IDL 104

MAJOR ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

Instructor: Stephen J. Stedman

Overview. This course surveys major issues of international conflict management: mediation, conflict prevention, implementation of peace agreements, peace enforcement, humanitarian intervention, and refugee crisis management. The course combines theories of conflict resolution and international relations with case studies of recent conflicts, including Bosnia, Cambodia, Kosovo, Rwanda, and Somalia, among others. The class has three goals:

1. to understand and analyze tough choices that policymakers face when they contemplate or undertake intervention in conflicts;

2. to better evaluate the outcomes of actions taken and alternative eschewed; and

3. to identify underlying ethical issues that are embedded in the decisions and actions of poliymakers and practitioners in the field of conflict management.

To successfully pass the course all students are expected to 1) view the lectures (on the CDs); 2) know the reading materials; 3) participate at the seminars; 4) complete the weekly assignments; and 5) pass the midterm and final exams. 

Lectures and reading materials. Viewing the lectures and reading the assigned papers is the most essential part of the course. All enrolled students are therefore expected to view all lectures and read all assigned papers. 

Seminars. The seminars are organized and conducted by the Russian course instructors. The student performance at the seminars will be assessed based on three criteria: attendance, preparedness, and activity.

Assignments. For each week, except the midterm and the final, there will be a group assignment to write a short paper addressing a specific question. To that end, all students must be divided into groups of 3 by their instructors. The assignments will be graded and commented by the Stanford teaching assistants (TA) with one grade for the entire student group and a paragraph of comments.  To submit the assignments and view the results the students must login to the Forum and use the PanFora program. See the rules for submitting the assignments. 

Exams. There will be a midterm exam after the first half of the course. The final exam will be given after the entire course is completed. Both the midterm and the final exams consist of two parts: in-class (short questions) and take-home (longer essay). Stanford teaching assistants will be grading and commenting on the exams. See the rules for submitting the midterm and the final exams. 

Plagiarism and Cheating. Plagiarism is the use of somebody's work as one's own, without quotation marks and references to the original source. Cheating is the use of materials that are not allowed at the exam. No plagiarism or cheating are allowed under any circumstances whatsoever. Click here to read the rules for citation and reference.

Grading. The course grade will be determined by four factors: weekly assignments (30%), seminar participation (20%), mid-term exam (20%), and final exam (30%). All weekly assignments, midterms, and finals will be graded with numbers ranging from 60 to 100. The numbers will be converted into the final grade according to the following rule:

Week 1: February 11-15

Lecture 1 - Introduction and Overview

• Лебедева, М. (2000) "Мир на пороге тысячелетия: межѐтнические конфликты на рубеже веков." Мировая ѐкономика и международные отношения 23(5), стр. 31-39.

Week 2: February 18-22

Lecture 2 - Violent Conflict and its Management in the Post-Cold War World

• Doyle, Michael W. (2001) "War Making and Peace making: The United Nations' Post-Cold War Record." Chester A. Crocker, Fen Osler Hampson, and Pamela Aall, eds. Turbulent Peace: The Challenges of Managing International Conflict. Washington: United States Institute of Peace, pp. 529-560.

• Brown, Michael E. (2001) "Ethnic and Internal Conflicts." Chester A. Crocker, Fen Osler Hampson, and Pamela Aall, eds. Turbulent Peace: The Challenges of Managing International Conflict. Washington: United States Institute of Peace, pp. 209-226.
• Морозов, Г. (1994) "Голубые каски: миротворчество ООН или импровизации?" Обозреватель 3(12).

Lecture 3- Prevention

• Stedman, Stephen J. (1995) "Alchemy for a New World Order." Foreign Affairs 75(3), pp. 14-20.

• Jentleson, Bruce W. (2001) "Preventive Statecraft: A Realist Strategy for the Post-Cold War Era." Chester A. Crocker, Fen Osler Hampson, and Pamela Aall, eds. Turbulent Peace: The Challenges of Managing International Conflict. Washington: United States Institute of Peace, pp. 249-264.
• Бреннингмеир, О. (2000) "Предотвращение ѐтнического конфликта." Мировая ѐкономика и международные отношения 23(3), стр. 38-46.

Week 3: February 25-29

Lecture 4 - Case Study: Rwanda

• Power, Samantha. (2001) "Bystanders to Genocide." Atlantic Monthly 288(2), pp. 84-108.

• Kuperman, Alan. (2000) "Rwanda in Retrospect." Foreign Affairs 79(1), pp. 94-118.
• Денисов, А. (2001) "Восточная Афика: уроки Руанды (часть 1)." Африка и Азия сегодня 24(8), стр. 38-42.
• Денисов, А. (2001) "Восточная Афика: уроки Руанды (часть 2)." Африка и Азия сегодня 24(9), стр. 35-40.

Lecture 5 - Mediation

• Kleiboer, M.A. (1996) "Understanding Success and Failure of International Mediation." Journal of Conflict Resolution 40(2), pp. 360-389.

• Майоров, М.В. (2000) "Международное посредничество: из опыта отечественной дипломатии." Новая и Новейшая история 23(6), стр. 17-34.

Week 4: March 3-7

Lecture 6 - Case Studies: Bosnia (Dayton) and Kosovo (Rambouillet)

• Greenberg, Melanie and Margaret McGuinness. (2000) "From Lisbon to Dayton: International Mediation and the Bosnia Crisis." Melanie C. Greenberg, John H. Barton, and Margaret E. McGuinness, eds. Words Over War. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, pp. 33-75.

• Скворцов, Алексей. "Косово и Метохия: можно ли защищать права человека посредством насилия?" Публикация из сайта www.hrono.ru. Глава 2 (все) и глава 3, части 3, 5-11.

Lecture 7 - Peace Implementation

• Stedman, Stephen J. (2002) "Introduction." Stephen J. Stedman, Donald Rothchild, and Elzabeth M. Cousens, eds. Ending Civil Wars: The Implementation of Peace Agreements. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., pp. 1-40.

• Downs, George and Stephen J. Stedman. (2002) "Evaluation Issues in Peace Implementation." Stephen J. Stedman, Donald Rothchild, and Elizabeth M. Cousens, eds. Ending Civil Wars: The Implementation of Peace Agreements. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., pp. 43-69.
• Дамаскин, О. и И. Холиков. (2002) "Миротворчество на современном мире: глобальная стабильность требует повышения роли ООН." Обозреватель 11(9-10).

Week 5: March 10-14