An Introduction to Peace Research (Master Year 2 / Fall)

Though Peace Research emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, it did not break through conventional thinking on war and violence until the 1990s, after the end of the Cold War. Drawing from the fields of politics, psychology, sociology, public ethics amongst others, peace research is, by definition, inter-disciplinary. Nevertheless, over the years, peace researchers have focused on a few major areas of enquiry: the causes and conditions of violence and war, conflict resolution and transformation mechanisms, the norms and institutions that contribute to building peace and peace practices. Unforeseen by experts (realists, liberals, marxists) as well as by historians, the largely bloodless end of the Cold War opened a debate both in the theory and in the practice of international relations (on polarity, on the impact of ideas, on democratisation and elections, on demilitarisation etc.). Like feminists, postmodern and constructivists thinkers, but with forty years of research insights and several established programmes, peace specialists took advantage of these changes and brought to the fore major contributions to our understanding and approaches of conflicts. These include (but are not limited to) large scale data programmes on institutional violence, several key tools in conflict analysis, the theory and practice underpinning notions such as peacekeeping, civilian peace intervention, arbitration, mediation, multi-track negotiations, truth and reconciliation commissions etc. Except in France, peace-based approaches have become mainstreamed into the discourse of most military actors including the US and Russia, as well as experimented by many, especially multilateral actors such as the UN, the EU and other regional organisations. 9/11 terrorist attack and the quick return of violence-based international politicsolence-based international politics, have had a strong negative impact on the reality of peace programs, especially when it comes to financing peace efforts, and supporting international law. Over the last 10 years, wars, populism and nationalism have been on the rise fragilizing further any reference to peace. It is therefore necessary to study critically the rhetoric, the language and the programs that speak about peace. This course is an introduction to peace research with a focus on understanding the dynamics of peace (to balance for the emphasis on studying conflict in the rest of the Master curriculum). A large section of the course will be devoted to enlarging our understanding of peace and its links to that of conflicts. We will study the intertwined notions of peace and violence, positive and negative peace in the life cycle of conflicts, the depth and roots of peace, peace and war
actors, the role of education, culture both in conflict formation and conflict transformation, peace processes and their limits. The course will also include case studies focused on identifying the dynamics of peace and conflicts as well as modes of intervention including those of civilians, both local and international.