Theory and Analysis


Core Course 1: Coexistence and Conflict Theory and Analysis

Fall Semester: Professor Fitzduff

Addresses the local and global contexts that make coexistence work a necessity. Participants will reflect upon the different kinds of ethnic, religious and cultural intercommunal conflicts that have emerged around the world, particularly since the end of the Cold War. They will look at the reasons for their emergence and the likelihood of their continuance. They will also look at the various theories about contemporary intercommunal conflict and assess existing analytic approaches to such conflicts.

Course Objectives:

  • Increase students' understanding of the causes of increasing ethnic, religious, cultural and political patterns of division throughout the world and their relationship to the diversity of populations and the surfacing of tension, conflict and violence within and between many societies.
  • Ensure students' awareness and understanding of the current and future patterns of demography and movements, such as migration, immigration and refugee flows, that are changing the diverse nature of most nations.
  • Review existing approaches to diversity and intercommunal dilemmas, the vocabularies and values around such, different approaches to diversity and various concepts of nationalism, citizenship and coexistence espoused in different countries.
  • Understand existing and emerging theoretical approaches that address the problems of intercommunal conflict management.
  • Explore case study tools that will enable students to undertake analyses of differing contexts and their needs for coexistence work. This will be inclusive of all stages from, e.g., emerging tensions in societies and the mitigation and resolution of violent conflicts to post-violence and post-settlement intercommunal necessities.
  • Increase participants' understanding of the need for meta-conflict and mainstreaming work. Such work includes securing partnerships with other agencies and fields in order to assist a comprehensive and more successful approach to coexistence work with governments, aid and development agencies, relevant IGO’s and NGO’s, legislative bodies, businesses, security and civil society. Such partnerships can ensure an integrated rather than a particularized or ad hoc approach to coexistence and conflict issues.