Professor Julie Mertus
Contact information:
E-mail: mertus@american.edu
Office: SIS Annex 13
Office phone: 202-885-2215
Home phone: 410-532-0423
(please do not call after 10:00pm)
Office hours:
Wed/ Thurs 10-11 (Davenport)
Wed/Thurs 2:30-4:30 (office), or by appointment
Course Description:
This course offers a rigorous overview of the history, development, and current expression of contending approaches to peace, basic assumptions and methods, and application to current conflicts. Special attention is given throughout the semester to peacebuilding. For the purpose of analysis and discussion, approaches to peace will be grouped into the following five paradigms:
(1) peace through coercion, with attention to use of military force, collective security arrangements, and other forms of what could be termed “benign hegemony;”
(2) peace through world order, including human rights and rule of law projects;
(3) peace through conflict resolution, examining conflict resolution through problem solving as well as conflict resolution through improved communication and relationship transformation;
(4) peace through nonviolence, studying the application of Mahatma Ghandi’s philosophy; and
(5) peace through individual and community transformation, with a focus on suggestions for sustainable reconciliation, peace education, democratization and civil society building, and spiritual growth.
The course challenges students to think creatively and critically about the possible relationship among various strategies developed for realizing peace. Some of the key assumptions of peace strategies to be examined include the use of military force, the evolution of global order values, effectiveness of activism, the role of improved communication, and the transformative potential of moral behavior.
The course combines theory with policy applications and, in so doing, fosters the development of analytical skills for addressing peace and conflict resolution problems. Ultimately, it encourages students to envision their own creative, multidisciplinary approaches to the resolution of conflicts and to the building of peaceful and just societies. The course is a gateway course for masters and PhD students in International Peace and Conflict Resolution and Ethics, Peace and Global Affairs.
Course Goals:
· To identify and examine critically approaches to peace.
· To develop one’s own informed understanding of the concept of peace.
· To identify the various individual actors, institutions, and structures involved in the struggles for peace and to explore their normative expectations, interlinkages and mutually constitutive relationships.
· To survey some of the main thinkers on peace and conflict, with attention to competing and complementary views of critics.
· To think about how approaches to achieving peace have changed in the Post-Cold War era of globalization and, specifically, to examine developments in:
- the concept of security and the practice of systems to prevent it;
- the use of humanitarian intervention and peacekeeping;
- understanding and responding to terrorism;
- the role of nonviolent approaches to conflict;
- the use of conflict resolution as a means of solving problems, improving communication and transforming relationships;
- the potential for democratization, sustainable reconciliation and other forms of community transformation; and
- the impact of international legal systems and mechanisms.
· To provide the tools for analyzing ongoing or recent conflicts with reference to the above factors.
· To develop an awareness of the organizations in Washington DC working in peace related areas.
Assigned Readings:
Suggested:
1. Community Participation/ Feedback Papers: 20%
You are required to attend two lectures on peace/conflict issues on campus or in the greater D.C. area. For example, the Woodrow Wilson Center and the United States Institute of Peace have regular workshops and lectures that are widely publicized. Prepare a short (about 4-6 pp.) reaction to the lecture, relating it to the themes discussed in our class. You should also be prepared to share any insights (“ah ha!” moments) from the lecture with the class. The last paper is due the second to last day of class.
2. Policy Analysis: 30%
You will be asked to choose an ongoing or recent conflict and to analyze it in light of all the material we have discussed in class. Instead of writing a “term paper,” you should write a policy briefing. In so doing, assume the role of: (1) a Congressional aid (or the equivalent in another country); (2) a special assistant to the U.S. President (or the leader of another country); (3) a conflict analyst for a large governmental or nongovernmental development organization (such as AID); (4) a conflict analyst for a large nongovernmental human rights organization (such as Human Rights Watch); or, (5) a special advisor in the Pentagon (or the equivalent in another country).
You are expected to undertake a modest amount of research beyond the course materials. Outside research may be useful to explain the background of the conflict you are analyzing (this background section should not be more than 3 pages in length). Do not summarize a topic. Instead, push yourself to explore the topic through such techniques as comparing and contrasting two ideas, developing a theory and applying it to a case study, applying major themes discussed in class to a single illustration, etc) . Make specific recommendations appropriate to your role.
Papers should be roughly 10 pages in length, double-spaced, should include full citations and bibliography, and should include a literature review that explains how your paper contributes to the peace studies field. Criteria for grading include: demonstration of understanding of course materials, depth of analysis, creativity and insight, and professionalism and effort. Papers are due the second to last day of class. Please hand in five copies of the paper (one for me and four for other students who will read and critique your paper).
3. Paper Critique/ Roundtable Discussion (10%)
You will receive four policy papers of your classmates on the second to last day of class. You are expected to read them and prepare 2-4 questions to stimulate class discussion. On the last class, we will have a roundtable on the policy briefs. Do not summarize each paper, but be prepared to state the main thesis of each paper and to state something positive about the contribution each makes to our understanding of peace and conflict, and to note some area for improvement.
4. “Progressive” Literature Review: 40%
You are expected to keep a journal on all readings in class and class discussion. There should be two entries for each class: one that discusses the readings prior to class and one after class that reflects on class discussion.
Your first entry should be a list of questions that you wish to examine during the class. Consider what has brought you to SIS. Is it concern over escalating violence in the Middle East – or some other locale? Do you wish to understand more about nonviolent action as an alternative to military force? Are you troubled by “9-11” and its aftermath? Have you a desire to learn what contemporary scholars and practitioners are saying about challenges to building peace? Write it down! (And give yourself room to add questions – you may handwrite them in!)
Your subsequent entries should keep the initial list of questions in mind. Each subsequent entry should demonstrate that you have thought about the course material. Do not summarize each reading but, instead, synthesize the material in a manner relevant to your initial questions. The course readings may support or challenge an argument you would like to make, provide definitions and context for your work, and suggest data. They may also help you design the methodology for your research. I will collect your diaries up to three times during the semester, and grade them at the end of the term.
A note on class attendance:
In addition to the above requirements, class attendance is required. If your grade is border-line, grades may be raised one-half grade for excellent participation (defined by quality and not just quantity) and attendance (defined as missing no more than one class). On the other hand, grades may be lowered by one-half grade for students who miss three classes. Students who miss more than three classes will need to meet with me to explore whether they should receive any credit for the course and, if so, what additional work will be required to receive credit.
Peace Paradigms Assignments:
Class 1: (August 27)
INTRODUCTION: OUTLINE OF THE COURSE, INTRODUCTION OF SUBJECT, READINGS AND COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Class 2: (Sept. 3) GETTING STARTED WITH A DEBATE: FOR PEACE, GIVE WAR A CHANCE?
Jean Bethke Elsthtain, Just War Against Terrorism: The Burden on America in a Violent World (New York: Basic Books, 2003).
Johan Galtung, “Peace Theory,” ch 1 in Peace by Peaceful Means (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1996)(handout).
Class 3: (Sept. 10) PEACE THROUGH COERCION: Benign Hegemony?
Guest speaker from U.S. military
Kofi A Annan, What is the international community?, Foreign Policy (Sept./Oct. 2002).
Edward Luttwak, Give War a Chance, Foreign Affairs (July/August 1999).
C Bildt, Force and Diplomacy, Survival (Spring 2000).
Holly Burkhalter, Humanitarian Intervention Forum, The Nation (May 8, 2000).
Walter Clarke and Jeffrey Herbst, Somalia and the Future of Humanitarian Intervention, Foreign Affairs (March/ April 1996).
Ian Williams, The intervention blues, The Nation (May 15, 2000).
Richard Falk, Kosovo revisited, The Nation (April 10, 2000).
Assis Malaquias, Peace operations in Africa: Preserving the brittle state?, Journal of International Affairs (Spring 2002).
John Sanderson, The changing face of peace operations: A view from the field, Journal of International Affairs (Spring 2002).
Class 4: (Sept 17) PEACEKEEPING: War Lite?
Ademola Abass, Nassrine Azimi and Chang L. Lin, eds. The Nexus Between Peacekeeping and Peace-Building, Debriefing and Lessons, Journal of Conflict and Security Law (April 2002).
Michael Hirsh, Calling All Regio-Cops: Peacekeeping's Hybrid Future, Foreign Affairs (March 2000).
Harriet Hentges, Dividends of peace: The economics of peacekeeping, Journal of International Affairs (Spring 2002).
Susan D Moeller, Locating accountability: The media and peacekeeping, Journal of International Affairs (Spring 2002).
Steven Brayton, Outsourcing war: Mercenaries and the Privatization of peacekeeping, Journal of International Affairs (Spring 2002).
Evan Resnik, United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: Ad Hoc Missions, Permanent Engagement, Journal of International Affairs (Spring 2002).
Lise Morje Howard, Why Peacekeeping Fails, Journal of International Affairs (Spring 2002).
Christine Gray, Peacekeeping After the Brahimi Report: Is There a Crisis of Credibility for the UN?, Journal of Conflict and Security Law (Dec. 2001).
Nigel White, Commentary on the Report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations (The Brahimi Report), Journal of Conflict and Security Law (June 2001).
Class 5: (Sept. 24) PEACE THROUGH WORLD ORDER: THE ROLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Guest speaker from U.N./ U.S.U.N.
Chandra Lekha Sriram and Karin Wermester, From Promise to Practice: Strengthening UN Capacities for the Prevention of Violent Conflict (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2003)(the entire class reads chapters 1-3, 13 and 14; students also read two of the case studies (one assigned at random, one chosen).
Class 6: (Oct. 1) THE UN AND NATION BUILDING
Richard Falk, "The New Bush Doctrine," The Nation, July 15, 2002,
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020715&c=1&s=falk.
Marina Ottaway, Nation Building, Foreign Policy (Sept./Oct. 2002).
Jonathan Steele, Nation building in East Timor, World Policy Journal (Summer 2002).
Adeed Dawisha and Karen Dawisha, How to Build a Democratic Iraq, Foreign Affairs (May/ June 2003).
Amin Saikal, Afghanistan After the Loya Jirga, Survival (Autumn 2002).
Benjamin Reilly, Democracy, ethnic fragmentation, and internal conflict, International Security (Winter 2000).
Kaoru Okuizumi, Peacebuilding mission: Lessons from the UN mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Human Rights Quarterly (August 2002).
Robert Jensen, Occupation blues, The Nation (Jan. 6, 2003).
Jan Goodwin, An uneasy peace, The Nation (May 15, 2000).
Class 7: (Oct. 8) PEACE THROUGH DIALOGUE
Harold Saunders, A Public Peace Process: Sustained Dialogue to Transform Racial and Ethnic Conflicts (New York: Palgrave, 1999)(The entire class reads chs. 1-6; students are then assigned one of the three case studies).
Class 8: (Oct. 15) PEACE THROUGH MEDIATION AND NEGOTIATION
Exercise on Mediation (handout)
Louis Kreisberg, Constructive Conflicts (second edition) (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2003) (chs. 8-12).
Charles G. Boyd, Making Peace With the Guilty, Foreign Affairs (Sept./Oct. 1995).
Class 9: (Oct. 22)ANOTHER AT DIALOGUE: POSTITIVE APPROACHES TO CONTEMPORARY VIOLENCE
Field Trip to Ghandi Center
Adam Curle, Positive Approaches to Contemporary Violence (1995)(reconsider the case studies from class 6 in light of this reading).
Class 10: (Oct. 29) CULTURE AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Kevin Avruch, Culture and Conflict Resolution (Washington DC: United States Institute of Peace, 1998).
Nation, Whose Security?, Sept. 23/02
Shoma Chatterjee, Culture, Conflict, Children, Journal of International Affairs (Fall 2001).
Guest speaker from AFSC: exercise on nonviolent methods
Gene Sharp, Power and Struggle (The Politics of Nonviolent Action)(1974)(handout selection).
Martin Luther King, "Address delivered in Acceptance of Nobel Peace Prize," Oslo, Norway (10 December 1964) (http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/ ) (click on speech)
Mahatma Gandhi, The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi, [read passages 9, 21-29, 33-34] http://www.mkgandhi.org/momgbook/
Michael N. Nagler, "Peacemaking Through Nonviolence," Peace and Conflict Studies, 4:2 (December 1997) http://www.gmu.edu/academic/pcs/nagler.html
Alberto L'Abate, "Nonviolent Interposition in Armed Conflicts," Peace and Conflict Studies, 4: 1 (July 1997) http://www.gmu.edu/academic/pcs/labate.htm
Class 12: (Nov. 12) PEACE THROUGH RECONCILIATION AND COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION
John Paul Lederach, Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies (Washington DC: United States Institute of Peace, 1997).
U.S.I.P. Special Report: Can Faith-Based NGOs Advance Interfaith Reconciliation (handout)
Class 13: (Nov. 19) THE ROLE OF DEVELOPMENT IN PEACEMAKING AND PEACEBUILDING (papers due – bring copies!)
J. Brian Atwood, The development imperative: Creating the preconditions for peace, Journal of International Affairs (Spring 2002).
Stefan Elbe, HIV/AIDS and the changing landscape of war in Africa, International Security (Fall 2002).
Valerie Hudson, A surplus of men, a deficit of peace: Security and sex ratios in Asia's largest states, International Security (Spring 2002).
Colin Kahl, Demographic change, natural resources and violence: The current debate, Journal of International Affairs (Fall 2002).
Juliette Bennett, Multinational corporations, social responsibility and conflict, Journal of International Affairs (Spring 2002).
Class 14: Roundtable