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Syllabus Theories and Research in Conflict Resolution - 54717
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Last update 03-09-2017
HU Credits: 2

Degree/Cycle: 2nd degree (Master)

Responsible Department: conflict management & resolution

Semester: 1st Semester

Teaching Languages: English

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Dr. Yuval Benziman

Coordinator Email: Yuval.benziman@gmail.com

Coordinator Office Hours: Monday
10-11

Teaching Staff:
Dr. Yuval Benziman

Course/Module description:
The course will review major issues in the field of conflict resolution. Different types of conflicts will be discussed, their definitions and components. We will explore theories explaining how conflicts erupt, ways to manage them, tactics and strategies to resolve them, and more. The course will be taught from a variety of perspectives, including social psychology, sociology, political science and international relations, and will expose students to the interdisciplinary approach needed in the research of conflicts. In addition to a theoretical understanding of the conflict resolution discipline, we will discuss specific conflicts, and look at different and competing approaches for understanding, analyzing and resolving them

Course/Module aims:
Students will get acquainted with the field of conflict resolution, understand its complexity and the interdisciplinary approach needed in order to research and practice it.

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
Asses intervention methods in conflicts and their outcomes.
Construct a comprehensive research containing an interdisciplinary view of conflicts.
Explain how opposing sides understand a conflict, experience it, think about it and see the variety of ways to resolve it.
Combine theories, insights, research and data from different fields.
Integrate data and theories in order to conduct a research of conflicts.

Attendance requirements(%):
Students are required to attend classes.
Attendance and participation are 15% of the final grade

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: The classes will be conducted in the format of frontal lectures and discussions

Course/Module Content:
-Introduction and theories
-Socio-Psychological dimensions of conflicts
-Conflict as a social formator: culture, media, new-media, and collective memory
–Not conflict, not peace: unilateralism, deterrence, prevention and conflict management
–Roles of third parties
-Ripeness, barriers to conflict resolution and “spoilers"
- Processes aimed at ending conflicts: negotiation, mediation, and arbitration
- Non-state actors and unofficial tracks of negotiation
- Ending conflicts in the era of “new wars” and terrorism
- Transitional justice, restorative justice and truth commissions
- Reconciliation
Acknowledgment and apology
- Compensation and reparations
Techniques of connecting enemies: affirmative action, group meetings, and institutions

Required Reading:
-Stephan, W.G. & Stephan, C.W. (1996). Intergroup Relations. Colorado: Westview Press, pp. 143-152.
-Kriesberg, L. (2003). Constructive conflicts: From escalation to resolution (Second
Edition). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. (Ch. 1- Varieties and stages of conflicts, pp.1-
27).
-Bar-Tal, Daniel (2013). “Ethos of Conflict”, In “Intractable conflicts: Socio-psychological foundations and dynamics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 174-212
-Tajfel, H, & Turner, J.C. (1986). The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior. In: S. Worchel & W.G. Austin (Eds.). Psychology of Intergroup Relations (2nd ed.). Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 7-24
- Bar-Tal, Daniel (2013). “Institutionalization of the culture of conflict”, In “Intractable conflicts: Socio-psychological foundations and dynamics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 247-262:
Benziman, Y. (2013). ‘Mom, I’m back home’ – Dissociation, Brotherhood, and Framing: Israeli Lebanon-War Films as Inadvertent Preservers of the National Narrative, Israel Studies, 18 (3), 112-132
-Lund, M.S. (2009). “Conflict prevention: Theory in pursuit of policy and practice”, in: Bercovitch, J., Kremenyuk, V. & Zartman, W. I. (eds.), The Sage Handbook of Conflict Resolution, London: Sage Publication, 287-321
-Bar-Siman-Tov, Y., & Michael, K. (2007). “The Israeli disengagement plan as a conflict management strategy”, in: Bar-Siman-Tov, Y. (ed.), The Israeli-Palestinian conflict: From conflict resolution to conflict management New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 261-282..
Zartman, W. I., & Touval, S. (1996). “International Mediation in the Post-Cold War Era”, in: Crocker, C., Hampson, F., & Aall, P. (eds.), Managing Global Chaos, Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press, pp. 445-461
Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1995). “Conflict Resolution: A Cognitive Perspective”, in: Arrow, K. et al. (eds.), Barriers to Conflict Resolution. New York: Norton, pp. 44-60.
Robert H. Mnookin and Lee Ross, “Introduction”, in Kenneth Arrow, et.al, Barriers to Conflict Resolution (New York: Norton, 1995), pp. 2-24.
Zartman, W. I. (2000). Ripeness: The hurting stalemate and beyond. In P. C. Stern & D. Druckman (Eds.), International conflict resolution after the Cold War (pp. 225-250). Washington: National Academy Press.
Stephen John Stedman (1997). Spoiler Problems in Peace Processes, International Security, Vol. 22, No. 2 , pp. 5-53.
Pruitt, D. G. (2011). “Negotiation and Mediation in Intergroup Conflict”, in: Bar-Tal, D. (ed.) Intergroup conflicts and their Resolution, New York and London: Psychology Press Taylor & Francus Group, 267-289.
Bercovitch, J. (2009). “Mediation and Conflict Resolution”, in: Bercovitch, J., Kremenyuk, V. & Zartman, W. I. (eds.), The Sage Handbook of Conflict Resolution, London: Sage Publication, 340-357
Conlon, D. E., Meyer, C. J., Lytle, A. L., & Willaby, H. W. (2007). Third party interventions across cultures: no ‘one best choice’, Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 26, 309–349.
Mapendere, J. (2006). Track One and a Half Diplomacy and the Complementarity of Tracks, Culture of Peace Online Journal, 2(1), 66-81.
Benziman, Y. (2014). "Dialogues without narratives: the framing of the “London talks” of the negotiation for the Geneva Initiative", Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict, 7(1): 76-94.
Ben Eliezer, U. (2012). Old Conflict, New War. Palgrave Macmillan: USA. Pp. 7-26.
Benziman, Y. (2018). New Wars rational Old War expectations. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology,
Rouhana, N. N. (2011). “Key Issues in Reconciliation: challenging traditional assumptions on conflict resolution and power dynamics”, in: Bar-Tal, D. (ed.) Intergroup conflicts and their Resolution, New York and London: Psychology Press Taylor & Francus Group, 291-314.
Rosoux, V. (2009). “Reconciliation as a peace-building process: scope and limits”, in: Bercovitch, J., Kremenyuk, V. & Zartman, W. I. (eds.), The Sage Handbook of Conflict Resolution, London: Sage Publication, 543-563
Smith N. (2014) Political Apologies and Categorical Apologies. In: Mihai M., Thaler M. (eds) On the Uses and Abuses of Political Apologies. Rhetoric, Politics and Society Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Cohen, R. (2004). “Apology and Reconciliation in International Relations”, in: Bar Siman Tov, Y. (ed.), From Conflict Resolution to Reconciliation, NewYork: Oxford University Press, 177-196.
Auerbach, Y. (2004). “The role of forgiveness in reconciliation”, in: Bar Siman Tov, Y. (ed.), From Conflict Resolution to Reconciliation, NewYork: Oxford University Press, 61-80.
Colonomos, A. & Armstrong, A. (2006). "German Reparations to the Jews after World War II A Turning Point in the History of Reparations", in: deGreiff, P. (ed.), The Handbook of Reparations, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 390-419.
Sandel, M. J. (2010). Arguing Affirmative action, Justice – What’s the right thing to do? Farrar, Straub and Giroux: 167-183.
Maoz, I. (2011). Contact in protracted asymmetrical conflict: Twenty years of planned encounters between Israeli Jews and Palestinians. Journal of Peace Research, 48(1), 115-125
Jeong, H. (2005). Political Transition, Peacebuilding in postconflict societies – strategy & process, Bulder London: Lynne Rinner Publishers, 77-122

Additional Reading Material:

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 0 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 0 %
Project work 0 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 100 %
see additional information

Additional information:
Percent of Final Grade
Class Attendance and participation (mandatory) – 15%
2 short papers – 2 X 10% - 20%
Research proposal – 15%
Final paper – 50%
 
Students needing academic accommodations based on a disability should contact the Center for Diagnosis and Support of Students with Learning Disabilities, or the Office for Students with Disabilities, as early as possible, to discuss and coordinate accommodations, based on relevant documentation.
For further information, please visit the site of the Dean of Students Office.
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