Zurück zur Auswahl
67961-01 - Seminar: Peace Negotiations (3 KP)
| Semester | Frühjahrsemester 2026 |
| Angebotsmuster | unregelmässig |
| Dozierende | Julián Arévalo (julian.arevalo@unibas.ch, BeurteilerIn) |
| Inhalt | Efforts to end civil wars through negotiation have been extremely unsuccessful. Only about a quarter of cases result in an agreement, and half of these agreements are not implemented. These figures pose a significant challenge for researchers and practitioners interested in supporting peacebuilding and peace-enforcing efforts in various contexts around the world. The complexity of this situation is now compounded by global trends that are challenging the very foundations of what has been understood as peace negotiations. By combining practical exercises, theoretical elements, and experiences from various countries, this course aims to develop in students a conceptual framework for analyzing peace negotiations, particularly in light of emerging trends in the field. Equally important is the integration of the topic of peace negotiations and their content with broader discussions in political science, such as state-building, institutionalization, and power-sharing. The first part of the course focuses on discussing the main theories of negotiation and how they provide essential elements for peace negotiations. The second part deals with traditional and contemporary theories of conflict resolution. The third part of the course involves a practical negotiation exercise. The final part focuses on contemporary discussions about peacemaking. |
| Lernziele | • By the end of the semester, students will be familiar with the main contemporary trends in conflict. Students will be familiar with current debates in peace negotiations. • Through simulations, students will have experienced the complexities of peace negotiations. • Students will have gained experience with some negotiation techniques and how they have been applied in different conflict scenarios. • Students will be able to compare and analyze different peace negotiations, identifying what was key to success in some cases and to failure in others. • Students will understand the issues to consider when designing and analyzing peace negotiations. • Students will be able to establish the connections between discussions in peace negotiations and topics in the field of political science. |
| Literatur | Adhikari, Monalisa, Jennifer Hodge, Christine Bell, and Zabra Siwa. 2025. “Disaggregated Mediation: The Localisation of Peace Processes amid Global and Domestic Fragmentation.” European Journal of International Relations, April 28, 13540661251331519. https://doi.org/10.1177/13540661251331519. Arévalo, Julián. 2024. “Uncertain Readiness: Process Design and Complexity Management in Peace Negotiations.” International Studies Review 6 (1): viae006: 1-24. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1093/isr/viae006. Arévalo, Julián. 2025a. “Adaptive Readiness: An Agent-Based Model of Peace Negotiations.” Swisspeace Document, Under Review. Arévalo, Julián. 2025b. “Complex Dynamics in Peace Negotiations: Insiders’ Views on the Colombian Experience.” International Affairs 101 (2): 523–41. Arévalo, Julián. 2025c. “Complexity in Peace Negotiations: Insights from Role-Play Designers and Participants.” International Negotiation In Press. (Special Issue on "Innovations in Negotiation Pedagogy through Experiential Learning and Simulations"). Bussemaker, Nathalie, and Mark Freeman. 2025a. AI on the Frontline: Evaluating Large Language Models in Real-World Conflict Resolution ¦ IFIT. https://ifit-transitions.org/publications/ai-on-the-frontline-evaluating-large-language-models-in-real-world-conflict-resolution/. Bussemaker, Nathalie, and Mark Freeman. 2025b. Improving AI Conflict Resolution Capacities: A Prompts-Based Evaluation ¦ IFIT. https://ifit-transitions.org/publications/improving-ai-conflict-resolution-guidance-capacities-a-prompt-based-evaluation/. Butcher, Charity, Maia Hallward, and Sushant Naidu. 2025. “Using Negotiation Simulations in Conflict Theory Courses: A Comparative Case Study.” International Negotiation 1 (aop): 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718069-bja10116. Coning, Cedric de. 2020. “Insights from Complexity Theory for Peace and Conflict Studies.” In The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies, Edited by Richmond Oliver, Visoka Gezim, 1-10. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11795-5_134-1. Coning, Cedric de, Ako Muto, and Rui Saraiva. 2022. “Adaptive Mediation and Conflict Resolution in Contemporary and Future Armed Conflicts.” In Adaptive Mediation and Conflict Resolution: Peace-Making in Colombia, Mozambique, the Philippines, and Syria, edited by Cedric de Coning, Ako Muto, and Rui Saraiva. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92577-2_2. Coning, Cedric de, Rui Saraiva, and Ako Muto. 2023. “Introduction. Exploring Alternative Approaches to Peacebuilding.” In Adaptive Peacebuilding: A New Approach to Sustaining Peace in the 21st Century, edited by Cedric de Coning, Rui Saraiva, and Ako Muto. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18219-8_1. Fisher, Roger, William Ury, and Bruce Patton. 2018. Das Harvard-Konzept: Die unschlagbare Methode für beste Verhandlungsergebnisse - Erweitert und neu übersetzt. 6th ed. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt. Galtung, Johan. 1969. “Violence, Peace, and Peace Research.” Journal of Peace Research 6 (3): 167–91. JSTOR. Gleditsch, Kristian Skrede. 2007. “Transnational Dimensions of Civil War.” Journal of Peace Research 44 (3): 293–309. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343307076637. Hirono, Miwa. 2023. “China’s Peacebuilding in South Sudan: ‘Top-down’ Adaptation and Its Effectiveness.” In Adaptive Peacebuilding: A New Approach to Sustaining Peace in the 21st Century, edited by Cedric de Coning, Rui Saraiva, and Ako Muto. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18219-8_9. Jones, Peter. 2024. “Multitrack Diplomacy and Inclusion: Is Patchworked Peacemaking Really a Way Forward?” Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/17502977.2024.2338697. Kleiboer, Marieke. 1994. “Ripeness of Conflict: A Fruitful Notion?” Journal of Peace Research 31 (1): 109–16. Lederach, John Paul. 1997. Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies. United States Institute for Peace. Lederach, John Paul. 2010. The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace. Oxford University Press. Mahmoud, Youssef. 2023. “How Can the UN Sustaining Peace Agenda Live Up to Its Potential?” In Adaptive Peacebuilding: A New Approach to Sustaining Peace in the 21st Century, edited by Cedric de Coning, Rui Saraiva, and Ako Muto. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18219-8_3. Malhotra, Deepak. 2016. Negotiating the Impossible: How to Break Deadlocks and Resolve Ugly Conflicts (without Money or Muscle). Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Metternich, Nils W., Cassy Dorff, Max Gallop, Simon Weschle, and Michael D. Ward. 2013. “Antigovernment Networks in Civil Conflicts: How Network Structures Affect Conflictual Behavior.” American Journal of Political Science 57 (4): 892–911. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12039. Paffenholz, Thania. 2015. “Unpacking the Local Turn in Peacebuilding: A Critical Assessment towards an Agenda for Future Research.” Third World Quarterly 36 (5): 857–74. Palmiano Federer, Julia, and Andreas Hirblinger. 2024. “Introducing Patchworked Peacemaking: Moving Beyond the Multitrack-Inclusion Nexus.” Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/17502977.2024.2432814. Pruitt, Dean G. 1997. “Ripeness Theory and the Oslo Talks.” International Negotiation (Leiden, The Netherlands) 2 (2): 237–50. Pruitt, Dean G. 2007. “Readiness Theory and the Northern Ireland Conflict.” American Behavioral Scientist 50 (11): 1520–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764207302467. Richmond, Oliver P. 2025. “Peace in an Authoritarian International Order versus Peace in the Liberal International Order.” International Affairs 101 (4): 1381–401. https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiaf076. Schiff, Amira. 2014. “On Success and Failure: Readiness Theory and the Aceh and Sri Lanka Peace Processes.” International Negotiation (Leiden, The Netherlands) 19 (1): 89–126. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718069-12341271. Schwartz, Adi, and Eytan Gilboa. 2021. “False Readiness: Expanding the Concept of Readiness in Conflict Resolution Theory.” International Studies Review 23 (4): 1328–48. https://doi.org/10.1093/isr/viab006. Schwartz, Adi, and Eytan Gilboa. 2022. “The False Readiness Theory: Explaining Failures to Negotiate Israeli-Palestinian Peace.” International Negotiation (Leiden, The Netherlands) 28 (1): 126–54. Strömbom, Lisa, Isabel Bramsen, and Anne Lene Stein. 2022. “Agonistic Peace Agreements? Analytical Tools and Dilemmas.” Review of International Studies 48 (4): 689–704. Theros, Marika. 2023. “Knowledge, Power and the Failure of US Peacemaking in Afghanistan 2018–21.” International Affairs 99 (3): 1231–52. https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiad092. Voss, Chris, and Tahl Raz. 2017. Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as If Your Life Depended on It. Random House Business. Vuković, Siniša. 2022. “Expanding Ripeness Beyond Push and Pull: The Relevance of Mutually Enticing Opportunities (MEOs).” In Revisiting the “Ripeness” Debate. Routledge. Whitfield, Teresa. 2024. Still Time to Talk: Adaptation and Innovation in Peace Mediation. https://www.c-r.org/accord/still-time-to-talk. Zartman, I. William. 1989. Ripe for Resolution: Conflict and Intervention in Africa. Oxford University Press. Zartman, I. William. 2001. “The Timing of Peace Initiatives: Hurting Stalemates and Ripe Moments.” The Global Review of Ethnopolitics 1 (1): 8–18. |
| Bemerkungen | Attention: All Seminars will be graded in the Department of Political Science. Grading scale 6.0 to 1.0, whereupon 4.0 is a pass. The number of participants is limited. The places are assigned according to date of enrollment and subject of study. Priority will be given to students of Political Science. |
| Teilnahmevoraussetzungen | Attention: All Seminars will be graded in the Department of Political Science. Grading scale 6.0 to 1.0, whereupon 4.0 is a pass. The number of participants is limited. The places are assigned according to date of enrollment and subject of study. Priority will be given to students of Political Science. |
| Unterrichtssprache | Englisch |
| Einsatz digitaler Medien | kein spezifischer Einsatz |
| Intervall | Wochentag | Zeit | Raum |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Dienstag | 16.15-17.45 | Bernoullistrasse 14/16, Seminarraum 02.004 |
Einzeltermine
| Module |
Modul: Conflicts and Peacebuilding (Master Studiengang: Changing Societies: Migration – Conflicts – Resources ) Modul: Erweiterung Gesellschaftswissenschaften M.A. (Master Studienfach: Politikwissenschaft) Modul: Fields: Governance and Politics (Master Studiengang: African Studies) Modul: Regionaler Fokus M.A. (Master Studienfach: Politikwissenschaft) Modul: Transfer: Europa interdisziplinär (Master Studiengang: Europäische Geschichte in globaler Perspektive ) Modul: Vertiefung Politikwissenschaft M.A. (Master Studienfach: Politikwissenschaft) Vertiefungsmodul Global Europe: Friedens- und Konfliktforschung (Masterstudium: European Global Studies) |
| Prüfung | Lehrveranst.-begleitend |
| Hinweise zur Prüfung | • Oral group presentation (2–3 members) on a course topic (max. 20 minutes) – 35% • Written report (2 pages) on the “Serenova” role-play experience in relation to the main theories and concepts discussed in class – 20% • Participation in role-plays (10%) • Two written exams – 35% each (Students who give a presentation can choose the better grade from these two.) |
| An-/Abmeldung zur Prüfung | Anmelden: Belegen; Abmelden: nicht erforderlich |
| Wiederholungsprüfung | keine Wiederholungsprüfung |
| Skala | 1-6 0,5 |
| Belegen bei Nichtbestehen | beliebig wiederholbar |
| Zuständige Fakultät | Philosophisch-Historische Fakultät, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Anbietende Organisationseinheit | Fachbereich Politikwissenschaft |