Since the end of the Cold War, the international community has devoted enormous attention and
resources towards addressing conflict within states and ending or reducing violence during civil
wars. Over the last thirty years, efforts at building and restoring peace have evolved with changes
in the international system and the dynamics of civil wars. The end of the Cold War produced a
profound shift in peacekeeping through the decline of proxy conflicts from the Cold War, emphasis
on principles like “Responsibility to Protect” or R2P, and concern over ethnic conflicts in the
Balkans, Somalia, and Rwanda in the early 1990s. The last decade of the 20th century and first years
of the 21st century proved a golden era for peacekeeping that informed an initial wave of literature
in political science. However, in the wake of the U.S. War on Terror, the rate of peacebuilding
interventions increased over the next two decades with decidedly mixed results as the dynamics of
civil wars changed and the structure and mandates of peacebuilding interventions evolved. The
rise of China and resurgence of Russia has again altered the international system and we are in an
era of increased competition between great powers with important implications for peacebuilding
efforts. This course will investigate the past 30 years of peacebuilding to derive applicable lessons
for the future and understand the micro-dynamics of violent conflict and building peace, as well as
the role of the international system in shaping peacebuilding interventions.
Peacebuilding is an applied activity, and, as a result, this course mixes theory with practice. In the
first section of the course, you will be given a firm grounding in understanding theories and evidence
explaining the causes and drivers of violent conflict. We will consider material and ideational
explanations and individual and collective decision-making, in addition to the legacies of conflict
and challenges or opportunities they may present to future peacebuilding. In the second section of
the course we will cover peacebuilding theory and evidence of the efficacy of different approaches
to peacebuilding. At the conclusion of the course, we will shift focus towards the application of
peacebuilding and you will have the opportunity to conduct independent research and work as part
of a team in designing a peacebuilding intervention meant to address an ongoing conflict using
lessons you have learned from the course.
resources towards addressing conflict within states and ending or reducing violence during civil
wars. Over the last thirty years, efforts at building and restoring peace have evolved with changes
in the international system and the dynamics of civil wars. The end of the Cold War produced a
profound shift in peacekeeping through the decline of proxy conflicts from the Cold War, emphasis
on principles like “Responsibility to Protect” or R2P, and concern over ethnic conflicts in the
Balkans, Somalia, and Rwanda in the early 1990s. The last decade of the 20th century and first years
of the 21st century proved a golden era for peacekeeping that informed an initial wave of literature
in political science. However, in the wake of the U.S. War on Terror, the rate of peacebuilding
interventions increased over the next two decades with decidedly mixed results as the dynamics of
civil wars changed and the structure and mandates of peacebuilding interventions evolved. The
rise of China and resurgence of Russia has again altered the international system and we are in an
era of increased competition between great powers with important implications for peacebuilding
efforts. This course will investigate the past 30 years of peacebuilding to derive applicable lessons
for the future and understand the micro-dynamics of violent conflict and building peace, as well as
the role of the international system in shaping peacebuilding interventions.
Peacebuilding is an applied activity, and, as a result, this course mixes theory with practice. In the
first section of the course, you will be given a firm grounding in understanding theories and evidence
explaining the causes and drivers of violent conflict. We will consider material and ideational
explanations and individual and collective decision-making, in addition to the legacies of conflict
and challenges or opportunities they may present to future peacebuilding. In the second section of
the course we will cover peacebuilding theory and evidence of the efficacy of different approaches
to peacebuilding. At the conclusion of the course, we will shift focus towards the application of
peacebuilding and you will have the opportunity to conduct independent research and work as part
of a team in designing a peacebuilding intervention meant to address an ongoing conflict using
lessons you have learned from the course.
- Teacher: Jason Hartwig