Seminars
The Chair for Peace Studies at the University of Giessen focuses on the scientific analysis of peace processes and conflicts, issues of North-South relations and development policy. The Chair's research focus is on the "Global South" and especially on Latin America. The Chair offers introductory and advanced seminars in these areas with practical and research relevance as well as excursions. The Chair is also involved in continuing education and training. For this purpose, the German Colombian Peace Institute – CAPAZ offers summer and winter schools in Colombia and Germany.
Guide to presentations and seminar papers
The seminar requirements to get a Schein are announced at the beginning of each seminar. As a rule, they are divided into a presentation and a seminar paper. The following PDF file provides some guidelines and recommendations.
Winter semester 2020-2021
Theories of development and development policies, using the Sustainable Development Goals as an example.
Prof. Dr. Stefan Peters
Mondays: 4 p..m. to 6 p.m.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have changed development policy -conceived from a global perspective-, and focus on the future challenges of the 21st century in terms of social issues, environmental protection, and peace. The seminar examines the SDGs in the light of different development theories and current changes in development policy. It also discusses critical perspectives on development and the effects of the pandemic on development policy as well as on North-South relations.
Literature:
- Burchardt, Hans-Jürgen / Peters, Stefan / Weinmann, Nico (2017): Entwicklungstheorie heute – Entwicklungspolitik von morgen. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
- Fischer, Karin / Hauck, Gerhard / Boatca, Manuela (2016): Handbuch Entwicklungsforschung. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
- Peters, Stefan / Burchardt, Hans-Jürgen (2017): Umwelt in globaler Perspektive: Ressourcen – Konflikte - Degrowth. Frankfurt (Main): Campus.
- Sangmeister, Hartmut / Wagner, Heike (2019): Die Entwicklungszusammenarbeit der Zukunft. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
- Ziai, Aram (2016): Postkoloniale Politikwissenschaft: Theoretische und empirische Zugänge.
Rebuilding for the better? Effects of the pandemic crisis from a global perspective.
Prof. Dr. Stefan Peters
Mondays: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Within a very short period of time, the Corona virus pandemic has plunged the world into a profound economic and social crisis, bringing about far-reaching changes in the daily lives of a large part of the world's population. In this context, the seminar will first analyse the effects of the pandemic on international politics with a focus on the Global South. Following this, it will analyse current proposals for a post-pandemic future, such as the drive for an ecological transformation or the expansion of digitalisation and its consequences, from a global perspective.
Past violence and present politics from a Latin American perspective
Prof. Dr. Verena Dolle, Dr. Rosario Figari Layús, Prof. Dr. Laly Catalina Peralta, Prof. Dr. Stefan Peters.
Latin America is a region convulsed by different types and forms of massive human rights violations (dictatorships, civil wars, etc.). Despite this, it is a region that has managed to design different mechanisms to deal with traumatic pasts and make the transition to democracy and/or peace. It is worth noting that the mechanisms designed to deal with the past are not limited to institutional and official spaces (truth commissions, criminal trials, reparation measures, etc.); there are decentralised mechanisms that emerge from everyday, cultural and artistic practices promoted by citizens themselves (literature, cinema, and music). In this sense, Latin America offers a varied repertoire of lessons learned for future international transitional justice processes.
The course reviews different Latin American experiences (past and present) in order to understand and evaluate official and institutional mechanisms, as well as cultural and artistic practices that have been designed to deal with violent pasts. It will involve collaborative international online learning (COIL) modules and will be taught by four professors of different nationalities (Colombian, German and Argentinean) with different disciplinary backgrounds (law, literature, political science, sociology and anthropology). Each professor, according to his/her disciplinary focus, will work closely with a small group of students to analyse a particular case study. The results of the research will be presented during the course in audio-visual format on a project website.
Introduction to Latin American Studies
Prof. Dr. Stefan Peters
Latin America poses a series of challenges for the social sciences. In recent decades, the subcontinent has provided, first, (comparatively) stable democracies and, at the same time, extremely unequal societies. Second, the region has been characterised by an immense wealth of natural resources and yet struggles at developmental dead ends. And third, Latin America has been proclaimed a region of peace since there have been hardly any wars between states and the civil wars of the past have also been largely resolved. However, the region has also led the world's statistics on violence for years with the highest homicide rates in the world.
These and other topics are discussed in this seminar, which begins with an overview of the history and politics of Latin America and then addresses topical issues in relation to development processes from the perspectives of economics and political ecology, social challenges, political upheavals, and processes of coming to terms with the past in post-conflict societies. It also examines the role of the region in international relations and analyses the effects of the pandemic crisis on the various thematic areas. It also provides an insight into the practice of international politics and development cooperation with a focus on Latin America.
The peace process in Colombia: interdisciplinary perspectives on transitional justice and the challenges of post-conflict societies
Prof. Dr. Stefan Peters
The peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas brought an extremely long civil war to an end. The peace treaty attracted much international attention and earned Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos the Nobel Peace Prize. However, it soon became clear that the official peace agreement was only a first step on the road to building a post-conflict society. O n the one hand, a number of violent actors remain active (paramilitaries, drug cartels, the ELN guerrilla organisation), and on the other, it has been shown that peacebuilding can make the enduring causes of conflict go unaddressed. The central challenges relate to questions of transitional justice, reconciliation with the past and the creation of the basic conditions for a peaceful society.
The seminar is dedicated to the Colombian peace process and provides a general introduction to the country's history, politics, society and economy, and takes up the challenges for the creation and successful consolidation of a positive peace. It also addresses general theses on peace and conflict research, transitional justice, politics of the past, and positive peace and applies them to the Colombian case. The seminar is interdisciplinary and designed students of law, social sciences and economics at the Justus Liebig University Giessen and the University of Kassel.
Literature :
- Buckley-Zistel, Susanne et al. (2014): Transitional Justice Theories. Abingdon: Routledge.
- Fischer, Thomas / Klengel, Susanne / Pastrana, Buelvas, Eduardo (2017): Kolumbien heute: Politik, Wirtschaft, Kultur. Frankfurt (Main): Vervuert.
- Peters, Stefan / Burchardt, Hans-Jürgen / Öhlschläger, Rainer (2015): Geschichte wird gemacht: Vergangenheitspolitik und Erinnerungskulturen in Lateinamerika. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
Winter semester 2020-2021
Basic concepts and dilemmas in violence, peace and conflict research
Dr. Rosario Figari Layús
Thursdays: 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. (online)
The seminar begins with the analysis and differentiation of the basic concepts of peace and conflict research: violence, conflict, war and peace. At the same time, it examines the various modalities and dynamics of political violence and conflict, as well as the possibilities for promoting lasting peace. This includes an analysis of the causes of conflict, and consideration of the main actors and consequences of armed conflict and peace processes.
Conflict is a component of processes of social change. Peace processes, however, need to be implemented in a constructive and non-violent manner. The protection and guarantee of human rights, social and political participation, gender equality, social cohesion and the rule of law are fundamental to peace processes.
The seminar addresses the following questions: What are the main factors and the political and social conditions that lead to armed conflict? What challenges do societies face in post-conflict contexts? How can crises be prevented, conflicts overcome and peace promoted? What role do governments, victims and perpetrators play in the context of political violence.
The complex link between human rights, development and security
Dr. Rosario Figari Layús
Wednesday: 02:00-04:00 p.m. (online)
The course aims to provide a basic introduction to the topic of international human rights, peacebuilding and security, their conceptual and historical foundations, as well as the main international legal instruments, institutions and challenges. The implementation of security policies can become very controversial when it crashes with the state obligation of guaranteeing fundamental human rights for all citizens. Historically and in many regions of the world, many human rights have been violated in the name of protection and national security. The situation may become even more complicated in the midst of armed conflicts and in post-conflict contexts. The course will offer an overview on these very current dilemmas from a variety of disciplines and perspectives with a strong focus on human rights and peacebuilding challenges in post-conflict societies. Throughout the course, concrete case studies will be analyzed to illustrate the range and – often – contradictions between security policies, human rights and peacebuilding dilemmas in transitional and conflicted societies.
Past violence and the politics of the present from a Latin American perspective
Prof. Dr. Verena Dolle, Dr. Rosario Figari Layús, Prof. Dr. Laly Catalina Peralta, Prof. Dr. Stefan Peters
Latin America is a region convulsed by different types and forms of massive human rights violations (dictatorships, civil wars, etc.). Despite this, it is a region that has managed to design different mechanisms to deal with traumatic pasts and make the transition to democracy and/or peace. Such mechanisms are not limited to institutional and official spaces (truth commissions, criminal trials, reparation measures, etc.); there are also several decentralised mechanisms that emerge from everyday cultural and artistic practices promoted by citizens themselves (literature, cinema, and music). In this respect, Latin America offers a varied repertoire of lessons learned for future international transitional justice processes.
The course reviews different Latin American experiences (past and present) in order to understand and evaluate official and institutional mechanisms, as well as cultural and artistic practices that have been designed to deal with violent pasts. It will involve collaborative international online learning (COIL) modules and will be taught by four professors of different nationalities (Colombian, German and Argentinean) with different disciplinary backgrounds (law, literature, political science, sociology and anthropology). Each professor, according to his/her disciplinary focus, will work closely with a small group of students to analyse a particular case study. The results of the research will be presented during the course in audio-visual format on a project website.
Summer semester 2020
Human Rights, Peacebuilding and Security. A Janus-faced Dilemma? (Seminar in englischer Sprache):
Dr. Rosario Figari Layus
The course aims to provide a basic introduction to the topic of international human rights, peacebuilding and, their conceptual and historical foundations, as well as the main international legal instruments, institutions and challenges. The course will offer a variety of disciplinary perspectives on the subject of human rights and peacebuilding in post-conflict contexts. Throughout the course, concrete case studies will be used to illustrate the range of human rights and peacebuilding problems as well as the utility and legitimacy of the transitional justice paradigm at national and local level The combination of theoretical approaches, socio sciences analysis of concrete case studies will enable students to acquire key skills in the understanding and application of peace and conflict studies and human rights scholarship in the field of social sciences.
Political violence, conflict transformation and human rights in Latin America (taught in Spanish):
Dr. Rosario Figari Layus
The seminar examines the concepts of political violence, conflict transformation and human rights in post-authoritarian and conflict/post-conflict contexts in various Latin American countries (Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Central America). The incorporation and enforcement of international human rights standards as well as the construction of democratic, inclusive and violence-free societies remains a major challenge in the region. The use of violence as a mechanism of control and domination or as an instrument of resistance has different meanings, consequences and objectives depending on who and in what contexts it is used and who is targeted. At the same time, the absence of violence does not mean the absence of conflict. Thus, the concept of peace can take on different meanings depending on the context and the agent, and processes of democratisation and peacebuilding are presented as conflictive and dynamic processes that can lead to important advances, but also to nuances and setbacks. Conflict transformation processes are characterised by the participation of different actors - perpetrators, governments, victims, civil society - and are marked and affected by the dominant power relations and socio-political conditions existing both at the time of the political transition and afterwards .
Winter semester 2019-2020
Human rights policies and discourses during and after armed conflict
Dr. Rosario Figari Layus
The seminar analyses human rights policies and narratives during and after armed conflicts around the world. The new government's human rights policy and strategies to address political violence are related to how the respective violence is classified and perceived and what actors and interests are at play.
Depending on the context, governmental and non-governmental measures and human rights initiatives can play an important role. On the one hand, transitional justice instruments are intended to establish justice and compensation for victims. On the other, accused perpetrators should be reintegrated into society with the help of amnesties and reintegration programmes. The strengthening of state institutions in regions where they have functioned only weakly or inefficiently because of the conflict is seen as a fundamental factor on the road to peace. In this sense, the implementation of the peace policy poses many political and legal challenges. In the seminar, these complex relationships are analysed through case studies.
Truth and justice in Latin America: dilemmas and advances in the field of transitional justice (taught in Spanish):
Dr. Rosario Figari Layus
The seminar analyses and compares the role of state justice policies in confronting a past of systematic human rights violations in different Latin American countries. The seminar will explore the different conceptual baggage of so-called transitional justice, looking at its different modalities of application in different cases such as the Southern Cone and Central America. The concept of transitional justice has been widely used since the 1980s and 1990s, to refer to the implementation of a set of formal and informal measures that governments and societies apply to deal with a legacy of massive human rights violations. These measures are usually implemented in post-dictatorial or post-conflict transitional periods. Depending on which of these scenarios we are referring to, the role of these mechanisms may be very different. Transitional justice mechanisms encompass a wide range of judicial and non-judicial, state and non-state instruments, ranging from truth commissions, commissions of enquiry into the past, the implementation of criminal trials, amnesties, the establishment of reparation programmes or policies for victims, demobilisation processes for armed groups, the creation of memorial sites and museums, purges of former officials from official positions, and public apologies. The seminar proposes a comparative analysis of different Latin American cases in which transitional justice policies have been implemented. This approach will allow us to evaluate the possibilities that the use of these instruments of so-called "transitional justice" can offer, as well as what other aspects they render invisible or even hinder. Although the political realities of the four countries analysed in the seminar are very different, there are also common characteristics in terms of the use of political violence, which is fundamental to understanding subsequent developments.
WiSe 2020-2021
Feminist contributions to the field of transitional justice
M.A. Juliana González Villamizar
Thursday: 04:00-06:00 p.m.
The course will introduce students to the main contributions of feminism to the field of transitional justice. Transitional justice is commonly understood as a set of mechanisms established by states in order to put an end to armed conflicts and authoritarian regimes, thereby enabling accountability and victims’ rights to truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition. Among these mechanisms are war crime tribunals, truth commissions, reparation programs and institutional reforms. Transitional justice was first implemented in 1945 with the Nuremberg trials in post-war Germany. Especially since the 90s, as the world was confronted with evidence of massive sexual violence committed against women during the Bosnian war, feminist authors and women’s movements worldwide began to make visible the gender bias of transitional justice mechanisms, and to struggle for their reform. In their view, such bias foreclosed a full account of women’s victimization and proper conditions for their participation and redress. In the course we will review four main areas of feminist critical contribution to transitional justice: 1) women’s participation in the design and implementation of transitional justice mechanisms; 2) gender biases in legal standards and procedures; 3) structural obstacles to redress women’s rights to truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition; 4) what exactly transitional justice is transiting ‘from’ and ‘to’ from women’s perspective.