Call for Applications: 3rd International Summer School on Governance, Conflict and Peace

The Department of Political Science at the University of Peshawar in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad is pleased to invite applications from M.A./M.Phil/Ph.D students of Universities across Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia for the summer school to be held in Bara Gali, the Summer Campus of the University of Peshawar from August 16-31, 2016.

The Summer School intends to focus on the dynamics of conflict transformation and state building in the region. Though human societies are hardly free from conflicts, the specific interplay of socio-political, cultural, historical, ideological and economic facets have made the region highly susceptible to instability, war, violence and extremism. Despite the perpetual persistence of conflict in the region, scholars and policy makers alike have scantly addressed the constructive and systemic transformation. The field of ‘conflict transformation’ emerged in the early 1990s, initially focusing on the question of how smaller conflicts flare-up into larger ones and embroil the conflicting parties in violent and nonviolent coercive struggles to achieve their goals. This led to inquiries about transitions of conflicts from their destructive and violent manifestations into non-violent and non-contentious forms. The up-coming summer school will focus on the exploration of various theories and approaches to conflict transformation in the context of the region. It aims at engaging the participants from Pakistan and abroad in a deeper and thoughtful process of learning and contributing to our understanding of conflict transformation in the region.

Conflict transformation demands fundamental structural changes in society, economy and the polity. The political success of such transformation critically depends on how institutions, especially within the formal state structure are built and how their capacity can be improved to deliver services to the people. There is a need not only to comprehend contentious issues, but also to devise strategies for more successful state building ventures to cope with the internal and external conflicts in the region.

The aim is not only to educate and train students and graduates on issues of governance, conflict, peace and institution building, but also to provide opportunities to interact, discuss and exchange ideas. The region is seeing new forms of co-operation within and among the states on issues related to security, extremism, terrorism and governance. The organizers believe that no relationship within and among the states can be complete without genuine and sincere efforts at building trust among the people of the region. The Summer School is one such platform, which will go a long way in promoting purposeful relations through understanding the dynamics of conflict, governance and transformation in the region.

The approach of the program will be interactive and participants are expected to learn not only from the resource persons but also from each other by sharing their own experiences. Along with the academic sessions, other activities will also be a part of the program. These include visits to some government and non-government institutes/offices, group meals, games, campfire/cultural nights, hiking to the nearby tourist resorts and sightseeing ventures. Summer school participants will also be invited to form part of the 5th international conference on the “Dynamics of Change in the Pakistan-Afghanistan Borderland”, which will be held at Baragali from August 29-31.

Participants will be provided transport, accommodation and food during the summer school. Required reading will be provided to the participants before the formal start of the school and each participant is expected to study these readings and contribute enthusiastically to each session in the Summer School. Students from outside Peshawar will be expected to deposit a refundable registration fee of USD 50 upon acceptance of their application.

Students from Social Sciences particularly Political Science, Sociology, Area Studies, Anthropology, International Relations and History are encouraged to apply. Seats are limited to 25 and preference will be given to M.Phil/Ph.D students who are doing or plan to do their research work on the region.

The application process will get underway with the submission of your CV and a statement of motivation (500 Words) to the Department of Political Science, University of Peshawar, Pakistan.

Dr. Abdul Rauf, Organizer, Phone +92-91-9216751, summerschool@upesh.edu.pk

Last date of the submission of Applications is May 25, 2016.

Further instructions will be given to the selected participants in due course of time.