The Politics of Peace & Conflict in a Globalised World

Why should I take this Trinity Elective?

Addressing the complex and evolving nature of war and peace-making has become one of the key societal challenges of our age. As a scholarly discipline, Peace Studies has a particular concern for developing an understanding of the origins of violent conflicts (locally, regionally and internationally) and possibilities for their resolution and transformation, as well as the conditions for building sustainable and just peace. The primary purpose of this module is to introduce relevant concepts and theories and discuss the processes and dynamics of peacebuilding. Our focus will be strongly cross- and interdisciplinary: we will examine the debates taking place within history, political science, international relations, conflict resolution, gender studies and other relevant scholarly fields. The module will also facilitate stimulating conversations between theory and reality, grounding our class discussions in detailed case studies.

What will I learn?

You will critically analyse the causes of inter-state, intra-state or in-group strife conflicts in relevant case studies - i.e. Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka, Iran, The Korean Peninsula, EU & UN, Israel & Palestine and other Middle East contexts;
You will understand what role local, regional and transnational dynamics played on the conflict's emergence and evolution;
You will investigate the various tracks record of success of key conflict resolution & transformation initiatives; and what are the main theoretical and contextual obstacles to viable peace-making efforts; and
You will analyse the impact of religion, gender, non-state actors and social movements both on the emergence of world disputes as well as various attempts at solving them.

What will I do?

11x1 hour attendance at the lecture;
5x1 hour student-led seminar;
Eighty-seven hours independent study, including researching additional reading for classroom-based seminar discussion, etc.