Postgraduate Course: Conflict, Development and the State (PGSP11342)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Postgrad (School of Social and Political Studies) |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | Violent conflict haunts the globe. Varied in form and scale, such conflict ranges from civil war, state-sponsored repression and inter-state aggression among others. One of the most important current trends in international assistance is the engagement of development, humanitarian, military and other agencies in conflict and post-conflict situations. This course examines the nature of conflict globally and its demands upon development and humanitarian actors at local, national and international levels. It begins by interrogating the relationship between violent conflict, development and the state. It looks at analytical debates in the field: violent conflict and state formation, root causes of conflict, securitization of aid and military engagements, politics of peace-building and conflict-resolution, post-conflict state-building exercises and instrumentalisation of humanitarian action among others. The course exposes the students to specific case studies from Sierra Leone, Palestine, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. In addition, the course will critically engage the students with the practice of development in/on conflict including conflict analysis, conflict impact assessments, demobilization, disarmament and reintegration, transitional justice and reconciliation through assignments. These topics will be approached through theoretical literature, policy documents, popular accounts and films. The course will mainly draw on literature from anthropology, development studies, political science and history, examining current trends in the multi-faceted transformation of conflict and development in Africa, South Asia and the Middle East. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course students will:
- Have gained critical understanding of key analytical concepts and theoretical approaches to understanding the relationship between conflict and development;
- Have gained exposure to specific issues in a number of countries/settings that help illustrate the analytical issues in the field of conflict, security and state-building;
- Be able to appreciate critically the approaches, methods and tools used by policy makers and practitioners in analyzing and responding to violent conflict;
- Have developed specific skills in analysing and designing programmes in the context of violent conflict.
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Assessment Information
The course is assessed by one 1500 word short essay (25%), and one 2500 word long essay (75%).
The short essay will be a critical analysis of methodologies (e.g. conflict analysis, conflict impact assessments) and programme areas (e.g. hearts and minds, reconciliation, security sector reform, demobilization, disarmament and reintegration). The long essay will be on key analytical issues in the field. |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Week 1: Introduction
Introduction to the course, key analytical issues and other practical issues such as assignment, class presentations etc.
Week 2: Violent conflict and state formation
Historical perspective on violent conflict and state formation.
Week 3: Explaining ¿root causes¿ of violent conflict
Critical engagement with the current explanations on the root causes of violent conflict i.e. greed versus grievance debate.
Week 4: Security-development nexus and instrumentalisation of humanitarian action
Critical reflection on current approaches to the merging of security and development: militarization of aid, hearts and minds projects and instrumentalisation of humanitarian action.
Week 5: Politics of peace-building
Theory and practice of peace-building, academic field of peace-building and different approaches and interventions employed in it.
Week 6: Afghanistan and Pakistan
Critical understanding of the history of US aid in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Current hearts and mind projects in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Week 7: Palestine
A critical reflection on the historical relationship between the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process and international development interventions in the West Bank and Gaza.
Week 8: Sierra Leone
Nature of conflict, discussing the root causes in the context of greed versus grievance, critical reflection on the development-security interventions.
Week 9: Nepal and India
Interrogate the relationship between the history of aid/development and the emergence of Maoist insurgency.
Week 10: Northern Ireland
Nature of political violence and the role of different agencies in their approach to controlling/resolving conflict.
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| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Anderson, Mary B. 1999. Do no harm: How aid agencies can support peace -- or war. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Bates, R. 2010. Prosperity and Violence: The Political Economy of Development. W.W. Norton & Company.
Chabal, Patrick and Jean-Pascal Daloz. 1999. Africa Works: Disorder as a Political Instrument. Cambridge University Press.
Chandler, D. 2006. Empire in Denial: The Politics of State-building. Pluto Press
Cramer, C. 2006. Civil War is not a Stupid Thing. Hurst & Company.
Duffield, M. 2001. Global Governance and the New Wars: The Merging of Development and Security. Zed Books.
Duffield, M. 2007. Development, Security and Unending War: Governing the World of Peoples. Polity Press.
Evans, P., Rueschemeyer, D. and Skocpol, T. (Eds.). Bringing the State Back In. Cambridge University Press.
Goodhand, J. B. Korf, J. Spencer. 2011. Conflict and Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka: Caught in the Peace Trap?. Routledge.
Gould, R. V. 2003. Collision of Wills: How Ambiguity about Social Rank Breeds Conflict. The University of Chicago Press.
Hanlon, J. and Yanacopulos, H., (eds.), Civil Wars, Civil Peace. Open University.
Keen, David, 2008, Complex Emergencies. Polity Press.
Milliken, J, (ed.), 2003 State Failure, Collapse and Reconstruction. Blackwell.
Richards, P. (ed.) 2005. No Peace, No War: An Anthropology of Contemporary Armed Conflicts. James Currey.
Sisk, T. and Paris, R., Eds. 2009. The Dilemmas of Statebuilding: Confronting the Contradictions of Postwar Peace Operations. Routledge.
Stewart, F. 2008. Horizontal Inequalities and Conflict: Understanding Group Violence in Multi-ethnic Societies. Palgrave
Uvin, P. 1998. Aiding Violence. Kumarian Press.
Wood, E. J. 2003. Insurgent Collective Action and Civil War in El Salvador. Cambridge University Press.
World Bank 2011. World Development Report 2012: Conflict, Security and Development. World B
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| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Jeevan Sharma
Tel: (0131 6)51 1760
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Lindsay Hunter
Tel: (0131 6)51 1659
Email: |
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