The course consists of two blocks the first one focusing on the nexus of peace and development and the second one focusing on African experiences on conflict management. This first block will introduce the relationship between peace and sustainable development, beginning with a review of the contending theories of liberal peace and developmental state concepts for peace. The course will try to visit some of the perceived causes and consequences of intra-state conflicts in the context of the Horn of Africa. The assumption is that many of the primary causes of conflict are related to the question of sustainable development, share of natural resources and/or access to natural resources. Claims over territories, access to the sea and transit corridors, and competition over the use of natural resources like trans- boundary water resources are examples of such perceived causes of conflicts. In this respect the course will limit itself to cover the management and development of some shared resources like trans-boundary water resources, access to the sea and the development of transit corridors. Problems associated with divided communities, cross border criminality including threats of terrorism will also be discussed. In this regard cross border economic cooperation, criminal control and early warning including response mechanism will be investigated as ways of enhancing peace and development in border areas. The courses will also broadly overview the link between environment and security. The second block covers the practice of conflict management and transformation as fields of theoretical inquiry and research in African context. The block will broadly cover the concepts of conflict resolution, negotiation, peacemaking and peace building with particular focus on African experiences.
The module defines concepts, meanings, and the overall notions of peace and security. It is designed to engage students in an examination of the major contemporary theories and conceptual challenges of peace and security; theoretical understanding of sources of conflict and violence. It is meant to provide a general and critical overview of peace and security theories, thereby arming students with useful analytical tools for the analysis of actual conflicts, in Africa and elsewhere in the world. The first half of the module focuses on theoretical assumption and its implications and the second half, on the discovery and application of methods. Participants in the module will engage critically with various theories and methods of Peace and Security. They will develop their understandings of the theoretical resources available in the area of peace and security studies as well as their capacity for putting theory into practice. This foundation module provides an opportunity to explore connections between the challenges and approaches identified in many different disciplines from a “wide – angle” perspective that will encourage students to continue making interdisciplinary connections and analyses throughout their tenure at the Institute and in their professional academic or professional endeavours.