Research Courses

Dynamics of Armed Conflict

​This course provides an overview and critical assessment of contemporary research on armed conflict.  It will be in equal measure backward looking, assessing the state of the art and what have we learned; and future oriented, exploring cutting-edge issues and challenges.  

The course is organized in collaboration with the University of Oslo (UiO) and PRIO.

Application deadline: 1 March 2020
Successful applicants will be notified by mid March.

The Ethics of War

​This course will provide a general introduction to the main approaches within just war theory and explore in detail several contested issues under debate, such as: Under what circumstances is it permissible to initiate a war? How should we understand the notion of proportionality? What is the role of blame to liability to defensive harm? What is the ethical impact of new military technologies, especially AI? Do combatants on either side of the war have the same moral status?  Who incurs a duty of compensation to the victims of war, and what does it consist in? Is it permissible to impose collateral damage to save important cultural heritage? Are non-combatants always illegitimate targets in war? What is the role of ‘legitimate authority’ in political violence? In what ways does terrorism differ from war?

The course is organised at the Univeristy of Oslo, Department of  Philosophy Classics History of Art and Ideas, in collaboration with the Research School on Peace and Conflict.

Application through the Uinversity of Oslo [To be announced]

International Mediation: Theory, Cases and Skills

​The Course will cover academic, policy and practitioner perspectives on international mediation. It will review the scholarly literature, explore relevant theories, and learn from senior mediation practitioners. The participants will also develop skills in conflict analysis, strategic planning for peacemaking, and mediating agreements between conflict parties. The geographic focus will be mainly but not exclusively on the Middle East.

The course is organized in collaboration with the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and PRIO.

Application deadline: 29 March 2020
Successful applicants will be notified by mid April.

GIS and the Geography of Armed Conflict: Applying Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and georeferenced data for Peace and Conflict Research

As a research tool in the social sciences, GIS has not been used to nearly the same depth relative to applications in the natural science, where GIS have a longer history dating back to the late 1960s. Current and future opportunities for the application of GIS in the social sciences are considered tremendous. This course aims to point at some of the many opportunities. Whether the research design is based on qualitative or quantitative methods, GIS can provide the researcher with added analytical capabilities. Examples on how GIS can support both qualitative and quantitative methodologies will be given during the course, but with an emphasis on the latter.

This course is organized in collaboration between the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and PRIO. 

Application through NTNU - contact adviser Einar Gimse-Syrstad, Department of Sociology and Political Science: einar.syrstad@ntnu.no 

Deadline for applications: 30 April 2020.

Advanced Qualitative Methods in Conflict Studies: Case Research and Process Analytics

​This seminar provides an in-depth introduction to case-based methods and process analytics. We begin with some preliminaries (epistemology, ethics, transparency) and then survey key methods, including case studies, case selection and several techniques designed to capture process. The latter include interviewing, practice analytics and process tracing. Whenever possible, students will be introduced to both the positivist and interpretive variants of particular methods.  

In the course's second part, we move from the conceptual to the applied, examining case and process methods in action - in conflict zones and post-conflict settings. Epistemology, ethics, measurement and data-access/transparency are key themes throughout. The fundamental goal is for students to acquire sufficient knowledge to be smart, epistemologically plural and rigorous users of case-based research in conflict and post-conflict settings.

Application deadline: 1 June 2020
Successful applicants will be notified by mid June.