Conflict Management in a Fragmented World Order (DHP-D262)

Spring 2025 · DHP D262 · Tufts University · 3 credits · Undergraduate

We live in a ‘multiplex’ world order where conflicts have become more diffuse and fragmented. Conflict management has equally become distributed, complex, and fuzzy. A wide array of actors, including governments, states, organizations as well as informal actors seek to shape conflict outcomes and intervene at different stages of the conflict resolution (CR) process. Against this backdrop, how do these actors’ strategies compete, interact, and intersect at the same time? The course examines the changing nature of multilateral conflict management. It offers a range of case studies that explore multi-actor interventions in violent/armed conflict, negotiations in peace processes, and multi-scalar peacebuilding initiatives etc. Additionally, it reflects on the role that organizations such as the European Union (the EU), the Arab League (LAS), the African Union (AU) and UN agencies can play in the management of geopolitical conflicts. The course offers a variety of interactive activities, such as in-class discussions, group work, guest lectures and a final role-playing exercise in which students simulate ‘fog and friction’ in a conflict scenario rooted in a real-world event.

Course codes: DHP-D262

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