Seminars by Prof.Dr. Stefan Peters
Winter semester 2020-2021
Theories of development and development policies, using the Sustainable Development Goals as an example.
Prof. Dr. Stefan Peters
Mondays: 4 p..m. to 6 p.m.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have changed development policy -conceived from a global perspective-, and focus on the future challenges of the 21st century in terms of social issues, environmental protection, and peace. The seminar examines the SDGs in the light of different development theories and current changes in development policy. It also discusses critical perspectives on development and the effects of the pandemic on development policy as well as on North-South relations.
Literature:
- Burchardt, Hans-Jürgen / Peters, Stefan / Weinmann, Nico (2017): Entwicklungstheorie heute – Entwicklungspolitik von morgen. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
- Fischer, Karin / Hauck, Gerhard / Boatca, Manuela (2016): Handbuch Entwicklungsforschung. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
- Peters, Stefan / Burchardt, Hans-Jürgen (2017): Umwelt in globaler Perspektive: Ressourcen – Konflikte - Degrowth. Frankfurt (Main): Campus.
- Sangmeister, Hartmut / Wagner, Heike (2019): Die Entwicklungszusammenarbeit der Zukunft. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
- Ziai, Aram (2016): Postkoloniale Politikwissenschaft: Theoretische und empirische Zugänge.
Rebuilding for the better? Effects of the pandemic crisis from a global perspective.
Prof. Dr. Stefan Peters
Mondays: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Within a very short period of time, the Corona virus pandemic has plunged the world into a profound economic and social crisis, bringing about far-reaching changes in the daily lives of a large part of the world's population. In this context, the seminar will first analyse the effects of the pandemic on international politics with a focus on the Global South. Following this, it will analyse current proposals for a post-pandemic future, such as the drive for an ecological transformation or the expansion of digitalisation and its consequences, from a global perspective.
Past violence and present politics from a Latin American perspective
Prof. Dr. Verena Dolle, Dr. Rosario Figari Layús, Prof. Dr. Laly Catalina Peralta, Prof. Dr. Stefan Peters.
Latin America is a region convulsed by different types and forms of massive human rights violations (dictatorships, civil wars, etc.). Despite this, it is a region that has managed to design different mechanisms to deal with traumatic pasts and make the transition to democracy and/or peace. It is worth noting that the mechanisms designed to deal with the past are not limited to institutional and official spaces (truth commissions, criminal trials, reparation measures, etc.); there are decentralised mechanisms that emerge from everyday, cultural and artistic practices promoted by citizens themselves (literature, cinema, and music). In this sense, Latin America offers a varied repertoire of lessons learned for future international transitional justice processes.
The course reviews different Latin American experiences (past and present) in order to understand and evaluate official and institutional mechanisms, as well as cultural and artistic practices that have been designed to deal with violent pasts. It will involve collaborative international online learning (COIL) modules and will be taught by four professors of different nationalities (Colombian, German and Argentinean) with different disciplinary backgrounds (law, literature, political science, sociology and anthropology). Each professor, according to his/her disciplinary focus, will work closely with a small group of students to analyse a particular case study. The results of the research will be presented during the course in audio-visual format on a project website.
Introduction to Latin American Studies
Prof. Dr. Stefan Peters
Latin America poses a series of challenges for the social sciences. In recent decades, the subcontinent has provided, first, (comparatively) stable democracies and, at the same time, extremely unequal societies. Second, the region has been characterised by an immense wealth of natural resources and yet struggles at developmental dead ends. And third, Latin America has been proclaimed a region of peace since there have been hardly any wars between states and the civil wars of the past have also been largely resolved. However, the region has also led the world's statistics on violence for years with the highest homicide rates in the world.
These and other topics are discussed in this seminar, which begins with an overview of the history and politics of Latin America and then addresses topical issues in relation to development processes from the perspectives of economics and political ecology, social challenges, political upheavals, and processes of coming to terms with the past in post-conflict societies. It also examines the role of the region in international relations and analyses the effects of the pandemic crisis on the various thematic areas. It also provides an insight into the practice of international politics and development cooperation with a focus on Latin America.
The peace process in Colombia: interdisciplinary perspectives on transitional justice and the challenges of post-conflict societies
Prof. Dr. Stefan Peters
The peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas brought an extremely long civil war to an end. The peace treaty attracted much international attention and earned Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos the Nobel Peace Prize. However, it soon became clear that the official peace agreement was only a first step on the road to building a post-conflict society. On the one hand, a number of violent actors remain active (paramilitaries, drug cartels, the ELN guerrilla organisation), and on the other, it has been shown that peacebuilding can make the enduring causes of conflict go unaddressed. The central challenges relate to questions of transitional justice, reconciliation with the past and the creation of the basic conditions for a peaceful society.
The seminar is dedicated to the Colombian peace process and provides a general introduction to the country's history, politics, society and economy, and takes up the challenges for the creation and successful consolidation of a positive peace. It also addresses general theses on peace and conflict research, transitional justice, politics of the past, and positive peace and applies them to the Colombian case. The seminar is interdisciplinary and designed students of law, social sciences and economics at the Justus Liebig University Giessen and the University of Kassel.
Literature:
- Buckley-Zistel, Susanne et al. (2014): Transitional Justice Theories. Abingdon: Routledge.
- Fischer, Thomas / Klengel, Susanne / Pastrana, Buelvas, Eduardo (2017): Kolumbien heute: Politik, Wirtschaft, Kultur. Frankfurt (Main): Vervuert.
- Peters, Stefan / Burchardt, Hans-Jürgen / Öhlschläger, Rainer (2015): Geschichte wird gemacht: Vergangenheitspolitik und Erinnerungskulturen in Lateinamerika. Baden-Baden: Nomos.