Progress Report on the Teaching of Peace and Conflict studies---

Progress Report on the Teaching of Peace and Conflict studies in the Department of Political Science
Bayero University, Kano



As Saul D. Alinsky (1969: vii) observed “Life is conflict and in conflict you’re alive; action does not admit age into the arena; sudden death, yes; but gradual age, no”.

Conflict is social relationship. As long as human society exists. It appears in many forms and kinds but social conflicts is the most relevant for societal developments. Without it human society might not have made any progress. So, is the convergence of opinion in both Marxist theory that “man is most creative through conflict” and human society makes progress only when there has been conflict.

So also that the current interest in peace studies is not new. Tenth of years ago peace and conflict studies was as if that problem was the only concern of social scientists. That was how such students had emerged and built up in USA, Great Britain and Germany. Thousands of years ago Karl Marx and Simel had studied and elaborated on social conflict.

However, after great wave of inertia, (except perhaps in International Relations) the current globalisation has generated a fresh interest in peace and conflict studies globally.

Probably, one may rightly think that the current globalisation has produced more conflicts than in the past modern history of human development. Secondly, the economic of the globe has produced powerful transnational interests with a stake in generating conflicts in some parts of the globe and peace in some others.

This development has made it that as all forms of conflicts have become part of our lives we have to, through teaching and research be made to develop skills and knowledge which will enable us to resolve all kinds of conflicts in our relationships so that we can move forward.

That is why many centres of peace and conflict studies are proliferating. Largely financed by foreign agencies. Including in institutions of higher learning. It has accidentally come to my knowledge, that following directives from National Universities Commission, the Bayero University, Kano, in 2006/2007 academic session introduced peace and conflict studies as part of General Studies Programme for all 200 level students.

It is important to place it on note that the NUC and the sponsor’s idea of introducing such programme in all Nigerian Universities is to inculcate in students some practical knowhow of managing conflict, especially in Nigeria’s conflict-ridden University system. Which I have been doing for the last four years and whose impact has even gone outside the University.

Three years ago (from 2003/2004 session) I have introduced a Teaching Programme for 400 level students of the Department of Political Science, in Peace and Conflict resolution. It is now being taught for four years as POL 4313 (a 3 credit course).

In all the studies during these four academic sessions the intention is not only to give students theoretical and methodological perspectives to enhance their analytical and research capacity but also practical skills of conflict management. In each session we have a topic on simulation of conflict under which we choose variety of conflicts between students in the University, in their homes, in the larger society, etc. for analysis and resolution.

Specifically in the first session (2002/2003) of the programme the objective of the course programme noted that “…. African politics in the twenty first century have been marked by a series of violent breakdown of order, which requires several different approaches to understand the development. Apart from the dominant approach, an alternative framework which involves the application of conflict theories, the role of state and the resurgence of the present new form of imperial domination through globalisation, will show the causes and consequences of the wars and violence where they occur. Furthermore, through theoretical insights we would be able to appreciate that conflict situation is not only where there are wars and violence, which we recently witnessed in many parts of the world”. The course introduced students to key concepts, methods, approaches and theories in peace and conflict resolution. Students were exposed to concrete examination of conflict management from different African and European perspectives. Particularly, major techniques of conflict management and resolution relevant to ethnics, religious, regional, industrial and political conflicts were treated. The focus included seminars on laws of armed conflict, peace-keeping, peace-making, peace-building as well as conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction of politics and the economy.

A great new challenge was incorporated in the course programme in the second year (2003/2004). While we have continued with what I have developed in the first attempt, this time the theory of globalisation and conflict/violence became the basis. Thus, our cases of conflict and resolution of conflict where choosen and treated in relation to globalisation. Four different areas of conflict were found. These are: Niger-Delta conflict in Nigeria; Darfur in Southern Sudan; Iraq – USA war; and trade conflict between European Union and USA. However, these did not overrule developing the capacity and skills of students in management of local, interpersonal and minor social conflicts around us.

The third year (2005/2006) saw a complete transformation of the subject-matter of the course. The programme came out with new perspective on peace and conflict resolution studies which examined economic globalisation and its implications for frequent violence and conflict, especially among local populations of Third World countries. The ground is that globalisation has radically transformed the world, manifested among other things in contradictory relationship of global integration and local fragmentation. This has resulted in violence and many forms of conflict – ethnic, religious, industrial, political – across the globe. Thus, such areas as ICT and conflict; cultural conflict; ethnic conflict; collapse of states; oil and conflict; industrial conflict; regional trade agreements and violent conflict; politics and conflict; as well as specific mechanisms and approaches to management and resolution of conflict of globalisation were examined. Finally, the theory and practice of Anti-globalisation as a way of building sustainable peace was treated.

In the Academic year 2006/2007 the focus moves from general to particular. Globalisation indeed breads conflict and violence. Ethnic and ethno-nationalist conflicts in particular are most prominent. Recent examination of global affairs raises an assumption that the World is dominated by primordial ethnic conflicts. In view of this the focus of the course is “globalisation, ethnic conflict and social change”. The course introduces new perspectives on conflict and peace studies which examines how “economic globalisation and market democracy” resulted in frequent ethnic and ethno-national conflicts in both developed and developing world. It is my simple opinion that in order to understand ethnic conflict in the current era of globalisation one should examine the dynamic relationship between ethnic, class and state. At another level, the forces of globalisation have weakened the power of state to the extent of incapacitating the state to deal with conflicts and violence in the society. Thus, the course is expected to build the theoretical ability of students to make a comparative analysis of different patterns of ethnic conflict in former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and African countries, especially Nigeria.

Throughout these four years of peace and conflict resolution programme in the Department of Political Science, Bayero University Kano, I and my students have fashioned out an academic programme which has great social impact and relevance to our community, immediate environment and the larger society. Such issues of social relevance include:
1. An integrated aspect of the programme through all the academic sessions is simulation of conflict resolution. This is designed as an interpersonal or inter group communicative behaviours in a conflict situation to resolve the problem. It appears like a theatre performance on a conference of various groups of people with a stake either in imagined or real conflict to come up with solution. The prime example of the first set of students who had gone through the programme is worth noting. In a weekly series of interactive synecology each member of the class brought a verbal report of a conflict situation which he/she was a party or had closely observed. Each situation was, through a communicative behaviour dissected, analysed and hypothetically resolved conflict and a written report immediately compiled. This is repeated with the second set of students. The result of this exercise is full of joy and appreciation of skills acquired that up to the time of writing this report recognition comes in from those students. For the third set of those who had gone through the programme, the performance is great and worth immulating. It is not surprising because the finest of the 400 level students of political science of that year (2005/2006) had deliberately registered in the course. In this class we extended the method of conflict resolution through verbal and other means of communication as well as developed the assumptions of ICT and conflict and as an instrument of conflict management. The fourth set of students will be on the programme in the second semester of 2006/2007 academic year which has not yet come as at the time of writing this report.
2. The ICT as an instrument of conflict resolution reached out of the campus as through an ex-student a community in Kaduna state put an informal request to me to train their young, educated but unemployed members in ICT for conflict resolution.
3. As the course is an optional and therefore only about fifty students in each academic session registered and benefit from that source of knowledge, there has been agitation to make the programme a requirement.
4. In light of the interest developed by these students, many of them have written to tell me that they have got admission to read peace and conflict studies at post-graduate level in University of Jos, Ibadan and some have gone to Europe and America.
5. That in the last four years there is increasing interest on research on conflict issues research by final year students of the Department. I wish to collect, assess and document these studies to form the nucleus of peace studies research in the Department.
6. Meanwhile there are fourteen seminar small research projects selected over the last three years for their contributions on varied issues of conflict studies. They could be edited and printed to become part of the collection of reading materials and documents being planned by me.
7. I am proud to recall and state that the performance of my 2005/2006 academic year students in the examination on the peace studies programme is exceptionally very good. I have not seen the opinion of the external examiner who moderated the papers. I wish I will have the opportunity to see it.

M.M. Yusif
May, 2007