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Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts

Code: 101096
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Political Science and Public Management OP 3
Political Science and Public Management OP 4
International Relations OB 3

Contact lecturer

Name :
Dúnia Camps Febrer
Email :
blanca.camps@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Estel·la Pareja Morte

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

There are no academic prerequisites.

You must be able to read English regularly and attend classes on a regular basis.

You must have the ability and habit of reading, watching, studying and consulting various general media, as well as following in particular news related to the international agenda and conflict and peace processes.

Objectives

The main objective of the subject is to familiarize students with the evolution, concepts, theoretical tools and practical application of various sub-areas of International Relations, in a broad sense. Starting from critical, feminist and decolonial perspectives, the analysis, transformation and resolution of armed conflicts will be addressed.


Specifically, the specific objectives are:


1. To situate the study of armed conflicts and the way to intervene in them within the general framework of the social sciences.

2. To study the notion of armed conflict, the different types and their logic and dynamics in international politics.

3. To have conceptual and analytical frameworks to frame armed conflicts, as well as their nature, recurrence and location, in particular with regional and sub-regional logics.

4. To apply the analysis to various conflicts of the last fifty years.

5. Know the various instruments for the prevention, management, resolution and transformation of conflicts.

Learning outcomes

  1. Working in teams and networking, particularly in interdisciplinary conditions.
  2. Synthesizing and critically analysing information.
  3. Interpreting and applying English texts in an academic way.
  4. Arguing from different theoretical perspectives.
  5. Working by using quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques in order to apply them to research processes.
  6. Using the main information and documentation techniques (ICT) as an essential tool for the analysis.
  7. Demonstrating good writing skills in different contexts.
  8. Realising effective oral presentations that are suited to the audience.
  9. Managing the available time in order to accomplish the established objectives and fulfil the intended task.
  10. Working autonomously.
  11. Producing and planning researches or analytical reports.
  12. Properly using the theory and concepts of international relations (traditions of Hobbesian, Grotian or Kantian thought).
  13. Explaining the major approximations to the international relations (realism, transnationalism and structuralism).
  14. Critically assessing the impacts of globalization in several areas: safety, environment, human rights, migrations and peace.
  15. Demonstrating they know theoretical tendencies and classical and recent analytical approximations of International Relations.
  16. Assessing specific distinctive aspects and conceptual and methodological instruments of the different tendencies and analytical approximations of International Relations.
  17. Applying theoretical and analytical knowledge of International Relations to practical and professional cases, in particular to the areas of conflict and cooperation between actors.
  18. Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  19. Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  20. Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  21. Identify data sources and carry out rigorous bibliographical and documentary searches.
  22. Use metatheoretical data to argue and establish plausible relation of causality and establish ways of validating or rejecting them.
  23. Apply quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques in research processes.
  24. Produce and prepare the presentation of intervention reports and/or proposals.
  25. Apply different theories and focuses to the analysis of the main problems related to security, foreign policy and armed conflict and the promotion of peace.
  26. Make a reasoned application of different contemporary political theories to phenomena related to international security, international conflicts, foreign policies of the main states and the promotion of peace.
  27. Analyse the behaviour of different actors in the main topics and problems related to international security, international conflicts and the promotion of peace.
  28. Identify the main institutions with competences and working in international security, international conflicts and the promotion of peace and analyse the specific importance of these.
  29. describe the evolution of international security.
  30. Evaluate the conditions that lead to international peace and those which make it more difficult.
  31. Identify and analyse some of the key challenges in international security and international conflicts from a multidimensional perspective.
  32. null

Contents

Block I. The systemic and conceptual framework


1. Essential concepts for understanding political violence


2. War and power in the 20th and 21st centuries: the evolution of armed conflicts, war, security and peace.


3. Typologies of armed conflicts


Block II. Tools for the analysis of armed conflicts


4. How to approach the study of armed conflicts: why do we fight?


5. Typologies of combatants


6. Tools for gender analysis and feminist analyses of armed conflicts


Block III - The action of international society: the containment of violent conflicts and the establishment of peace


7. Studies of conflict resolution and transformation


8. International instruments: United Nations and international security


9. The containment of violent conflicts, the maintenance and establishment of peace


Block IV - Conflict resolution and transformation: peacebuilding


10. Preparation for peace: peace processes and agreements


11. Post-war reconstruction


12. Peacebuilding


13. Reconciliation and resolution of root causes

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Assignments and Readings 25 1
Lectures 40 1.6
Individual work 60 2.4
Exercise 4 0.16
Seminaries 6 0.24
Debates and Conferences 7 0.28

Teaching methodology and training activities

The dedication to the subject is divided into several types of activities, which, in coherence, materialize in several demands and differentiated methodologies. It is a subject of 6 ECTS, therefore 150 hours.

These 150 hours are divided into activities as follows:


a) Face-to-face or guided (50 hours, 33.3%)

Lecture sessions using ICT and debates: 20 sessions (40 hrs)

Classroom seminars: 2 sessions (6 hrs)

Evaluable classroom practices: 2 sessions (4 hrs)


b) Supervised activities: reading checks, group work, tutorials for assignments, etc.: 25 hrs (16.7%)


c) Assessment: Exam block, final work assessment, and remedial assessment: 7.5 hrs (5%)


d) Independent work by the student (outside the classroom): 67.5 hrs (45%)


2. Practical instructions for the virtual campus material and classroom activity


Each theoretical lesson will have:

a) one or two readings mandatory; and

b) some additional references

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Exam 2 50% 2 0.08 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 31
Exam 1 35% 2 0.08 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17
Participation 10% 0 0 1, 4, 8, 14, 18, 20
Group Research 20% 4 0.16 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32

The assessment of this subject is made up of the following parts:


1. A partial exam of the first two blocks of the program, which constitutes 35% of the final grade

2. A partial exam of the rest of the syllabus, 35% of the final grade, which will be held on the last day of class

3. A practice, with a value of 20% of the final grade. The practice will have several parts, among which may include the preparation of a written work, an oral presentation, the preparation of visual support material and/or a debate.

4. Active participation in class (10% of the final grade): intervention and participation in class debates and in-person activities proposed by the teaching staff.


Requirements to pass the subject:


To pass the subject, it is necessary to obtain a final average grade (once all elements have been weighted) of 5/10.


The course may be passed with one of the two failed exams, provided that the grade for this exam is equal to or greater than 4/10. Exams in which the minimum grade of 5/10 is not obtained may be retaken at the end of the course on the date of the compensatory assessment indicated by the Faculty. Detailed information on this date will be provided during the course.


The practice will be done in groups and will include more than one activity or evidence. Both individual and group work will be assessed in the assessment.


Important: the practice will not be retaken. In the event that the assessment includes an individual question or exercise, in order to be entitled to the grade for this activity it will be essential to have done the group work. In other words, a person who has not previously participated in the group work will not be able to present the individual activity.


The dates of the two exams and the exercises linked to the practice and any other activity will be specified within the framework of the subject's programming (consult the Virtual Campus).


Single assessment:


Students who have requested it in time and form will be able to take part in a single assessment that will consist of an exercise made up of an exam (70% of the grade) and a practical activity (30%).

The practical activity (30%) is mandatory to be assessed.

As in the case of continuous assessment, the practical exercises cannot be made up.

This exercise will take place on the last day of class at the end of the semester. In the event of not passing this test with a score of 5 points out of 10, the exercise may be made up on the date set by the Faculty for the ordinary assessment (NOT the compensatory one) and will be made public sufficiently in advance.

Bibliography

Compulsory bibliography will be specified at the beginning of the course.

 

Berdal, Mats, and David Malone, eds. 2000. Greed and Grievance: Economic Agendas in Civil Wars. Boulder: Lynne Rienner.

Brown, Seyom. 1994. The Causes and Prevention of War. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Calvo Rufanges, Jordi, and Alejandro Pozo Marín, eds. 2015. Diccionario de La Guerra, La Paz y El Desarme. Antrazyt 431. Barcelona: Icaria.

Calvo Rufanges, Jordi, ed. 2016. Mentes Militarizadas. Más Madera. Barcelona: Icaria.

Carter Hallward, M., J. E. Kim, C. Mouly, T. Seidel, and Z. Wai. The Sage Handbook of Peace and Conflict Studies. 1st ed. London: SAGE Publications, Limited, 2025.

Cohn, Carol, ed. 2013. Women and Wars. Cambridge, UK ; Malden, MA: Polity Press.

Duffield, Mark. 2004. Las nuevas guerras en el mundo global: La convergencia entre desarrollo y seguridad. Madrid: La Catarata. Originally published 2001.

Fisas, Vicenç. 2004. Procesos de paz y negociación en conflictos armados. Barcelona: Paidós.

Galtung, Johan. 1996. Peace by Peaceful Means: Peace and Conflict, Development and Civilization. London: Sage.

Gentry, Caron E., and Laura Sjoberg. 2015. Beyond Mothers, Monsters, Whores: Thinking about Women’s Violence in Global Politics. London: Zed Books.

Hampson, Fen Osler, Alpaslan Özerdem, and Jonathan Kent, eds. Routledge Handbook of Peace, Security, and Development. 1st ed. London: Routledge, 2020.

Jeong, Ho-Won. 2010. Conflict Management and Resolution: An Introduction. London: Routledge.

Job, Brian, ed. 1992. The Insecurity Dilemma: National Security of Third World States. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.

Kagan, Donald. 2003. Sobre las causas de la guerra y la preservación de la paz. Madrid: Turner; Mexico City: FCE. Originally published 1995.

Kaldor, Mary. 2001. Las nuevas guerras. Barcelona: Tusquets.

Kriesberg, Louis; William; Dayton, Bruce W., Constructive conflicts: from escalation to resolution, [Malmö], Produced by Swedish Agency for Accessible Media, 2022.

Loewenstein, Antony. 2023. The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation around the World. London New York: Verso.

Miall, Hugh, Oliver Ramsbotham, and Tom Woodhouse. 2005. Contemporary Conflict Resolution: The Prevention, Management and Transformation of Deadly Conflicts. 2nd ed. London: Polity Press. Spanish edition: ICIP/Bellatera, October 2011.

Mishra, Pankaj. 2025. The World after Gaza. London: Fern Press.

Pruitt, Dean G., and Sung Hee Kim. 2004. Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate and Settlement. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Romeva i Rueda, Raül. 2003. Guerra, posguerra y paz: Pautas para el análisis y la intervención en contextos posbélicos o postacuerdo. Barcelona: Icaria.

Te Maihāroa, Kayla, Mele Ligaliga, and Heather Devere. Decolonising Peace and Conflict Studies through Indigenous Research. 1st ed. Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6779-4.

Wallensteen, Peter. Understanding Conflict Resolution. 4th ed. London: SAGE, 2023.

Wanis-St. John, Anthony, and Roger Mac Ginty, eds. Contemporary Peacemaking: Peace Processes, Peacebuilding and Conflict. 3rd ed. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82962-9.

 

 

 

 

 

Instituts i centres de recerca especialitzats / Institutes and Research Centres / Institutos y centros de investigación

 

Software

Prohibited use: In this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not permitted in any of its phases. Any work that includes fragments generated with AI will be considered a breach of academic honesty and may result in partial or total penalty in the activity grade, or major sanctions in cases of severity. This is due to the effects on cognitive aspects of learning, and for environmental and ethical reasons.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed