The Scholarship of Engagement for Politics: - Higher Education ...

The Scholarship of Engagement for Politics
1. The changing dynamics of conflict.
2. Case study of a conflict area: writing a briefing paper.
3. Peacekeepers: who are they and what do they do?
4. The UN: its roles and structures in relation to peace and
conflict.
5. History and development of NGOs.
6. Conflict prevention and NGOs.
7. NGOs and peacebuilding.
8. Regional organisations and peacekeeping: EU, ECOWAS,
ASEAN.
Each of these lecture sections was complemented by a seminar,
focusing on the dual aims of enhancing both an academic and practical
understanding of the issues. In addition to this, the assessment strategy for
this part of the course emphasised a more practical approach than is
typical for academic modules. The students were therefore asked to write a
briefing paper of between 2,000 and 2,500 words on the prevention and
transformation of violent conflict in the contemporary world. The briefing
paper was designed to develop their research skills in finding out about an
NGO, national government department or regional body (e.g., EU, AU,
ASEAN, OAS) or international organisation (e.g., the UN, IMF, World
Bank) and its role in peacebuilding. The students had to choose a conflict
situation then write an advisory brief for one of these organisations as to
the policy options available (for example, a briefing paper for Oxfam, a
large UK NGO, which may be deciding to become involved in a conflict
zone managed by the UN, UN agency or UN-mandated organisation, for
example ECOWAS).
The purpose of the briefing paper and students’
performance
When setting the briefing paper as an assessment exercise, we were aware
that students might find this quite difficult, as it required them to get
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