AmericanUniversity of Beirut
Social and Behavioral Sciences
SOAN 232/324
Conflict Analysis and Resolution
For Graduate and undergraduate students
Dr Sari Hanafi
Associated Professor
Fall, 2006-07
Wednesday 4:30-7:00 pm, Jesup 107a
Phone: 01 350000, extension: 3823; Office: Nicely 201.
Office hours: Wednesday2:30 to 4:30 and open door policy
,
Summary
I. Course Description
II. Textbook
III. Format
IV. Course Policies
V. Assessment
VI. Topics and Readings
VII. Bibliography (in the reserve)
VIII. Further References (with their reference in the AUB library)
I. Course Description
This course provide an overview of the field of conflict analysis and resolution. Itcovers the history of conflict studies, theories of conflict, and methods of dispute resolution.
In conflict analysis, specific cases will be explored: social conflict; Lebanese civil war and 2006's Israeli war on Lebanon; war on terrorism and Arab-Israeli Conflict.
In confict resolution, we will explore the structural and social psychological origins of conflict, attentive especially to discovering those factors that seem to propel conflict toward violent confrontations.
By examining a wide range of conflicts, from interpersonal discord to racial antagonisms and class conflicts to conflicts between nation-states, we will review a variety of theoretical approaches and perspectives. In addition to analyses of conflict, we shall also examine the growing literature on conflict resolution in an attempt to understand the mechanisms that might be useful for averting conflict and reducing tensions between hostile parties.
II. Textbook
Miall, Hugh; Oliver Ramsbotham and Tom Woodhouse (1999) Contemporary conflicts resolution: the prevention, management and transformation of deadly conflicts. Polity Press.
The other readings set for the various topics below should all be available in reserve or in WEbCT at the library. However, from time to time, these will be supplemented by further readings that will be made available either on reserve or distributed in class.
III. Format
The class will be taught in the form of a seminar, including lectures and class discussions.
In the first hour of each class there will be a seminar presentation and discussion of the previous week’s topic.
This requires from each student (not just the presenter) to complete the readings andmake some preparations such as:
Questions arising from the reading
Questions arising from the previous week’s discussion
Comments on relevant issues to the week’s topic
Examples from current affairs
Examples/applications from Lebanon and the Arab world
Students are strongly encouraged to bring newspaper or magazine articles on relevant current affairs for class discussion or just for our information. In this way, a logbook of materials can be accumulated throughout the course.
In addition to the set readings, students are encouraged to access the internet for further materials on conflict resolution. The internet is replete with many websites on conflict resolution issues.
Some general book readings, in addition to the essential readings, are provided below. However, please note that each chapter from the textbook contains references specific to its topic that can be followed up – for the seminar discussions and written work.
IV. Course Policies
1- You should have a sense of responsibility. Class attendance is required and assessed. Coming late is not permitted without a proper justification.
2- It is strictly prohibited to use or to show mobile during the course.
3- You are strongly encouraged to participate in the discussion periods during classes and indeed beyond the classroom, through the WebCT. It will make the classes more interesting and vibrant, and it helps in learning and understanding sociology.
4- Academic integrity
The heart of the teaching profession is integrity. Any violation of academic integrity will NOT be tolerated and will result in serious repercussions. Please refer to AUB policies and procedures on academic integrity.
V. Assessment
1.Class attendance and class participation (25%)
2.Class seminar presentation and seminar paper on one of the themes assigned in the first week (30%)
3.Research Essay (45%)
Attendance and Participation
Preparation in terms of reading, questions, commentaries and discussion are an essential part of the class participation process in this course.
Seminar Presentation and Seminar Paper
Each student is required to give an oral presentation on a chosen topic. The presentation should be no more than 10-15 minutes. Presenting the reading does NOT mean summarizing these readings. Presenting the readings entails raising questions, counterarguments and connections to other theoretical issues, or comparisons with other places and times. The presentation should provide a basis for class discussions.
Students will submit a copy of the questions and issues they prepared to their peers and to the instructor, in the beginning of class.
The seminar paper of 2000 words (4000 for the graduate students), to be submitted within two weeks of the presentation, must follow normal standards of an essay with proper referencing, introduction, discussion and conclusion. Papers are to be submitted exclusively though WebCT.
Research Essay
From a list of essay topics (to be advised) each student will approach their essay as a research topic. Students will send me one or two paragraph in how they will approach the topic to be approved before starting working on it. Students will be expected to explore the topic in an original fashion, applying the concepts and issues to Lebanon and/or other parts of the Arab world. The research may be conducted from written primary and secondary source materials and supplemented by original work which may include interviews and observation fieldwork - taking care to follow professional standards of social science methodologies.
The 3000-words essay (4000 for the graduate students) must be presented in a FORMAL standard format with proper referencing, introduction, discussion and conclusion. Papers are due to December 22, to be submitted exclusively though WebCT.
VI. Topics and Readings
Sociology of Conflict
Crouch, C. (2002) (in the WEBCT)
Social conflict and Social Identity
How are social identities conceptualized and imbued with meaning in conflict?
Cook-Huffman, Celia (2000) Who Do They Say We Are? Framing social Identity and Gender In Church Conflict. in (Coy & Woehrle, 2000)
Analyzing the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Hanafi (2005) Updated version is in WebCT.
Analyzing the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990)
Can nation state serve as a basis for resolving religious minority conflicts?
What are the pitfalls of international peace-making?
Is consociational accommodation still possible in plural societies?
(Khalaf, 2002: Ch. 1-2-3)
(Apostolov, 2001: Part III pp. 143-180)
(Davie, 2006)
War on Terrorism
(Jackson, 2005: Conclusion pp. 180-190)
What is the conflict resolution?
(Miall et al., 1999: introduction)
(Cheldelin et al., 2003: ch. 3, pp. 39-55)
Understanding Contemporary Conflict
(Miall et al., 1999: Ch. 3)
Conflict Resolution: critical perspective
Salem, Paul (1997) "A Critique of Western Conflict Resolution from non-western Perspective" in Salem, 1997. pp. 11- 26.
(Hanafi, Forthcoming)
Preventing Violent Conflict
(Miall et al., 1999: Ch. 4)
Working in War Zone and Humanitarian organizations
(Miall et al., 1999: Ch 5)
Herman, Tamar (2002) The Sour Taste of Success: The Israeli Peace Movement, 1967-1998, in (Gidron, 2002: 94-130)
Hassasian, Manuel (2002) NGOs in the Context of National Struggle, in (Gidron, 2002: 130-151)
Ending Violent Conflict
(Miall et al., 1999: Ch. 6)
(Gidron et al., 2002: xxx)
Post-Settlement Peacebuilding
(Miall et al., 1999: Ch. 7)
Mediation and Arbitration
(Cheldelin et al., 2003: ch. 13, pp. 220-241)
Conflict management in social conflict
Nizar Hamzeh (1997) "The Role of Hizbullalh in Conflict Management Within Lebanese's Shia Community" in Salem, 1997. pp. 93-118.
Conflict Resolution and Culture
Avruch et al., 1992: ch 1. pp. 1-19)
VII. Bibliography (in the reserve)
Davie, Michael (2006) A view from Beirut. Unpublished paper
Crouch C. J. "Conflict Sociology". International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. Pages 2554-2559
Avruch, Kevin ; Peter W. Black; and Joseph A. Scimecca (Ed.) (1991) Conflict resolution: cross-cultural perspectives. New York: Greenwood Press.
Rasmussen, Lewis; Robert B. Oakley (1992) Conflict resolution in the Middle East : simulating a diplomatic negotiation between Israel and Syria. Washington, D.C. : United States Institute of Peace Press.
Hanafi (2005) "Spacio-cide and bio-politics: Israeli colonial project. From 1947 to the Wall". Michael Sorkin (Ed.) Against the Wall. Israel’s Barrier to Peace. New York: The New Press.
Hanafi, Sari (forthcoming) "Dancing tango during Peace-building: Palestinian- Israeli People-to-People programs for Conflict Resolution" in Judy Kuriansky (Ed.) Conflict Resolution in Palestinian Israeli Conflict.
Khalaf, Samir (2002) Civil and Uncivil Violence in Lebanon. ColombiaUniversity Press.
Salem, Paul (Ed.) (1997) Conflict resolution in the Arab world: selected essays Beirut : AmericanUniversity of Beirut,482 p
Miall, Hugh; Oliver Ramsbotham and Tom Woodhouse (1999) Contemporary conflicts resolution: the prevention, management and transformation of deadly conflicts. Polity Press.
Gidron, Benjamin; Stanley Nider Katz; Yeheskel Hasenfeld (Ed.) (2002) Mobilizing for peace: conflict resolution in Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine, and South Africa. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press.
Wallensteen, Peter (2004) Understanding conflict resolution: war, peace, and the global system. London : Sage Publications.
Justice is conflict / Stuart Hampshire .- Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press.
ShelfmarkJafet J 320.011:H231j:c.1
Tilly, C. (1985) 'War making and State Making as Organized Crime', Bringing The State Back In, P.B. Evan et al. (Eds.) (2003) Cambridge University Press.
Cheldelin, Sandra; Daniel Druckman and Larissa Fast (Eds.) Conflict: from analysis to intervention. London: Continuum, 373 p.
Jackson, Richard (2005) Writing the war on terrorism: language, politics, and counter-terrorism / .- Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2005.
Coy, Patrick G. and Lynne M. Woehrle (2000) Social conflicts and collective identities / edited by. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Apostolov, Mario (2001) Religious minorities, nation states, and security : five cases from the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean. Aldershot England : Ashgate.
VIII. Further References(with their reference in the AUB library)
Resource endowment, social conflict, and economic development : the 'unholy trinity' of autocratic governance in the Middle East and North Africa / by Jacob Nathan Mumm .- 2005 .- x, 52 leaves .- Dissertation Thesis (M.A.)--American University of Beirut, Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies, 2005. ; General Appendices: leaves 45-49. ; Bib. & Index Bibliography: leaves 50-52. .-
ShelfmarkJafet Thesis T:4587:c.1
The international politics of the Persian Gulf : a cultural genealogy / Arshin Adib-Moghaddam .- London : Routledge, 2006 .- viii, 188 p. .-
(Routledge studies in Middle Eastern politics ; 3) .- Bib. & Index Includes bibliographical references (p. [161]-175) and index. ; Contents Studying conflict in the Persian Gulf : an epistemological introduction -- The Persian Gulf between independence and revolution : ideational shifts and regional repercussions -- Westphalia and the anarchic gulf society : the second Persian Gulf War and its aftermath -- Whither the leviathan : sources of co-operation and conflict in the post-romantic Persian Gulf. ; Summary "This text brings together the critical study of culture with empirical analysis in its examination of conflict in the Persian Gulf. Adopting a constructivist approach, the book covers the three main protagonists: Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia as well as the smaller states. The book explores the role of the US and the impact of ideational shifts within the region, the second Persian Gulf War and its aftermath and reflections and ideas for possible future research."--Publisher's description. .-
ISBN 0415385598 .-
ShelfmarkJafet J 953.053:A235i:c.1
Faith in nation : exclusionary origins of nationalism / Anthony W. Marx .- Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2003 .- xiii, 258 p. .- Bib. & Index Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-249) and index. .-
ISBN 0195154827 .-
ShelfmarkJafet J 320.54:M392f:c.1
The multiculturalism of fear / Jacob T. Levy.- Oxford : Oxford University Press, c2000 .- viii, 268 p. .- Bib. & Index Includes bibliographical references (p. [251]-263) and index. .-
ISBN 0198297122 .-
ShelfmarkJafet J 305.8:L668m:c.1
Anthropology of violence and conflict / edited by Bettina E. Schmidt and Ingo W. Schroder .- London : Routledge, c2001 .- vi, 229 p. .- Bib. & Index Includes bibliographical references and index. .-
ISBN 0415229057 .-
ShelfmarkJafet J 303.6:A628s:c.1
Managing intercultural conflict effectively / by Stella Ting-Toomey and John G. Oetzel .- Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications, c2001 .- xiv, 234 p. .-
(Communicating effectively in multicultural contexts ; v. 6) .- Bib. & Index Includes bibliographical references (p. 213-224) and index .-
ISBN 0803948425 .-
ShelfmarkJafet J 303.482:T588m:c.1
Stories, identities, and political change / Charles Tilly .- Lanham, Md. : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, c2002 .- xv, 257 p. .- Bib. & Index Includes bibliographical references (p. 213-243) and index. .-
ISBN 0742518825 .-
ShelfmarkJafet J 303:T579s:c.1
Strengthening transitional democracies through conflict resolution / special editors of this volume Raymond Shonholtz, Ilana Shapiro .- Thousand Oaks : Sage Periodicals Press, c1997 .- 200 p. .-
(*Annals of the AmericanAcademy of Political and Social Science ; 552) .- General "July 1997." ; Bib. & Index Includes bibliographical references (p. 194- 198). .-
ISBN 0761909087 .-
ShelfmarkJafet J 305:A51a:v.552:c.1