If you wish to complete the course during the academic year 2016-2017, contact the teacher no later than March 15, 2017.

This module (54 hours) is online apart from individual teacher-student tutorials for discussion of the submitted thesis extract. The work consists of readings, group analysis tasks and thesis writing work. Students should take the module after their research proposal has been accepted by their programme and they are about to embark upon the writing of their thesis.

Lecture course 5 ECTS + book exam 5 ECTS

The lectures take place at 12-14 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

PART 1: Peace & Conflict Research Traditions (10h)

Wed 31.8. Tarja Väyrynen: Introduction
Thu 1.9. Helena Rytövuori-Apunen: Peace and conflict research as a critical movement in the 20th century
Mon 5.9. Helena Rytövuori-Apunen: Peace and conflict research as a critical movement in the 20th century
Wed 7.9. Tarja Väyrynen: The Interpretative tradition of conflict and conflict resolution theory
Thu 8.9. Tarja Väyrynen: The Interpretative tradition of conflict and conflict resolution theory

PART 2: Conflict Resolution and Transformation (12 h)

Mon 12.9. Marko Lehti: Ideals of peace(making): From Kant to liberal peace and beyond
Wed 14.9. Marko Lehti: Ideals of peace(making): From Kant to liberal peace and beyond
Thu 15.9. Marko Lehti: Ideals of peace(making): From Kant to liberal peace and beyond
Mon 19.9. no lecture
Wed 21.9. no lecture
Thu 22.9. Elise Féron: Practices of peace(making): From peacekeeping to negotiation, mediation and peacebuilding
Mon 26.9. Elise Féron: Practices of peace(making): From peacekeeping to negotiation, mediation and peacebuilding
Wed 28.9. Elise Féron: Practices of peace(making): From peacekeeping to negotiation, mediation and peacebuilding

PART 3: Peace & Security (12 h)

Thu 29.9. Benedikt Schoenborn: Fragile Peace during the Cold War
Mon 3.10. Benedikt Schoenborn: Fragile Peace during the Cold War
Wed 5.10. Frank Möller: A new research agenda after the end of the cold war
Thu 6.10. Frank Möller: A new research agenda after the end of the cold war
Mon 10.10. no lecture
Wed 12.10. Teemu Palosaari: Environmental peacebuilding
Mon 17.10. Teemu Palosaari: Environmental peacebuilding

This study module includes a book exam (lecture course 5 ECTS, book exam 5 ECTS) which is compulsory for the degree students of MDP in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research. This exam must be completed by the end of November 2016. Please see the curriculum of the programme for the list of books.

In order to gain the credits students must participate in the lecture course and write an essay.

The course is compulsory for the degree students of the MDP in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research. If other UTA degree students or exchange students are interested in joining the course, please contact eveliina.permi@uta.fi to inquire about free places.

The course includes 10 hour lecture series by a visiting Professor Roderick Kiewiet from California Institute of Technology:

1. Externalities 1:  Contagious Disease and Public Health Regulation
2. Externalities 2: Labor Markets: Working Conditions and Child Labor Laws
3. Externalities 3: Air Pollution: Command and Control vs. Market-based Regulation
4. Monopolies:  Telecommunications and the Airline Industries
5. Democracy and Discount Rates: The Crisis in Social Security and Public Employee Pensions

The course examines the consequences of democratic and dictatorial regimes in

a comparative perspective. We will explore how these broad types of regimes

are defined in the literature, how they structure political participation by citizens,

how they change over time and as a result from demands from the people, and

what effects regimes have on relative performance. In addition we'll work with

comparative public opinion datasets commonly used in social science research.

Class meetings: The class will meet once a week. Students should complete

the reading assigned in the syllabus and the homework before each meeting.

Each class period will be devoted to a discussion of the main ideas encountered

in the reading and students are expected to fully participate in the discussions.

Term Papers: 2 term papers will be assigned – one critical review and a final

paper. Both will incorporate the concepts studied in the class. Think of each

paper as an exam – I do. Make sure that you use them to show what you have

learned from the readings and lectures. The final paper is due on the last day of

class.

Critical Review Essay: Semester participants will write 1 paper on any of

the topics covered in this class. These papers are not supposed to be mere

summaries of the readings. Rather, they should be thoughtful critiques of the

assigned readings.

Research Paper: Each seminar participant will prepare a final paper.

Ideally this paper will be an empirical analysis using data from the World Values

Survey (http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/wvs.jsp) or the European Values Study

(http://www.europeanvaluesstudy.eu/) datasets. The topic of this paper is up to

you. Alternatively, students can write a literature review of a topic addressed in

this class (see the Gandhi and Lust-Okar article for an example).

Schedule

Week 1 (Sept 7) Course Introduction
Week 2 (Sept. 14) Summarizing Regime Types
Week 3 (Sept. 21) Measuring Regime Characteristics
Week 4 (Sept 22) Value Change and Postmaterialism
Week 5 (Oct. 12) Political Life in Democracies
Week 6 (Oct. 26) Political Participation in Authoritarian Systems
Week 7 (Nov. 2) Civil Society [Will meet in Pinni B 4113]
Week 8 (Nov. 9) Social Welfare
Week 9 (Nov. 16) Economic Performance
Week 10 (Nov. 23) Corruption
Week 11 (Nov. 30) Protection of Human Rights and Personal Integrity
Week 12 (Dec. 7) War and Regime Type
Week 13 (Dec. 14) Prospects for Democratic Transitions

Students will be accepted to the course in the following order:

1. degree students of the MDP in Public Choice

2. degree students of the other Global Society programmes (MDP in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research, MDP in Global and Transnational Studies, MDP in Comparative Social Policy and Welfare)

3. other degree students of UTA

4. exchange students

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The course can also be taken within the Degree Programme in Politics,

when it will compensate 5 ECTS from one of the following Political

Science study units: POLVOS23 Civil Society and Political Participation

(https://www10.uta.fi/opas/opintojakso.htm?rid=9428&idx=2&uiLang=en&lang=en&lvv=2015),

or POLVOS27 Political Systems

(https://www10.uta.fi/opas/opintojakso.htm?rid=9428&idx=6&uiLang=en&lang=en&lvv=2015).

Many scenarios peace research engages with are mediated either through visual images or text-image hybrids such as those prevalent in
photojournalism: as peace researchers, we (like everyone else) are exposed to images as never before and we experience our subject matter mediated and communicated through visual images. We often do not analyze conditions, but visual representations of conditions. Thus, in a world dominated by images it is necessary for peace researchers to understand the visual construction of peace and war.

Visual peace research is research on the role and function of visual images in wars and conflict situations but also in peace and reconciliation processes on the local, national, regional, international and global levels. It analyzes the relationships among image producers, subjects and spectators because it is here that the meanings of a given image are constantly negotiated.

Visual Peace Research is also interested in the ways images and their interpretations contribute to or even create conflict. It is concerned with the visualization of peace. And it explores new forms of image production (for example, citizen photography, participatory photography and new photojournalism) and how these forms relate to society.

Methodologically hybrid, visual peace research analyzes such different forms of visual representation as film, painting, video, photography, television and comics including the relationships among different genres. It explores both the meaning assigned to images by means of language and the meanings and connotations images carry with them without the explicit support of language.

Students will be accepted to the course in the following order:

1. degree students of the MDP in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research

2. degree students of the other Global Society programmes (MDP in Global and Transnational Studies, MDP in Quantitative Social Research, MDP in Comparative Social Policy and Welfare)

3. other degree students of UTA

4. exchange students

In this module we study different approaches to peace through the examples of specific individuals who have earned recognition for their actions in the cause of peace. Here the term ‘peacebuilder’ is interpreted in a broad sense. The lectures will introduce a selection of individuals, the conflict situations they faced, and the means of their coping with theconflict. These personalities will include some acclaimed peacebuilders and historical figures like Mohandas Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela and Willy Brandt. Their individual positions on non-violence, or their acceptance of qualified violence under certain circumstances, will be discussed. Attention will also be paid to the peacebuilders’ own explanations of their motivations, actions and objectives, and the – potentially different – international perception of their work in hindsight.

Furthermore, each student will present a research paper on a chosen individual and thereby contribute one approach to the complex topic of peacebuilding. Interested students are encouraged to start thinking about the choice of ‘their’ peacebuilder (different from the individuals presented by the teacher) already before the first session. The sources used for the research paper should ideally include original writings and speeches by the selected peacebuilder.

The course primarily targets degree students in the Master's programme in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research, and secondarily degree students of the Global Society programmes. If places are available, UTA Master's degree students from other programmes can be selected to the course.

Max. 18 students