Mar 28, 2024  
2018-19 Graduate Catalog 
    
2018-19 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

IP 525 Post-Conflict Reconstruction


This course introduces students to the main issues in post conflict reconstruction and the multiple challenges facing societies emerging from conflict. The objective of the course is to highlight the various dilemmas and needs of reconstruction and how these are generated by the specific dynamics of conflict. To do so, we adopt a comparative political economy approach that addresses many of the key issues affecting post conflict reconstruction in different conflict spaces: the role of international actors; the relationship between socio-political peace and economic stability; the financing of reconstruction; the challenges of reconstituting domestic political relations after conflict; governance and institutional development; and the importance of social policy in facilitating reconstruction. This course also places emphasis on the applied side of post conflict reconstruction by introducing some of the techniques, policies and needs assessment strategies employed by international organizations in advancing reconstruction policies and strategies.

This course combines lecture, seminar, and discussion methods.  Students will be required to complete all the necessary readings and be prepared to discuss the material during the class.  The lectures themselves will not be based entirely on the readings, but will complement them.  Throughout the semester, students will be strongly encouraged to participate during the lectures, ask questions, offer criticisms and elaborate on material from previous classes.  The seminar component of the class relies heavily on student ability to converse and think with their peers about the course material.    The majority of time will be spent in seminar format.  Occasionally, students will be placed in groups and asked to answer or address key questions/themes that emerge from the readings.  The aim of group activity is to encourage student engagement with the literature.     Finally, every few weeks we will have jigsaw exercises in which students will present material on a specific topic to a small group.