Basics
| Period | 5a |
| Start Date | 15 April 2024 |
| End Date | 8 May 2024 |
| ECTS credits: | 4 |
| Instruction language: | English |
| Coordinator: | Dr. Pui Hang Wong |
| Teaching methods: | Lectures, Tutorials, Workshops |
| Assessment methods: | Participation; Presentation and paper |
| Keywords: | Causes of Wars; Development; Conflict Resolution; Peacekeeping; Transitional Justice; GIS; System Dynamics |
Full course description
The third course of the specialization of Global Governance for Development introduces the mechanisms and instruments developed by International Organizations with regional, state, and local actors to establish peace conditions for development.
Conflicts and violence are the main barrier for development. The first and second weeks of the course examine violent conflicts from an institutional, governance and development perspective.
The first week focuses on conflict onset. Here we explore various causes of wars through the economic and political perspectives. We also use case studies to explore how a conflict trap is formed and sustained. Tutorials will introduce the system dynamics approach to map different actors and structural conditions to address the complexity of war. GIS will be used to teach students the basics of spatial data visualisation and conduct elementary spatial analysis.
The next two weeks focus on UN peacebuilding paradigms driving international efforts of conflict resolution and peacekeeping. We look at the legal foundation of UN peacekeeping operations and its evolution. We also examine how peacekeeping operations and other instruments contribute to the reduction and termination of violent conflicts. Students will learn how to build a policy assessment framework to evaluate the success of a peacekeeping operation.
Throughout the course, students will acquire various skills and tools for policy and academic research.
Course objectives
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
- explain the global governance of the interdependencies between conflicts, development, and sustainable peace;
- list and evaluate policy options and partnerships that are available to actors to resolve a conflict;
- produce a map to explore a policy issue, to describe a situation and /or to test a hypothesis about peacebuilding and development;
- build a policy assessment framework for policy evaluation in the case of peacebuilding and development.
Prerequisites
None
Recommended reading
- Bellamy, A. J., Williams, P. D., & Griffin, S. (2010). Understanding Peacekeeping. Polity.
- Chesterman, S., Johnstone, I., & Malone, D. (2016). Law and Practice of the United Nations: Documents and Commentary. Oxford University Press.
- Wallensteen, P. (2018). Understanding Conflict Resolution. Sage.
