F1IS 5230 - How to end a War***

The aim of the course is to study the transition from military operations to a post-conflict situation. To what degree did military victory produce a lasting peace? What kind of new political order followed the conflict? How enduring was it? What was the perception of legitimacy, on each side of the war? To what degree did the military operations influence the post-operations context?

During the first session, the Professor will present a list of wars/conflicts to help students understand the objectives of the presentations, and he will deliver a presentation as an illustration of what is expected (the end of the war in Bosnia Hercegovina 1995).

The second session will be a workshop based on the situation in Ukraine.

For the following nine sessions, the students will deliver a presentation on a case study of their own choice (with arbitration by the Professor if necessary) and lead the class discussion.

The last (twelfth) session will be a class discussion to identify the factors of success or failure in the transition from on-going military operations into a post-conflict situation.

Since the whole course is based on two presentations per session, except for sessions 1 and 12, the course is absolutely limited to eighteen students.

Learning Outcomes

Develop critical analysis.

Based on a case study of her/his own choice, each student is expected to research and analyse the transition from military operations to the end of war settlement, identify what military factors or events influenced the political outcome, and what other outcomes could have occurred if those factors had played differently.

It must be stressed that the causes and conditions of the war are not the focus of the research. The analysis pertains exclusively to the transition to post-conflict, whatever form it took eventually (armistice, peace treaty, strategic stalemate, etc.).

Gain expertise on war to peace transition.

Each student being exposed to 20 case studies (to include the Professor’s initial case study and the workshop) will develop a general understanding on what military/strategic factors are more or less conducive to a suitable and enduring post-conflict settlement.

Develop proficiency in introducing a complex situation, generally unknown or little known to the audience.

In view of the variety of case studies, it must be assumed that few members of the audience will be acquainted with the complexities of the issue. Prior to the class session, each student will need to bring up the whole audience to the appropriate level of understanding for a meaningful debate to occur.

Professional Skills

Prepare a Read Ahead Package.

Each student will produce a Read Ahead Package, with the information needed for someone who is not acquainted with the case study to prepare meaningfully. The RAP must be structured, including a mandatory part of reasonable size, an optional part for deeper knowledge/understanding, and the reference texts when available (such as the Peace Treaty).

All documents in pdf and in English version.

Deliver a presentation.

Each student will deliver a 20-25 mn presentation on the case study of choice, in Powerpoint format.

Develop proficiency in leading a group discussion.

Each student will need to use her/his presentation as a primer to a discussion that should be insightful and lead to clear conclusions.

The student in charge will be expected to actually steer the discussion and summarise key issues and concepts.

Produce a Cease Fire Agreement (based on the workshop).

Develop expertise on an unfamiliar topic.

Students must take full advantage of the read-ahead package to acquire a degree of expertise on the topic before the class discussion. The discussion must involve everyone and actually lead to meaningful conclusions, which implies that all students have made the effort to develop a reasonable degree of expertise and understanding.

Each student electing to join the course must have a case study in mind, so that allocation of case studies can be conducted immediately after selection and before session 1. This is the only way all can organize their own agenda and timetable. It is highly recommended to have a desired case study and an alternate one, in case the first case is oversubscribed or potentially deemed of little interest in the context of the course.

As far as possible, the sequence of presentations will group case studies relating to the same region and historical circumstances (eg, Bosnia and Kosovo). Other than for that reason, the order of presentations will be based on student preferences, on a first come, first served basis.

It is important to note that there is no requirement per se to select a case study based on recent history or on any specific area of the world. The way conflicts were terminated in ancient times or in very diverse civilizations is of interest to all today.

Students should be well versed in history, with a real degree of comfort in a region or a period. Some knowledge of military history is useful. Though the presentations and class discussions are not expert level, focusing on very technical matters, the quality of class discussion depends heavily on students drawing comparisons, seeking elaboration, or challenging ideas.

In practice, if war has never been of significant interest to you, don’t subscribe to this course.

Students are expected to do some individual research in anticipation of each class, so as to contribute meaningfully to the class discussion. This research will be based on the program of presentations issued after session 1.

All sessions except the opening, the workshop and the concluding sessions are based on two presentations delivered by two students, leaving room for discussion, with an overall time slot of one hour per student. The presentation itself is in PowerPoint and should be made available on the Drive after delivery.

Flexibility will be applied depending on avenues of discussion.

At the end of each session, the Professor will deliver individual feedback in a private discussion with both students of the day. Feedback will not include actual grading since it needs to be comparative and therefore will only be finalized at the end of the course.

Each student will be assigned a case study (preferably of her/his choosing), preferably in time for Session 1, and the sequence of presentations will be formalized.

At her/his given session, the student will deliver a briefing on the case study (maximum duration 25 minutes) and will lead the group discussion, allowing for a short wrap-up by the instructor.

At least one week before the presentation, the student will share on the Drive an advance reading package, including but not limited to:

An abstract of the war whose termination is being discussed (root causes, initiation, main events, etc.). This is not necessarily a paper written by the student. Any article or series of articles providing the relevant information is acceptable. The expectation is of 10-30 pages total.

An abstract and/or analyses of the termination of the war itself, preferably providing critical views (e.g., an account by one of the negotiators).

A short bibliography.

All documents relating to the end of the war (e.g., UN Security Council Resolutions, text of the subsequent treaty or armistice, detailed military provisions…).

Any other material considered relevant and likely to prime an interesting debate.

The quality and relevance of the read-ahead package will account for 30% of the course grading.

This presentation will account for 30% of the course grading.

Leading of the ensuing debate will account for 20% of the course grading.

The written requirement (“Blueprint for a CFA”), resulting from the Workshop at Session 02, to be handed in at Session 09, will account for 20% of the course grading.

Participation: Bonus 10% for constructive participation, as assessed from the contributions class discussion.

In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester

Online learning activities: none

Reading and Preparation for Class: 4-8 hours a week (depending on advance knowledge of the case studies)

Research and Preparation for Group Work: none

Research and Writing for Individual Assessments:

FOR THE PRESENTATION: 12 to 25 hours depending on familiarity with the chosen case study (average reported by previous classes).

FOR THE BLUEPRINT CEASE FIRE AGREEMENT: an estimated 10 to 15 hours.