Peace and Conflict Studies

Why do countries go to war? What is the impact of conflict on a society? And how do we find the path to sustainable peace? This course offers the opportunity to explore these questions and more through an introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies, an interdisciplinary Social Science dedicated to understanding the root causes of conflict and the conditions for the promotion of peace.

You will examine varied conflicts from around the world, among them the war in Ukraine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the Syrian Civil War, and gain insights from the analysis of post-conflict scenarios such as Europe’s reconciliations after the Second World War; you will assess the legacies that conflict leaves on societies, their people, and their politics, both from a ‘bottom-up’ perspective, looking at the lived experiences of refugees and internally displaced people, and ‘top-down’, analysing the responses of leaders and political elites; and you will investigate emerging practices of sustainable peace-building, including feminist agendas for peace, decolonial constructions of peace, and transitional justice mechanisms.

Join this course to develop your understanding of the history of enquiry in the field, to gain critical insight into the latest research, and to equip yourself with practical knowledge of current and emerging approaches to peace-building.

By the end of this course, you will:

• Be able to demonstrate familiarity with key issues and debates in Peace and Conflict Studies.
• Be able to articulate varied causes of conflict worldwide, drawing on real-world examples.
• Be able to assess critically how varied peace-building mechanisms may be applied to different conflicts.
• Be able to evaluate the legacies of war and conflict, including with regard to displaced people.

This course would suit students from a range of academic disciplines, but especially those with a background or interest in International Relations, Politics, History, Sociology, or Sustainable Development.

Available as a Residential or Online course on the following date:

Session 1: 21st July to 8th August 2025

Click below to find out how to apply.

If you have any questions, or would like to know more, please get in touch via the link below.