Having passed the course:

• students will be able to recognise, understand and describe the various  theories underpinning traditional and principled negotiation
• students can analyse how peacemaking is conducted in international relations to end violent conflict
• be able to analyse a conflict and design a negotiation strategy for a contemporary conflict situation

Conflict resolution can be divided into three categories: peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Peacemaking includes processes aimed at stopping outright violence, thus allowing peacekeeping and peacebuilding to occur. This course explores the theory and practice of peacemaking and the process at its core: negotiation. We will explore both traditional 'hard bargaining' negotiation and the process of 'principled negotiation', and the difficulties associated with each. These theories will be illuminated by examples from case studies from around the world, and at both the micro and macro levels. These case studies will also allow us to investigate how culture and conflict dynamics affect negotiation, and how groups can splinter and divide during negotiation, thereby complicating the process. In an ever more complicated world, peacemaking has become an ever more complicated process, and this course introduces students to the basic principles and prepares them to better understand how conflicts come to an end.