International Relations, Peace and Conflict Resolution

This course introduces students to the core concepts, processes and issues of international relations. The goal of this course is to help students develop the intellectual tools to understand the complex international system in which we live. The first segment of this course introduces students to key concepts and theories used in the study of international relations allowing students to better understand the causes of international conflict and cooperation. The rest of the term is spent applying these concepts to better understand the challenges of international security, international political economy, and other global issues.

This course explores the historical and contemporary issues of peace studies (including economic, national/ethnic identity, religious, ideological, security and other aspects), and it continues with a post-Cold War emphasis on the possibilities for nonviolent ways of dealing with conflict and for lasting peace in the future. It examines the internal/personal and interpersonal sources of conflict in daily life and introduces such topics as “cultures of peace.” Topics explored include grassroots peace movements, nonviolence, international law and NGOs, international systems, peacekeeping and peacemaking, the role of individual peacemakers in their local communities, and current research in the field of peace studies.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the major themes and concepts of international human rights. Ideas supportive of contemporary international human rights norms can be found in a number of religious and philosophical traditions. This course exposes students to those traditions as well as to the development of movements that aspire to enshrine a growing list of rights into legal, social and political institutions and practices.

This course briefly reviews the complex history, politics, economics, and international relations of West Asia, aka the Middle East. The term “Middle East” was probably first coined by Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan in his 1890 book, The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783. Because of its strategic significance, the term has found currency. But it is alien to the heterogeneous peoples and cultures of the region. The region’s unique historical circumstances (ecological, religious, and oil) have given it the appearance of a culture-area.

This course offers students the opportunity to study the work and processes of the United Nations system. The goal of this course is to build on previous knowledge in pursuing a more advanced understanding of what, how and why the United Nations system does what it does. Special focus is given to the work of the United Nations in the areas of: International Peace and Security, Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, and Development. 

This course provides an overview of the major issues in international and intra-state conflict resolution, transformation and peace building. Using case studies and simulations, students will examine the causes of violent conflict, the conditions for peace and the ways in which negotiation, mediation and peace building strategies can facilitate the transformation from violent political conflict to sustainable peace.

The goal of this class is to understand the particular forms of violence that exist in Latin America, the causes of these forms of violence, and how they are connected to particular local and national histories, cultural ideologies, and social structures. It is also the goal of this class to understand the meaning of violence: that is, how do people in Latin America make sense of the violence around them? How do they justify and/or condemn it? How is violence sometimes used as a way to make meaning, to protest inequality and impunity, and to assert subjectivity? The course will be based primarily on ethnographic case studies of different forms of violence (structural, institutional, state-sponsored, intra-familial, vigilante, armed resistance, etc.) that look at its socio-economic-political context but also its cultural meaning to the perpetrators, victims, and bystanders. The rationale of the course is that it is by understanding the meaning of violence, the context within which it is carried out, and its cultural logic, that we are best equipped to begin to address it. 

This course approaches the study of human rights regimes in contemporary East Asia from a comparative perspective and within a global framework. Among the topics covered will be: (1) the relationship between state and international organizations in shaping human rights regimes; (2) the activities of subnational agencies and citizen-based advocacy groups; and (3) case studies in human rights as reflected in, for example, the emergence of social welfare provision, and the rights of patients, indigenous and national minorities.

This course introduces students to the study of public international law. Traditionally called the law of nations, international law provides one mechanism by which states can avoid, manage, or resolve international conflicts. As this system of law has evolved, it has expanded to cover an increasing number of issue areas as well as a broad range of international actors. Students develop an understanding of how international law is created and implemented as well as explore the role of legal norms in contemporary international politics and global governance.

This course provides a multidisciplinary glimpse into a great range of violent wars – past and present – in one of the world’s most diverse and exciting regions. It is divided into three parts: historical conflicts, post-independence conflicts, and sources of peace. The course will emphasize how different forms of conflict have distinct causes and how different forms of conflict resolution must be tailored to fit each war. Students will consider how cultural factors condition conflict as well as conflict resolution, how the state provides and undermines security, how civilians experience different wars, and the possibilities and limitations of peace negotiations.