Module description
This module focuses on contemporary conflict and peace research and the concept and tools necessary to be able to follow current research in this area. Whereas many courses focus on "knowing that", or familiarizing students with particular facts or existing contributions to the literature, our emphasis here will very much be on "knowing how", or the underlying logic of theoretical arguments about war and peace and how researchers evaluate these. In particular, we will not focus on meta-theories such as realism or liberalism, which postulate a set of core assumptions and general propositions on how international relations are held to operate, but instead look at the implications entailed by different theories and arguments on war and peace, and think of ways to evaluate if these are consistent with empirical patterns. We will examine the relationship between theory and evidence, measurement, and research design in research on war and peace. The specific theories and issues we will examine include conflict trends, the relationship of power, preferences, economic relations, domestic politics, and international organizations to conflict and peace.
This module focuses on contemporary conflict and peace research and the concept and tools necessary to be able to follow current research in this area. Whereas many courses focus on "knowing that", or familiarizing students with particular facts or existing contributions to the literature, our emphasis here will very much be on "knowing how", or the underlying logic of theoretical arguments about war and peace and how researchers evaluate these. In particular, we will not focus on meta-theories such as realism or liberalism, which postulate a set of core assumptions and general propositions on how international relations are held to operate, but instead look at the implications entailed by different theories and arguments on war and peace, and think of ways to evaluate if these are consistent with empirical patterns. We will examine the relationship between theory and evidence, measurement, and research design in research on war and peace. The specific theories and issues we will examine include conflict trends, the relationship of power, preferences, economic relations, domestic politics, and international organizations to conflict and peace.