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Summer School - Contemporary Conflict Analysis: Actors, Issues & Technologies of 21st Century Warfare, 2022, Utrecht University, Netherlands

Publish Date: May 01, 2022

Deadline: Jun 01, 2022

Event Dates: from Jul 11, 2022 12:00 to Jul 22, 2022 12:00

This course equips scholars and professionals alike with cutting-edge knowledge and transferable skills for mapping, analysing and responding to warfare in the 21st century.  
Throughout the course we will address pressing questions like: How are terrorist organisations able to mobilize people towards violent action? Why do states deploy starvation and sieges as a weapon of war?  Why do states outsource violence to paramilitaries and special operation forces? What drives these different forms of perpetrator behavior? Why are advanced militaries in the midst of an AI arms race? How does remote warfare impact civilian harm? Why do some refugees face violent push-backs, while others are welcomed across numerous borders? 
Collectively, grappling with these different conflict dynamics in isolation and in relation to one another will turn you into a solid conflict analyst by the end of the Summer School.
Rarely a day passes without the media reporting on violent uprisings, military coups, international interventions, suicide bombings, drone attacks, civilian casualties, and refugee crisis all over the world. In conflict studies, these events are often discussed using a range of concepts such as ‘civil war’, ‘protracted social conflict’, ‘invasions’, and ’terrorism’. More recently, new terms such as ‘hybrid warfare’, ‘remote warfare’ and ‘algorithmic warfare’ have been coined to try and capture the essence of contemporary conflict. Despite this proliferation of terms, clarifying the complexity of violent conflict remains a challenging task.
After following this course you will be a conflict analyst, able to untangle the realities of 21st century warfare. Rather than focusing on a single theory, concept, or case, this programme introduces you to the art of conflict mapping: how to apply various theories of violent conflict to understand the different actors, interests & technologies that shape contemporary wars. You will apply these analysis skills to various conflicts, including Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Mali, South Sudan and Nagorno Karabakh. This will sharpen your conceptual and analytical capacities.
With a solid foundation in conflict analysis, you will be well-equipped to apply this to a range of academic and professional contexts, such as fieldwork in (post-)conflict areas, conflict & security management, negotiation, war journalism, and civilian harm monitoring. 
This course is delivered through a combination of lectures and interactive workshops. It is designed primarily for in-person participation, however students will be able to join the course remotely online if unable to travel to Utrecht. All participants receive the book Theories of Violent Conflict by Demmers (2017) and a reader with the course literature at the beginning of the course. The reader contains a number of scholarly, policy-oriented and operational articles, as well as specific readings relating to the cases covered in the course. Each day you will complete an in-class assignment and at the end of the programme you will present a conflict map on a case study of your choice. Academic lecturers and practitioners from the field delivering this course either belong to or are closely linked with the Intimacies of Remote Warfare programme and the Centre for Conflict Studies (CCS) of Utrecht University. This Summer School falls under the IOS and UGLOBE Contesting Governance flagship.

Target audience
This course provides a concise overview of the contemporary topics and debates in the field of conflict studies. It is therefore appropriate for both students and professional practitioners looking to acquire knowledge and skills for theorising, mapping and analysing present day warfare. This course also provides a useful bridge towards the MA in Conflict Studies & Human Rights offered by Utrecht University. The course is designed primarily for in-person participation, however students will be able to join the course remotely online if unable to travel to Utrecht.

Study load
Full-time course, various lectures & seminars combined with self study and course assignments.

Course fee: €860
Included:

  • Fee covers
  • Course + course materials

Housing cost: €350
Housing provider: Utrecht Summer School

Application
When submitting your resume and letter of motivation, please ensure neither of these documents exceed one page A4 (each). 
For this course you are required to upload the following documents when applying:

  • Motivation Letter
  • C.V.

For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.  

Further Official Information

Link to Original

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Disciplines

Conflict Studies

Human Rights

Humanities

International Relations

Peace Studies

Policy

Political Sciences

Security

Technology

Study Levels

BA

Undergraduate

Eligible Countries

International

Host Countries

Netherlands