ASOK05003U Conflict and Peacemaking in Divided Societies
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Although violence and group conflict is hardly new, over the past two decades that has followed the end of the Cold War, nationalism and ethnic conflict has replaced ideological competition as the main source of strife within and between nation-states. Violence between ethnic groups, religious communities, and clans has shaken countries across the globe. From Russia to Yugoslavia, from Sri Lanka to Indonesia, from Iraq to Afghanistan, from Sudan to Congo, most of the violent conflicts taking place in the world today are framed in cultural terms, as ethnic, nationalist, or religious. In many cases, these conflicts have spilled over the borders of states, threatening regional security and, some scholars argue, even world order. Even in the supposed "nation-states" of the "First World," where populations were once thought to be unified by a common national identity, cultural conflict has emerged as a major political issue (e.g. separatist movements in Canada, UK & Spain). Throughout the world, minority groups have become increasingly assertive, demanding recognition and rights, while the powerful, seeking to protect their positions, have responded with repression and violence. At the same time, international relations have increasingly been shaped by what Samuel Huntington famously termed as the “Clash of Civilization.” Yet, other argued it is poorly understood and instead termed the rise of religious movements/religious dimensions of political
movements and violence as the “Clash of Fundamentalism.”
The increasing frequency and deadliness of nationalist conflict at the international and the intrastate level, from mass expulsions to state-sponsored genocide, has prompted international and humanitarian interventions that have challenged time-honoured norms of state behaviour and its integrity. However, despite widespread recognition amongst intellectuals and policymakers of the virulent resurgence of nationalism, there is a widespread lack of consensus on the meaning and origins of, as well as the management strategies for dealing with, nationalist conflict.
Tentative Course Outline:
Unit 1: Introduction to the Course: —Thinking Critically About Conflict and Peace Studies
Unit 2: The Nature of Conflict, Violence, and Peace Studies
Unit 3: Contemporary Armed Conflicts: The Changing Face of Warfare and the New Wars Debate
Unit 4: Causes of Conflict - Identity? Theoretical Foundations of Ethnicity, nation, and Nationalism
Unit 5: The Causes of Intrastate Wars I: Structural, Institutional and Political Factors - Grievance
Unit 6: The Causes of Intrastate Wars II: Greed and
Socioeconomic Issues? War Economies Unit 7: Religion, Nationalism
and Political Violence
Unit 8: Democratisation and the Rise of Nationalist Violence
Unit 9: Conflict Resolution & The Macro-Regulation of Ethnic
Conflict
Unit 10: Conflict Resolution - Domestic Strategies I: Genocide,
Integration and Assimilation
Unit 11: Conflict Resolution Domestic Strategies II:
National-Self-Determination/ Territorial Partition and Secession
Unit 12: Conflict Resolution: Domestic Strategies III: Federalism,
Consociationalism/Powersharing
Unit 13: Conflict Management and Resolution: International
Community’s Involvement/Humanitarian Intervention and Peacekeeping
Unit 14: Post-Conflict Justice and Peace-building: (Justice,
forgiveness & reconciliation
COURSE AIMS
This course is designed to help students make sense of these
important developments and debates in world politics. Students will
become acquainted with numerous theories and approaches to studying
nationalism, ethnic conflict, and conflict management/resolution,
and then we will utilize and "test" these theories on
several salient cases. The goal, ultimately, is for students to be
able to use theories and approaches to explain particular conflicts
and hopefully be able to see ways that conflicts can be solved.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of the course students who work hard should:
- Have a clear understanding of the varied manifestations of ethnic conflict and political violence around the world.
- Be familiar with the major theoretical debates and literature relevant to the study of ethnicity, nationalism, ethnopolitical violence and conflict
- Be familiar with the major theoretical debates and literature relevant to the study of conflict resolution/management (national and international)
- Be able to apply theoretical analysis and demonstrate critical independent thought in discussion and debate about key issues relevant to the study of ethnic conflict, political violence and conflict resolution/management.
REQUIRED CORE BOOKS
Ramsbotham, Oliver, Tom Woodhouse and Hugh Miall (2011) Contemporary Conflict Resolution. Polity Press
Links to available syllabus and course website are below.
Wwww.ku.dk - Login in KUnet and then Absalon
BA-Undergraduates and MA- students can sign up for this course
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- Category
- Hours
- Class Instruction
- 28
- Exam
- 123,5
- Preparation
- 123,5
- Total
- 275,0
The deadline for signing up for courses is December
1st for the spring semester and June 1st
for the autumn semester. When signing up you are automatically
signed up for exam.
International students must sign up by filling in an application
form which you find here:
course
registration
Meritstuderende:
klik
her
- Credit
- 10 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Written assignmentindividual/group
Assesment: 7-point grading scale
see details concerning form of examination exam in the curriculum - Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- No external censorship
Internal examiners
- Exam period
- Submission dates and time will be available on the homepage of Sociology / education Site / Exam.
Criteria for exam assesment
Please see the learning objectives.
- Credit
- 10 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Oral examinationIndividual exam
Assesment: 7-point grading scale
see details concerning form of examination exam in the curriculum - Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- No external censorship
Internal examiners
- Exam period
- Submission dates and time will be available on the homepage of Sociology / education Site / Exam.
Criteria for exam assesment
Please see the learning objectives.
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- ASOK05003U
- Credit
- 10 ECTS
- Level
- BachelorFull Degree Master
- Duration
- 1 semester
- Placement
- Autumn And Spring
- Schedule
- See schedule
- Continuing and further education
- Price
- Study board
- Department of Sociology, Study Council
Contracting department
- Department of Sociology
Course responsibles
- Signe Pedersen (4-78667369457866726b33707a336970)
Lecturers
Professor Yosef Kamal Ibssa, yk@soc.ku.dk, 35324502