CONFLICT ANALYSIS, PREVENTION AND RESOLUTION

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The course deals with the  Key Concepts and Theories such as definitions of Conflict, armed conflict, Conflict resolution, Conflict management, Conflict resettlement, Conflict prevention, conflict regulations and conflict transformation;  Peace keeping,  peacemaking, peace building, and peace enforcement.

Case study on Ethiopia and other relevant countries will be used to understand the complexity; the ways in which conflict dynamics emerge and interact with social, political economic environmental and other factors.

This course is about to bringing together relevant techniques used in African conflict management as well as developing skills of conflict resolution, such as Mediation, Arbitration, Facilitation, Negotiation and adjudication.

Additionally, the course deals with introduction to conflict analysis tools; conflict wheel, conflict tree and conflict mapping, Glasl’s escalation model, INMEDIO’s conflict perspective analysis, Needs- fears mapping, multi casual role models and conflict mapping of interstate/ intra state conflict/ Resources based conflict.

Course Objectives:

• To equip the students to analyze conflicts and map them
• To develop an understanding on the major themes related the subject
• To enable the students get an understanding of the different cycles of conflict, and familiarize them with peace building tools like negotiation and mediation.
  

Course Contents:

UNIT I

Concepts and Theories

·          Definition – conflict, armed conflict

·          Conflict Resolution, Conflict Management, Conflict Settlement, Conflict Prevention, Conflict Regulation, Conflict Transformation

·          Peace Keeping, Peace Making, Peace Building, Peace Enforcement

·          Theories – Liberal , Marxist, Gandhian, Feminist

UNIT II

Sources and Elements of Conflict

·          Sources of Conflict – material ideational

·          Conflict cycle – Escalation, De-escalation, intractability

·          Actors- individuals, Institutions, State, Non-State

·          Case study – any one of the following: (a) South Sudan (b) Somalia (c) Democratic  Republic of Congo

UNIT III

Types of Conflict

• ·          Inter State Conflict
• ·          Intra- State Conflict

UNIT IV

Conflict Resolution

·          Mediation

·          Arbitration

·          Facilitation

           Negotiation

Conflict Analysis Tools:

·          Introduction to Conflict Analysis Tools – Conflict Wheel, Conflict Tree, Conflict Mapping

·          Glasl’s Escalation Model, IMMEDIO’s Conflict Perspectives Analysis, Needs – Fears Mapping, Multi-Causal Role Model

·          Exercise – Conflict Mapping of Inter State/ Intra State Conflict/ Resource Based Conflict

REFERENCE AND MATERIALS:

1.        Berrovitch, Jacob and Jeffery Z. Rubin, (eds), Mediation in International Relations: Multiple Approaches to Conflict Mangement, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1992

2.        Centre for Security Studies, Zurich “Tip Sheet: Conflict Analysis Tools” SDC, copret December 2005, available at  http://css.ethz.ch/ Conflict Analysis Tools.

3.        Miall, Hugh, Ramasbotham and Woodhose, Tom, Contemporary Conflict Resolution: The Prevention, Management and Transformation of Conflicts, Cambridge Polity Press, 1999.

4.        Walt, Stephen M, “ The Renaissance of Security Studies”, International Studies Quarterly 35.2 1991

5.        Weber, Thomas “Gandhian Philosophy, Conflict Resolution Theory and Practical Approches to Negotiation’, Journal of Peace Research, Vol.38, no.4, 2001