| CODE | IRL5063 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | International Relations | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit aims to explore the interaction between peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace building in the context of humanitarian action. In doing so, the study-unit will investigate the impact of peacekeeping as an increasingly prominent tool for conflict management and resolution which when followed by peacemaking and peace-building creates the effective conditions of peace. The process of achieving a peace agreement itself is part and parcel of the potential impact that a peacekeeping force has in facilitating a peace agreement between the conflicting parties. In this study-nit students we find out how enduring rivalries and wars be they civil or inter-state enhances the prospects for gaining an agreement between protagonists when a process of peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace-building is structured, planned and executed. Academic literature suggests that the desirability of peacekeeping forces may be counterproductive to peacemaking and peace-building. This study-unit will consider whether the presence of peacekeeping enhances or inhibits mediation and negotiation attempts. We shall also explore whether the success rates for international mediation and negotiation efforts in those conflicts are affected by the presence of peacekeeping forces backed by peacemaking process and peace-building initiatives. Research results often suggest the support for the pessimistic view of peacekeeping as it may discourage diplomatic efforts and decreases the likelihood of achieving a peaceful settlement of disputes, although the results are clearer for interstate conflict than for civil wars. In this context, the study-unit will provide students with a thorough understanding of the three contexts as well as the skills and competencies necessary to mediate and resolve conflicts while at the same time building the structures for peace and understanding upon the democratic approach to decision-making, consensus building and institution-building. The study-unit is made up of 7 lectures and 8 seminars on the following topics: Lectures - Peacekeeping - a conceptual framework; - Peacemaking - a conceptual framework; - Peace-building - a conceptual framework; - The impact of a peace process on conflict resolution; - Conflict management, transformation and peacekeeping; - Mediation and peacekeeping; - The multifaceted structure of peace-building. Seminars The seminars will focus on the following topics which students (individually or in groups) will prepare and present in class for discussion: - Peacekeeping forces - strengths and weaknesses; - Peacemaking as a means to consensus building; - Building peace through education; - Building peace through institution-building; - The skills for conflict transformation; - Mediating in a conflict stricken area - the preparatory phase; - Mediating conflict between the belligerent parties; - Conflict resolution and peace-building techniques. Each seminar will follow a two-hour lecture in which students will be exposed to the various research findings produced by various authors and schools of thought. Study-unit Aims: The aims of the study-unit are to: - Provide students with a conceptual framework covering peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace-building; - Investigate the impact of peacekeeping on conflict stricken populations; - Assess the extent of peacemaking techniques as a humanitarian approach to conflict resolution; - Explore the long-term benefits of peace-building in sectors such as education, networks, communication, foreign policy, institution-building and capacity building; - Assist students in mastering mediation and conflict management techniques; - Provide space for students to share direct and indirect experiences of violence as a manifestation of incompatibilities which can be addressed through peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace-building. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Learn about the impacts of peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace-building; - Understand the benefits of conflict transformation as a result of peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace-building processes; - Acquire the knowledge of various authors on the skills and competencies needed for conflict transformation as a means to achieve lasting peace; - Understand the processes needed to build peace on consensus and capacity building; - Seek a conceptual structure which can enable students approach humanitarian action through peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace-building. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Structure a presentation about the benefits of peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace-building techniques; - Organise the preparatory information necessary as part of the humanitarian action to achieve peace through peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace-building; - Master the skills necessary to mediate in conflict situations; - Apply the skills of mediation to build consensus among conflict stricken leaders and achieve road maps of cooperation and peace; - Prepare reports, action plans and implementation processes in the sectors of peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace-building. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Recommended readings: - Ranesh Thakur and Albrecht Schnabel edts. United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: Ad Hoc Missions Permanent Engagement, 2002. - The Peace In Between, Post-War Violence and Peacebuilding Edited by Astri Suhrke, Mats Berdal, 2012. - Peacebuilding and Local Ownership, Post-Conflict Consensus-Building Timothy Donais, 2012 by Routledge. - Peacebuilding, Memory and Reconciliation, Bridging Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches, Edited by Bruno Charbonneau, Genevieve Parent 2011 by Routledge. - Local and Global Dynamics of Peacebuilding. - Postconflict reconstruction in Sierra Leone, Christine Cubitt, 2011 by Routledge. - The Political Economy of Peacemaking, Achim Wennmann, 2011 by Routledge. - Peter Wallensteen, Understanding Conflict Resolution, SAGE 2007 2nd edition. Supplementary readings: - John Winslade and Gerald Monk, Narrative Mediation, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2000. - Kenneth Cloke, Mediating Dangerously, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2001. - Christopher W Moore, The Mediation Process, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1996. - David Augsburger, Conflict Mediation Across Cultures, Westminster/John Knox Press 1992. - Resolving Conflict - a Practical Approach" 2nd Edition, Gregory Tillett (2005). - Conflict Resolution - A Foundation Guide" Susan Stewart (1998). - Mediation in a Nutshell, 2d (West Nutshell) Kimberlee K. Kovach. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | |||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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