9 ECTS credits
225 h study time
Offer 1 with catalog number 4021258ENR for all students in the 1st semester at a (E) Master - advanced level.
This course is been taught at University of Kent (Brussels). For more information:
https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/modules/module/PO933
Conflict in its many forms has been a permanent feature of human history. While not all conflict is destructive, violent conflict has caused innumerable deaths and intense suffering. Over the centuries, inter-state war has been the major concern of the international community. The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries are widely regarded as the most violent and destructive period of the modern era. As a result of the massive loss of life over the past two centuries, the study of conflict has developed considerably.
Today, however, the vast majority of conflicts and potential conflicts of concern to the international community are internal conflicts, most often in states or across regions undergoing major political, social, and economic transition and dislocation. These conflicts generally have different causes from inter-state war, as well as different effects and dynamics. A major challenge is to improve our understanding of such conflict in order to develop new approaches to conflict management and prevention.
Technologies of violence and their public uses for maximal political impact have also evolved significantly, forcing scholars to re-consider their conceptualisation of warfare.
Theories of Conflict and Violence is designed to examine the various approaches that have been developed to understand collective political violence in its different forms, notably by looking into the logics of users of force and the dynamics of their actions.
The aim of the course is to give students a comprehensive overview of the various theories of contemporary collective political violence. In the course of the module, it will be demonstrated how theories of conflict have evolved, and how theory seeks to explain why conflicts start, the constraints and opportunities that actors face, the characteristics of conflict, and the changing dynamics of conflict.
This course is taught at the University of Kent Brussels (Espace Rolin - Boulevard Louis Schmidt 2a, 1040 Brussels): http://www.kent.ac.uk/brussels/
Up to seven VUB-students are able to take this module.
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to
The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 100% of the final mark.
Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:
For the courses of Kent there is no second exam chance.
There is no possibility to take the exam in Dutch.
Method of Assessment:
Students write one essay of approximately 5000 words addressing a recent (post-Cold War) or protracted conflict and seek to explain it drawing upon theories explored in the module. The essay is worth 100% of the final mark.
This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Political Science: Democracy and Leadership (only offered in Dutch)