Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2024 (22/07/2024 - 18/11/2024)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Politic Sc & Internat Studies
A great deal of resources and analysis are dedicated to war and violence, but comparatively little effort is directed to transforming the structural and cultural conditions that generate war or to addressing the injustices and traumas that arise from violence. The recently emerged sub-field of peacebuilding attempts to address these and related challenges by bringing together the theory and practice of conflict resolution, humanitarian assistance, and development. Among other goals, peacebuilding attempts to address the dynamics of entrenched civil conflict, structural injustice and other conflict causes to prevent the emergence of violent conflict and to address its effects. The challenges that accompany this work confront organisations from the United Nations to international non-government organisations and states from Afghanistan to Australia. In this course we develop an understanding of peacebuilding and critically engage with it at both a theoretical and practical level.
How to deal with the aftermath of violent ruptures and large-scale traumatic events presents a perennial challenge for social and political ordering. When the most visible and disruptive forms of violence end, the disruption, trauma and slow violence it has caused often does not. This course investigates some of the challenges caused by these ruptures and violent events by taking a broad understanding of what peacebuilding can entail, including conflict resolution, development, institution building, security sector reform, efforts to obtain justice, and the struggles of building peace in sites of ongoing settler colonialism. As a capstone course for the Peace and Conflict Studies major, the politics of peacebuilding will introduce the most recent debates within work on peacebuilding while giving students and opportunity to improve understanding of individual sites of enduring conflict around the world.ᅠ
Course requirements
Recommended prerequisites
We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:
4 units POLS-coded courses
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
POLS2511
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Tutor
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Additional timetable information
Seminars: There will be 13 two-hour seminars starting in Week 1.
Tutorials: There will be 8 tutorials starting after the Week 2 seminar.
Aims and outcomes
This course investigates peacebuilding as a fundamentally political endeavour, defined by contesting visions for the future and understandings of conflict and conceptions of justice. The course begins with four weeks exploring conceptions of sociopolitical order for peacebuilding. After this, we investigate key components and issues in peacebuilding as mapped in the Learning Activities. We will tackle cutting edge topics including peacebuilding amidst populism and authoritarianism, relational peacebuilding beyond the human, space and place in peacebuilding, and coloniality and Indigenous peoples in peacebuilding. Learning in the course will take place through 13 seminars (including lectures, interactive discussion, and workshopping components of assessment items) and tutorials (8 over the semester). You will engage with a peacebuilding case of your choice throughout the semester in completing your assessment items.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Appreciate the complex, contested and political nature of peacebuilding.
LO2.
Understand the existing debates over the meaning and practice of peacebuilding.
LO3.
Identify and compare the differing approaches to peacebuilding.
LO4.
Gain an awareness of the many practical dilemmas in building peace.
LO5.
Apply this knowledge to the ethical and social dilemmas in conflict-affected societies from an international perspective.
Assessment
Assessment summary
Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
---|---|---|---|
Participation/ Student contribution |
Tutorial participation (8 tutorials)
|
20% |
30/07/2024 - 17/10/2024 |
Participation/ Student contribution, Presentation | Case description (5 minute video) | 10% |
30/08/2024 1:00 pm |
Paper/ Report/ Annotation | Case analysis (2000 word report) | 30% |
20/09/2024 1:00 pm |
Paper/ Report/ Annotation | Peacebuilding proposal (2500 word report) | 40% |
25/10/2024 1:00 pm |
Assessment details
Tutorial participation (8 tutorials)
- In-person
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance
- Category
- Participation/ Student contribution
- Weight
- 20%
- Due date
30/07/2024 - 17/10/2024
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05
Task description
Your participation in the tutorial program is an essential part of this course. In preparation for each tutorial, you should read the required reading, and think about the relevance of the readings to peacebuilding. While discussion will be focused through the readings, you should also aim to build on your wider reading and learning in your peace and conflict studies. The criteria sheet for this item makes clear that attendance alone is not sufficient; you need to be an active participant in discussion, and should aim to sometimes lead discussion ‘from the floor’ by linking to what others say and posing questions to your colleagues.
Please consult the criteria sheet in Blackboard for more information on expectations.
If a medical or other circumstance means you are unable to attend a particular tutorial, you may be permitted to undertake alternative assessment. Please contact the course coordinator directly before the date of the tutorial you are unable to attend. If the permission is granted, the course coordinator will liaise with you about the alternative assessment. If you have disability action plan (SAPD) or Student Access Plan (SAP) that specifies that you are unable to participate in tutorials, please contact the course coordinator to liaise about alternative assessment.
Assessment tasks are intended to evaluate a student’s abilities, skills, and knowledge. Unless explicitly stated otherwise in the assessment instructions, assessments are to be completed without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT). Failure to comply with this direction may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
Case description (5 minute video)
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance
- Category
- Participation/ Student contribution, Presentation
- Weight
- 10%
- Due date
30/08/2024 1:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L05
Task description
Background
To support and tailor your learning experience in the course you are required to choose a particular ‘peacebuilding case’ that you will engage with for the purposes of the other-than-tutorial assessment in the course. You should identify a country, or region of a country to nominate your case.
Task Description:
Prepare a 5-minute video self-recording introducing the peacebuilding case that you will focus on during the course. Your video should specify the:
o Country or geographical region that you have chosen
o Main actors or parties to the conflict
o Core sources or causes of the conflict
o Key challenges for peacebuilding
o Possible focus that you may take for the Case Analysis assessment item, with an explanation about why this is important – either to the conflict case or for other reasons you wish to present. (Foci may include – but should not be limited to! - the security-development nexus, gender, coloniality/ethnicization, Indigenous peoples, gender, young people, transitional justice, DDR, memorialisation etc. You should choose a single focus.)
Guidance for video submission
o Prepare your recording by Zoom through your UQ-linked profile by selecting the ‘Record to the cloud’ option. After recording you will be emailed (or can access) a link to your recording. To submit your video presentation, paste the ‘share with others’ link to your recording in the submission link in Blackboard.
o Please adopt a casual yet professional style.
o You can simply record to camera – you do not need to prepare a presentation.
o You should prepare notes to guide your presentation to camera. (It is common for people to believe that they can simply ‘talk’ without having a plan, but this rarely works well.)
o It is not necessary to script your presentation (and typically best not to). Please do not aim for perfection. It can be tempting to try re-recording to eliminate errors, but it is natural that your video recording has some minor errors in it (you do not need to produce a newsreader or studio quality video).
o 10% above or below the length limit is fine.
o If you need to refer to sources in your video, please give enough key information for the viewer to be able to search for and find the source. E.g., for an academic article, the author, year, and name of the journal.
o Begin your video by saying “Hello, my name is …. and this is my case description video’.
Please consult the criteria sheet in Blackboard for more information on expectations.
Assessment tasks are intended to evaluate a student’s abilities, skills, and knowledge. Unless explicitly stated otherwise in the assessment instructions, assessments are to be completed without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT). Failure to comply with this direction may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Submission:
Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using Turnitin.
In uploading an assignment via Turnitin you are certifying that it is your original work, that it has not been copied in whole or part from another person or source except where this is properly acknowledged, and that it has not in whole or part been previously submitted for assessment in any other course at this or any other university.
When you successfully submit your assessment to Turnitin after previewing the uploaded document (to make sure that you have chosen the correct file), you should see the “Submission Complete!” message. After this, a downloadable Digital Receipt will display on your Assignment Dashboard. It is your responsibility to download the Digital Receipt as proof of submission. Turnitin will not send this receipt to you automatically.
If you don’t see the downloadable receipt on your assignment dashboard, you should regard your submission as unsuccessful.
If the submission was not successful:
- Note the error message (preferably take a screenshot).
- Go to your assignment page and see if it is possible to submit again.
- If you cannot submit again, then email your course coordinator immediately.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Unless an extension is granted, penalties for late submission apply. Students are penalised 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item for every calendar day that an assessment item is late.
Marks will be deducted each day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point the submitted item will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved. Each 24-hour block is triggered from the time the submission is due.
Case analysis (2000 word report)
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 30%
- Due date
20/09/2024 1:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L04, L05
Task description
Background
Per the case description by video assessment item, you have chosen a peacebuilding case to focus upon, and indicated a focus that you may like to take for this assessment item. As noted, foci may include – but should not be limited to! - the security-development nexus, gender, coloniality/ethnicization, Indigenous peoples, gender, young people, transitional justice, DDR etc.) Other foci may include memorialisation, environmental sustainability, space/place, community. Your choice may be driven by the needs of your case, and you may at this stage change your chosen focus if you wish. Please consult with the course coordinator if you are in doubt about your chosen focus.
Task Description
Develop an analysis of the conflict dynamics (socio-political, cultural, conflict etc) in terms of your chosen focus. That is, you should use your chosen focus to develop a targeted analysis; do not undertake a general analysis of the case. The introduction to your report should briefly summarise your case, justify your chosen focus, and explain how you structure the remainder of your report. The body of your report should engage with relevant academic, professional and grey literature to analyse the conflict dynamics and begin to identify avenues through which peace may be built. This task will provide the foundation for your peacebuilding proposal in the final assessment item.
Please consult the criteria sheet in Blackboard for more information on expectations.
Assessment tasks are intended to evaluate a student’s abilities, skills, and knowledge. Unless explicitly stated otherwise in the assessment instructions, assessments are to be completed without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT). Failure to comply with this direction may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Submission:
Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using Turnitin.
In uploading an assignment via Turnitin you are certifying that it is your original work, that it has not been copied in whole or part from another person or source except where this is properly acknowledged, and that it has not in whole or part been previously submitted for assessment in any other course at this or any other university.
When you successfully submit your assessment to Turnitin after previewing the uploaded document (to make sure that you have chosen the correct file), you should see the “Submission Complete!” message. After this, a downloadable Digital Receipt will display on your Assignment Dashboard. It is your responsibility to download the Digital Receipt as proof of submission. Turnitin will not send this receipt to you automatically.
If you don’t see the downloadable receipt on your assignment dashboard, you should regard your submission as unsuccessful.
If the submission was not successful:
- Note the error message (preferably take a screenshot).
- Go to your assignment page and see if it is possible to submit again.
- If you cannot submit again, then email your course coordinator immediately.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Unless an extension is granted, penalties for late submission apply. Students are penalised 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item for every calendar day that an assessment item is late.
Marks will be deducted each day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point the submitted item will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved. Each 24-hour block is triggered from the time the submission is due.
Peacebuilding proposal (2500 word report)
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
25/10/2024 1:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05
Task description
Background
Assessment in this course seeks to build your skills sequentially. Two prior assessment items lay the foundation for this task, both in terms of the target country/region, and particular focus.
Task Description
Develop and produce a proposal for building peace. This exercise asks you to think like a peacebuilder. However, peacebuilding is a contested field. You are therefore provided with a high level of choice about the audience for your proposal, the type of proposal you pursue, and thus the type of peacebuilder you are.
The choices you make, especially about your target audience, have implications for the types of learning you will achieve in the assessment task, and the limits of what will be appropriate and compelling in your proposal. Your proposal may target, for example, a national or regional policy maker, a United Nations agency, a religious body/bodies, Indigenous peace actors, a local community, or other actors/conflict parties of your choice – even insurgents.
Please make clear your choice of target audience (the recipient for your proposal) on your title page and in your introduction.
The introduction to your proposal should briefly summarise your peacebuilding case, the analysis conducted in the previous analysis report, and explain how you structure the remainder of your proposal report. The body of your report should draw upon relevant academic, professional and grey literature. It should:
o Develop your proposal in response to conflict dynamics or challenges.
o Clearly explain your proposal both in broad terms (what is the type of assistance/intervention proposed) and in the details (who should be involved, how will it bring about changes in dynamics).
o Identify the challenges and limitations of your proposal.
Please consult the criteria sheet in Blackboard for more information on expectations.
Assessment tasks are intended to evaluate a student’s abilities, skills, and knowledge. Unless explicitly stated otherwise in the assessment instructions, assessments are to be completed without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT). Failure to comply with this direction may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Submission:
Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using Turnitin.
In uploading an assignment via Turnitin you are certifying that it is your original work, that it has not been copied in whole or part from another person or source except where this is properly acknowledged, and that it has not in whole or part been previously submitted for assessment in any other course at this or any other university.
When you successfully submit your assessment to Turnitin after previewing the uploaded document (to make sure that you have chosen the correct file), you should see the “Submission Complete!” message. After this, a downloadable Digital Receipt will display on your Assignment Dashboard. It is your responsibility to download the Digital Receipt as proof of submission. Turnitin will not send this receipt to you automatically.
If you don’t see the downloadable receipt on your assignment dashboard, you should regard your submission as unsuccessful.
If the submission was not successful:
- Note the error message (preferably take a screenshot).
- Go to your assignment page and see if it is possible to submit again.
- If you cannot submit again, then email your course coordinator immediately.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Unless an extension is granted, penalties for late submission apply. Students are penalised 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item for every calendar day that an assessment item is late.
Marks will be deducted each day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point the submitted item will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved. Each 24-hour block is triggered from the time the submission is due.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
Grade | Description |
---|---|
1 (Low Fail) |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student does not address the question, shows no evidence of reading and minimal comprehension of the issues at hand. |
2 (Fail) |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student addresses the question poorly and shows very little evidence of reading. |
3 (Marginal Fail) |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: The student makes an effort to establish a single major argument for the essay and employs some research which is correlated with the argument. Makes a visible effort to achieve adequate grammar, spelling and punctuation. Evidence of attempting to achieve a recognisable narrative flow appears throughout the assignment. The student addresses the question and shows evidence of required research and a basic grasp of the issues at hand. However, falls short of satisfying all basic requirements for a Pass. |
4 (Pass) |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student makes a reasonable effort to provide evidence to support a visible argument and employs an adequate research base to support the argument. Achieves a reasonable, if not completely coherent standard of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. A recognisable narrative flow is sustained throughout the essay. The student answers the question and shows evidence of adequate research and a degree of understanding of the issues at hand. |
5 (Credit) |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student provides suitable evidence to support an argument and employs a comprehensive research base that directly relates to the topic, though it may not completely support the argument. Achieves decent levels of competence in grammar, spelling, punctuation and narrative flow. The student answers the question in a direct, well supported fashion and shows evidence of some wide reading and a reasonable understanding of the issues at hand. |
6 (Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student demonstrates a very good grasp of the chosen topic and provides a considerable amount of evidence to support a clearly stated argument. The student employs a reasonably extensive and well-organised research base to structure evidence in support of the argument and achieves a high level of competence in grammar, spelling, punctuation and narrative flow. The student answers the question in a direct, reasonably sophisticated fashion, employs wide research and shows a sound understanding of the issues at hand. |
7 (High Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student demonstrates a highly sophisticated grasp of the topic and succeeds in addressing the question by providing a high level of evidence to support a clearly stated argument. The student employs an extensive and well organised research base to structure evidence in support of the argument and achieves impeccable levels of grammar, spelling, punctuation and narrative flow. The student answers the question in a direct and elegant fashion, employs significant research and shows a deep understanding of the issues at hand. |
Additional course grading information
Grades will be awarded on the following basis:
1. Fail 1 - 19%
2. Fail 20 - 44%
3. Fail 45 - 49%
4. Pass 50 - 64%
5. Credit 65 - 74%
6. Distinction 75 - 84%
7. High Distinction 85 - 100%
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Additional assessment information
Word Length Penalty
Unless otherwise indicated, in the case of written submissions with a specified word count, you are given a +10% leeway on the upper word limit. If your written submission is over this leeway limit, it will attract a 10 percentage point penalty. For example, if your essay is 1,500 words, you may write up to 1,650 before attracting a word count penalty. If your essay exceeds the upper word limit, it will attract a 10% word count penalty. Therefore, if your essay is worth 40 marks, you will lose 4 marks from your allotted grade. Unless specified, penalties only apply to exceeding the word length, not for failure to write a sufficient amount.
Students should note:
• The Author-date in-text referencing system will count toward the word length;
• References in the Footnote referencing system will not count toward the word length. If you are using footnotes, any content included in footnotes beyond the specific text reference will count towards the word length.
Marking Criteria/Rubric
Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the ‘Assessment’ folder in Blackboard for this course.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Additional learning resources information
Essay Guide
The School of Political Science and International Studies Essay Guide can be downloaded from the School’s Student Support webpage.
The Guide sets out guidelines you should follow in preparing written assignments.
Essay Writing Assistance
The School of Political Science and International Studies schedules regular “drop-in” sessions designed to provide one-on-one advice and assistance in essay planning and writing.
There is no need to make an appointment and you are encouraged to bring your essay with you.
The day and time of these sessions will be finalized at the beginning of each semester and published on the Student Support webpage.
Student Services
Student services offer a variety of short courses during the semester which will help you improve your study, research and writing skills and thus your academic performance in this course.
Library Resources
UQ Library offers training in software, assignment writing, research skills, and publishing and research management.
The University’s library holdings for Political Science and International Studies are primarily located in the Central Library.
There is a help desk in the Library. Students are also welcome to contact the BEL/HASS Librarians for assistance.
Email: librarians@library.uq.edu.au
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
---|---|---|
Seminar |
WEEK 1: Course introduction and ‘What is peacebuilding?' [Please note: No Tutorials this week.] Introduction to the course and each other; oveview of where peacebuilding arises from, where it is heading, and key definitional issues. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03 |
|
Seminar |
WEEK 2: State-based politcal order and the liberal peace Where do dominant ideas about the foundations of political order and peace arise from? How do they manifest in thinking about and practising peacebuilding? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
Tutorial |
TUTORIAL 1 (IN WEEK 2): State-based political order and the liberal peace Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
Seminar |
WEEK 3: Peacebuilding as statebuilding? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
Tutorial |
TUTORIAL 2 (IN WEEK 3): Peacebuilding as statebuilding? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
|
Seminar |
WEEK 4: Peace otherwise? 'Turning' to relational peacebuilding beyond the human? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03 |
|
Tutorial |
TUTORIAL 3 (IN WEEK 4): Peace otherwise? 'Turning' to relational peacebuilding beyond the human? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L05 |
|
Seminar |
WEEK 5: The economics of war and peace: peacebuilding and the security-development nexus Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
Tutorial |
TUTORIAL 4 (IN WEEK 5): The economics of war and peace: peacebuilding and the security-development nexus Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
|
Seminar |
WEEK 6: Gender and young people in peacebuilding Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
Tutorial |
TUTORIAL 5 (IN WEEK 6): Gender and young people in peacebuilding Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
|
Seminar |
WEEK 7: Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR), Demilitarisation, and Security Sector Reform (SSR) Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
Seminar |
WEEK 8: The politics of space and place in peacebuilding Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
|
Seminar |
WEEK 9: Transitional justice: Trauma, narrative, and memorialisation Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
MID-SEMESTER BREAK NO seminar this week |
|
Seminar |
WEEK 10: Peacebuilding amidst populism and authoritarianism Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
Tutorial |
TUTORIAL 6 (IN WEEK 10): Peacebuilding amidst populism and authoritarianism Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
|
Seminar |
WEEK 11: Decolonisation and enduring conflict: Peacebuilding, coloniality, and Indigenous peoples Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
|
Tutorial |
TUTORIAL 7 (IN WEEK 11): Decolonisation and enduring conflict: Peacebuilding, coloniality, and Indigenous peoples Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
Seminar |
WEEK 12: Adaptive, non-linear, and relational peace: Beyond the human, embracing the digital? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
Tutorial |
TUTORIAL 8 (IN WEEK 12): Adaptive, non-linear, and relational peace: Beyond the human, embracing the digital? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
|
Seminar |
WEEK 13: Course conclusion and reflections: Directions in peacebuilding? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.