Learning outcomes

The programme offers studies of peace- and conflict-related issues through two study options, one in political science and one in history. Conflict between groups and states is a recurrent worldwide phenomenon. Why do some of these conflicts turn violent, while others remain non-violent? Peace and conflict studies aim at answering this and a wide range of other questions about the causes of conflicts and the conditions for peace.

Knowledge

• Develop your ability to discuss the history of war and peace in the 20th and 21st centuries
• Acquire advanced knowledge of the central theories of causes of conflicts and wars between states and groups and the conditions for peace, as well as the explanatory factors emphasized by these theories
• Be well acquainted with different conflict resolution mechanisms and have acquired a special comprehension of conflict resolution through negotiations and mediation.
• Be well acquainted with the existing state of knowledge in a specialized relevant field of research.
• Be able to discuss what influence the Nobel Peace Prize may have had on international relations.

Skills

• Identify and assess relevant scholarly literature.
• Distinguish between different levels of analysis and understand how the different levels interact in analysis of specific historical or contemporary conflicts
• Assess the analytical and methodological quality of relevant scholarly work.
• Formulate a researchable problem in an independent way and assess how your choice of research question influences your choice of research design as well as your choice of method(s).
• Identify, select, collect and assess relevant sources and data for purposes of analyzing specific research questions.
• Analyze large amounts of relevant data in a scientifically tenable way and present the results of your analysis in a clear, succinct and lucid way.
• Give and receive comments to ongoing scholarly work in a constructive way.
• Discuss academic questions connected to your own and other people’s work.

Competences

• The study provides you with theoretical and methodological tools that enable you to analyze key issues of peace and conflict in a scientific manner.
• You will have competence to critically assess the validity and reliability of different sources of information and on that basis form your own qualified opinions about the strengths and weaknesses of arguments.