MA Peace and Conflict Studies / Course details

The Unit aims to:

· Critically assess how the UN conceptualises and pursues international security

· Evaluate arguments for reform of the UN, including the UN Security Council

· Identify key constraints faced by the UN in maintaining international peace and security and assess its successes and failures

· Assess how diverse movements and theoretical perspectives continue to shape the evolution of the UN’s approach to security, including anti-colonial, feminist, and queer perspectives

· Reflect on how to influence UN policy and practice

At the end of this course, students will have:

Weekly contact hours will consist of one two-hour workshop each week. These sessions will be interactive and will consist of a range of activities including; mini-lectures, debates, discussion and presentations.

· Explain how UN bodies have approached/are approaching key international security issues

· Identify strengths and weaknesses of the UN in addressing key international security issues

· Analyse and evaluate contemporary UN policies and practices relating to peace and security

· Interpret and critically evaluate challenging texts and complex arguments related to the UN, peace and security

· Develop evidence-based recommendations for policymakers or practitioners

· Develop effective advocacy strategies for achieving changes in policy and practice

· Present written arguments tailored for a policymaker or practitioner audience

Advocacy Strategy (1000 words) 40%

Policy Brief or Op-Ed (2000 words) 60%
 

Weiss, T. G. & Daws, S. (2020), The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations, 2nd edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press)

Gifkins, J. (2021) Beyond the Veto: Roles in UN Security Council Decision-Making, Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations, 27(1), pp. 1-24.

Stavrianakis, A. (2019) Controlling weapons circulation in a postcolonial militarised world, Review of International Studies, 45(1), pp. 57-76.

Tharoor, S. (2011) Security Council Reform: Past, Present, and Future, Ethics & International Affairs, 25(4), pp. 397-406.

Bosco, D. (2014) Assessing the UN Security Council: A Concert Perspective, Global Governance, 20(4), pp. 545-561.

Thakur, R. (2016) The Responsibility to Protect at 15, International Affairs, 92 (2), pp. 415–434.

Cohn, C. (2008) Mainstreaming Gender in UN Security Policy: A Path to Political Transformation? In: Rai, S. & Waylen, G, (eds). Global Governance: Feminist Perspectives (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan), pp.185–206.

Ba, O. & Bluen, K. J. (2023) The Geopolitics of Race, Empire, and Expertise at the ICC, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies, https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.013.717.

Cooper-Cunningham, D., Hagen, J. J., Ramon, M.S.P, and Gifkins, J. (2023) Can the UN protect queer rights? https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/07/28/united-nations-lgbtq-queer-rights-homophobia-transphobia-security-council/