
- Breakdown of trust, people and culture
→ much more difficult to repair
- Conflict are an important field of study
- Who studies conflict?
- A lot of people, on different scholarly levels
- No agreement on an exact definition - but we need to be able to speak about the same
concept of conflict
- But as Cramer notes "definitional frames are often than purely descriptive”
- Empirically and theoretically relevant how we define conflict:
- Sambanis - very few variables are robust to different definitions
- GDP/capita is one of the best variables to look into conflict
How you define conflict matters a great deal of you define the event, its emergence and the
steps we could take to prevent conflict in the future
