Concentrations

This program provides substantial coverage of the theoretical foundation and intervention strategies in the field of conflict analysis and management. The program covers a range of conflict situations from the interpersonal to the international and are multi-disciplinary in nature.

In addition to core courses, students have the opportunity for focused study in one of the following areas of concentration:

Political, ethnic & security issues
This concentration is focused on situations at the international, national, and community level where national and cultural groups are in conflict over such issues as territory, human and civil rights, natural resources, or the nature of the political community. Typically, contending parties are defined in part by ethnic and cultural terms (including race, language, religion, and traditions), and the conflicts involve violence or the threat of violence. Conflict management processes are often not well institutionalized. Specialty Courses: CAMN 510, CAMN 650

International trade & commercial issues
This concentration deals with bilateral and multilateral trade disputes between companies, state governments and civil society. Disputes often arise because of different economic interests, different interpretations of contractual trade obligations and different perceptions of the public interest concerning issues of global trade competition. The concentration contrasts private commercial trade contract dispute resolution with public conflict management principles and state trading dispute settlement frameworks. Both commercial dispute resolution and state conflict management processes are often formalized in treaties, law and regulation. Specialty Courses: CAMN 511, CAMN 661

Organizational conflict
This concentration recognizes that conflict is a common occurrence in organizational life, between individuals, in work teams, between departments, levels and other units, and at the highest levels of policy development and strategic planning. This concentration seeks to increase understanding of the various forms of organizational conflict, and to impart effective methods for managing it productively, while increasing its potential for constructive organizational change and optimal functioning. Conflict management methods evidence considerable variety and are undergoing rapid development in such areas as mediation services, alternative dispute resolution systems, training and development programs, and internal consulting teams. Specialty Courses: CAMN 514 and CAMN 680

Environmental conflict
This concentration recognizes that the new realities in Canada as well as other parts of the world are that environmental, regulatory, program and policy decisions are not made in isolation from those different groups who have a stake in the outcome. Resolving the competing interests of these different groups is helped by the development of a consensus process. This process is one in which all those who have a stake in the outcome aim to reach agreement on actions and outcomes that resolve or advance issues of importance to the parties. In a consensus process, participants work together to design a system that maximizes their ability to resolve their differences. This encourages discourse and understanding among the parties, and creates a forum in which the importance of reconciling competing interests is both understood and addressed. This concentration focuses on ways in which consensus can be reached through a variety of multiple party mechanisms. Specialty Courses: CAMN 512, CAMN 662

Community & school conflict
This concentration focuses on the deep-rooted causes of conflict in our communities, on the school grounds, and in the classroom. Participants will be challenged to explore questions of central importance to our communities and schools, examining the factors that lead to violent and aggressive behaviours and analyzing underlying issues of power asymmetries and the clash of values, worldviews, rights, interest and needs. Specialty Courses: CAMN 513 and CAMN 675