Descriptions of Modules

The Politics of Peace and Conflict
Theories of peace; the ethics of peace and war; culture, conflict and peace; peace building and conflict prevention; the role and effectiveness of peace movements.

International Politics
An overview of the major theoretical approaches to international affairs, and of the critiques advanced against them; the concept of security as the focus of peace research; understanding concrete security problems; the role of non-state actors; global civil society.

Ethics in International Affairs
An analysis of the diverse and intricate nature of ethical conflicts as they arise in the international context; historical injustices and the ethics of restitution; atrocities and the ethics of accountability; the ethics of humanitarian intervention; just war reasoning and the ‘war on terror’; globalisation and the ethical imperative; media ethics.

Conflict Resolution and Nonviolence
Theories of nonviolence; nonviolence and political action; official and unofficial mediation processes; culture and conflict resolution.

Northern Ireland: Conflict, Religion and the Politics of Peace
Critically examines the history of economic and cultural division; the churches’ political and cultural roles; Anglo-Irish relations since 1969 and the shifting prospects for a politics of peace. A week-long field trip to Northern Ireland is organised in support of this module and there will be an additional cost.

The United Nations and Peacekeeping
The evolution of the UN organisation and institutions; specialised agencies and functions; the role of UN peacekeeping in international conflict.

Human Rights in Theory and Practice
The theoretical and practical contexts in which the discourse and politics of human rights is situated; the relationship between democracy and human rights; the significance of national sovereignty; the development of international human rights law; an examination of human rights atrocities, the culture of impunity in which they seem to flourish and the recent initiatives designed to construct a system of accountability.

Gender, War and Peace
Gender as biological or as socially constructed; masculinity; analysis of war and peace through gendered lenses; religion and the gender order; challenging the gender order.

Mediation Summer School
The Mediation Summer School seeks to expose students to a variety of conflict resolution approaches including Transformative Mediation, a style of alternative dispute resolution.  Throughout the week long course, students learn constructive communication skills through demonstrations, exercises, and role plays. The course is taught using a learn-by-doing methodology, allowing students to test their new skills as they go. No prior specialized knowledge in conflict transformation is required.

Armed Conflict, Peacebuilding and Development
The evolution of development theory; development ethics; alternative development; the impact of militarism on developing countries; peacebuilding and development; case studies from South Asia, Central Africa, West Africa.

Research Methods
Dealing with an interdisciplinary area of study; qualitative and quantitative approaches to research; approaching the literature; formulating hypotheses; research ethics.

The Politics of the Idea of Europe
World War II; Europe as a peace project; integration and international relations theory; EU policy-making; EU and conflict resolution.

Modules from Intercultural Theology and Interreligious Studies, and Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation are open to students on the International Peace Studies Programme.  Students seeking to be assessed for their work on a module in either of the two other programmes must first secure the permission of the relevant programme coordinators.