InPeace

Höfði Reykjavík Peace Centre offers a one-week intensive course in peace and conflict studies, sponsored by a Nordplus Higher Education grant and an Erasmus+ grant, focusing on people, communities and cities in peacebuilding and an inclusive and intersectional approach to peace studies. 

The course will include lectures, group work and seminars, as well as exercises and simulations, looking into 'unconventional' actors in peacebuilding and the variety of ways these actors support or spoil the peacebuilding process. The course objectives are: 

• To identify non- and sub-state actors involved in peacebuilding 
• To assess what role non-state actors (can) have in the peacebuilding process
• To introduce students to a number of varied case studies of how non-state actors have engaged in peacebuilding
• To explore how non-state actors can be supported in their role in peacebuilding

The course brings together many of the leading scholars in the field of peace and conflict studies.

• The course is open to Master’s students
• Travel and accommodation cost is covered by the grant from Nordplus and Erasmus+
• The course counts as 5 ECTS credits 

Application process: 

In order to apply for the course, please send a motivation letter (500-700 words) and your CV to the contact person at your university (see here below). Please keep in mind that the course will be in English, meaning that you should be a proficient user of the language. Six candidates will be selected to participate in the course from each partner university based on a competitive selection process. 

COVID-19  

The course will take place in Reykjavík, but students will be informed of any changes that might occur to the execution of the course due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS 16 MARCH 2022 

Contact persons are: 

• University of Iceland – Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir (sbo@hi.is) / Auður Örlygsdóttir (audurorl@hi.is)
• Tampere Peace Research Institute (TAPRI) at Tampere University – Élise Féron (TAU) (elise.feron@tuni.fi)
• UiT - The Arctic University of Norway  - Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv (gunhild.hoogensen.gjorv@uit.no)
• University of Sarajevo – Marija Ivanović, marija.ivanovic@cis.unsa.ba
• University of the Basque Country - UPV/EHU - Itziar Mujika Chao (itziar.mujika@ehu.eus)

Peacebuilding “From Below”: The Relevance of ”The Local” in Peace Building Processes

The Centre for Peace Studies (CPS) at the UiT - The Arctic University of Norway offers a one-week intensive course in peace and conflict studies, sponsored by a Nordplus Higher Education grant and an Erasmus+ grant, focusing on people, communities and cities in peacebuilding and an inclusive and intersectional approach to peace studies. This course will be combined with a Model NATO with the aim of exploring gender and security perceptions at NATO. Participation includes mandatory online sessions prior to the course.

The 2022 InPeace Intensive Model NATO uses a roleplay format to transfer and share knowledge pertaining to the operationalization of multiple, often compelling, security perspectives. Students learn about the general background, structure and organization of NATO and how it has operated as a security organization. Students will critically analyse NATO based on what they have learned in the earlier courses. The students will test as they learn, by playing out a scenario that challenges NATO security perceptions against local, everyday security perceptions in a given conflict context.

Gender, Peace and Conflict Studies

The first InPeace intensive course on Gender Peace and Security took place during the first week of March 2021, with engaged students and exceptional teachers from Iceland, Norway, Spain, Finland and Bosnia Herzegovina. The course gave the students an important opportunity to learn how to 1) explain and use key concepts in the theory and practice of gender and conflicts, 2) critically assess theories related to gender in peace and conflicts, and their interpretations in respect to the various stages of the conflict cycle, 3) understand how masculinity and femininity work in times of conflict and war to create soldiers, combatants and support among the civilian population 4) draw on a variety of sources of information on international conflicts and gender issues 5) assess the impact of international policies and initiatives aiming at “mainstreaming gender” in peacekeeping and peace-building, and 6) identify the relationship between gender and power, and more generally between gender and the social structure.

Towards the end of the course the students presented their different and comprehensive case study analysis on Afghanistan, Colombia, Syria, Sierra Leone, Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine and Libya, where they explored the various intersections between gender and conflict: how masculinities and femininities are constructed in times of conflict and war, the impact of these constructions within the conflict/post-conflict context, and how gender and ethnicity are used in narratives and political discourses. Instead of focusing mostly or exclusively on women, the course explored thought-provoking issues such as the importance of militarised masculinities for female combatants, and wartime sexual violence against men.

The course was led by Élise Féron and hosted by the Tampere Peace Research Institute at the University of Tampere (TAPRI) and is part of the InPeace project funded by the Nordplus Higher Education programme. The project is coordinated by Höfði Reykjavík Peace Centre, in collaboration with the Centre for Peace Studies (CPS) at UiT - The Arctic University of Norway and the Tampere Peace Research Institute. The network received an Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership grant that has allowed it to expand its knowledgebase to include the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies (CIS) of the University of Sarajevo and the Hegoa Institute and research group on Human Security, Local Human Development and International Cooperation at the University of the Basque Country.

The next InPeace course will take place in Tromsø in March 2022.

Sub- and non-state actors are increasingly relevant internationally, exemplified by sanctuary cities in the US, social movements like #metoo, various insurgencies in Afghanistan, IS in Iraq/Syria, or maoist movements in India. This phenomenon emerges simultaneously with increased nationalism and extremism, where populist parties and politicians have gained in global prominence. Many of these actors represent “grassroot” movements, reflecting the political interests of people who have otherwise not felt represented by the state. In response, renewed approaches in peace and conflict studies are needed, focusing on peacebuilding “from below”, acknowledging gender and other categories, understanding “the local” in peace processes, and sub/non-state actor roles as either spoilers or supporters of peace. This project designs an innovative approach in peace and conflict studies, building on unconventional and critical approaches to peace processes. It draws on femininities, masculinities and intersectionality, allowing for improved understanding of conflicts in the current state of affairs.

The InPeace project creates an innovative network of higher education institutions from different corners of Europe, strengthening the position of European universities in peace research and education. InPeace develops new teaching material through three intensive courses, in Tromsø, Tampere, and Reykjavík, which will also serve as a basis for developing a Massive Open Online Course in peace and conflict studies for the highly acclaimed edX platform.

Renewed approaches in peace and conflict studies call for transnational cooperation. Local manifestations of growing discontent, increased activity of grassroot movements and discrimination are all part of a larger international trend and need to be analysed as such. The project’s transnational nature is thus pivotal in order to fully comprehend, and also to adequately disseminate the knowledge created by the consortium.

The project is coordinated by Höfði Reykjavík Peace Centre, in collaboration with the Centre for Peace Studies (CPS) at UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Tampere Peace Research Institute at the University of Tampere (TAPRI), the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies (CIS) of the University of Sarajevo and the Hegoa Institute and research group on Human Security, Local Human Development and International Cooperation at the University of the Basque Country.