Peacebuilding and Development
GLOB1-GC2090
Credit:
Global Affairs
Amartya Sen defines development as "a process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy" and of diminishing their "un-freedoms" such as lack of access to income, markets, healthcare, education and effective institutions for the maintenance of peace and security. Peacebuilding, meanwhile, aims to improve, restore and foster mutually beneficial relationships that enable individuals, groups, communities, nations and states to approach each other constructively even in moments of great conflict or tension. The objective is to achieve substantial gains for all parties rather than the destruction and loss that often results for all parties in violence and war. This course will focus on two central question: would pursuit of the freedoms Sen describes be more successful if it took maximum advantage of positive relationships, sought to improve damaged relationships and created constructive relationships where none exist? and; is it possible that development can only have the truly desired effect of increasing freedoms if it occurs within a framework of constructive collaboration that can help ensure that gains in freedoms are sustainable and contribute to lasting peace? As part of this inquiry into the intersection of peacebuilding and development, it will be necessary to examine particular approaches to both development and peacebuilding. In particular, it will be necessary to investigate tensions that exist between traditional top-down vs. bottom-up models. It will be necessary to devote attention to the roles and relationships of international non-governmental organizations ¿ as well as other international organizations and governments ¿ and indigenous civil society organizations in so-called zones of conflict. The course will highlight linkages and inconsistencies between theory and practice in both peacebuilding and development. Students will be challenged to consider the relative importance of international and local actors and to draw conclusions about the most appropriate ways they can work together in pursuit of sustainable peace and development.
Prerequisites:
Peacemaking and Peacebuilding, Y45.1010 and International Relations in the Post-Cold War Era, Y45.1000
To register for this course you must be an admitted student in an NYU credit or degree program or have special student status.
Admitted NYU credit or degree students may visit NYUHome to register through ALBERT.
To apply to an NYU-SCPS credit or degree program, call (212) 998-7100.
