Summer Course: United Nations Peacekeeping
Stanford, USA
Summer Course
DURATION
8 weeks
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
TUITION FEES
USD 5,788
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
This seminar is devoted to an examination of United Nations peacekeeping, from its inception in 1956 in the wake of the Suez Crisis to its increasingly important role as an enforcer of political stability in sub-Saharan Africa.
We will look at the practice of "classic" peacekeeping as it developed during the Cold War, with the striking exception of the Congo Crisis of 1960; the rise and fall of so-called "second-generation peacekeeping," more accurately labeled "peace enforcement," in the early 1990s in Bosnia and Somalia; and the re-emergence in recent years of a muscular form of peacekeeping in sub-Saharan Africa, most notably in Congo in 2013.
Students will learn the basic history of the United Nations since 1945 and the fundamentals of the United Nations Charter, especially with respect to the use of force and the sovereignty of member states. While the course does not attempt to provide comprehensive coverage of the historical details of any particular peacekeeping mission, students should come away with a firm grasp of the historical trajectory of U.N. peacekeeping and the evolving arguments of its proponents and critics over the years.
Details
INTNLREL 160
- Class Number: 20560
- Course Cost: $5788.00
- Population: High School, Undergraduate, Graduate
- Units: 4
- Interest Area: Social Sciences and Humanities
- Course Format & Length: In-Person, 8 weeks
- Instructors: Bertrand Patenaude
Events and Engagement
Workshops
Hosted through the Summer Academic Resource Center (SARC), we offer a variety of educational workshops to complement your academic pursuits. Presenters varying from Stanford affiliates, community partners, and graduate tutors will cover a wide range of topics from academic skills to career exploration. Past workshops included college preparedness, software exploration, and building your professional network.
Stanford Spaces
Explore the intellectual ecosystem of the Stanford campus. Tour museums like the Cantor Arts Center, visit unique campus spaces like the d.school, Frost Amphitheater, and O’Donohue Family Farm, and get to know the unique community of companies and innovators that gather at Stanford Research Park.
Stanford Voices
These small gatherings give you an opportunity to connect with Stanford faculty, fellows, and alumni to hear about their work or research, as well as the road that brought them there. Ask questions and continue your intellectual exploration—whether you're taking a course on the topic this summer or just curious.
Students will become familiar with the fundamental assumptions behind, and the circumstances of, the founding of the United Nations in 1945, and its evolution to the present day. Students will be expected to master the key chapters and articles of the United Nations Charter, especially as they relate to peacekeeping.
Students will learn how to read a variety of sources with a critical eye, including a history of the United Nations; a memoir by one of its key officials who served as the head of peacekeeping under seven secretaries-general; UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions; official UN reports on peacekeeping, and statistical and other data available on the UN's website devoted to peacekeeping operations, past and present.
Students will learn how a peacekeeping mission is launched, and how assessments are made about its successes and failures, by researching a particular operation and presenting their findings to the class.
Students should come away with a basic understanding of the "culture" around U.N. peacekeeping: which countries are the leading troop contributors and why, which of those countries are apt to oppose the use of force by peacekeepers, and why, despite Americans' low regard for peacekeeping, it continues to play an essential role in international affairs.