Curriculum & Courses

The field of conflict resolution has been developed academically as a discipline from diverse fields of knowledge. This course provides an introduction to the major schools of thought that contribute to the developments in social psychology, law, political science, social work, and business. The field of conflict resolution is also dynamically transforming, and the course introduces recent developments, particularly in the area of complexity and dynamical systems.

Negotiation is one of the most important strategies in conflict resolution and is used routinely by all humans to resolve conflict and potential conflict successfully. This course examines both theoretical and practical implications of diverse assumptions and strategies. Students develop a deeper self-awareness of their role in the creation, perpetuation, escalation and resolution of conflicts, as well as in relationship with the other party.

When we understand our cognitive, personality, temperament, motivational, learning, and communication styles, we can blend and capitalize on our strengths and manage our weaknesses. This course reviews the body of work that studies essential influences and the dimension of the intrapersonal dynamics that contribute to who we are and how we work. The course emphasizes a systems approach to understanding self and will be highly interactive, incorporating the participants' personal experiences and self-assessments (MBTI, The Bar-On Emotional Quotient Index, Communication Skills Assessment, Learning Styles Inventory).

The course will be a blend of concepts and skills, theory and practical application. You will have opportunities to practice developing your skills throughout the course, and develop and implement an individualized plan for guiding strengths and managing weaknesses.

The emergence of a dynamical systems perspective and understanding of conflict and its resolution is one of the most encouraging developments in the field of conflict resolution. The course focuses on foundational dynamical systems theory (DST) that informs the relationships amongst the “attractors” that both develop and resolve conflicts, and their relevance for successful conflict resolution analysis and interventions. Students learn to use a modeling and information technology component for a hands-on engagement with dynamical systems as they use it on current and historical conflict scenarios.

Conflict analysis is central to understanding the context and content of any conflict. It is also critical for the person doing the conflict analysis to have a good understanding of who they are as a conflict resolution practitioner, including the frames with which they view the conflict analysis. Our worldviews, assumptions, values, and beliefs shape how we frame and create meaning from conflicts that we choose to examine and how we understand the dynamics of those conflicts. Therefore, to conduct an impartial analysis of any conflict and add value for the stakeholders involved, self-awareness is crucial.

This course is the foundation for developing the necessary mindset for conflict analysis. We want you to be able to enter any situation and ask the question, “What is really going on here?” and to use that inquiry to uncover underlying needs, issues, and assumptions. In this course, in addition to increasing your self-awareness as a conflict resolution practitioner, you will explore and become familiar with diverse conflict analysis approaches and tools, beginning with creating a conflict map to identify the actors, dynamics, and structures that are creating, escalating, and perpetuating the conflict. You will work with a variety of conflict analysis tools to examine the stakeholder perspectives and will be asked to identify issues that surfaced as a result of this analysis. You will define goals for your inquiry that correspond to the conflict issues you have identified and coalesce thematically around a specific purpose of appropriate scope for your capstone study. You will utilize the Coordinated Management of Meaning and Case Study frameworks to engage in desk-based qualitative inquiry using secondary sources. You will put theory into practice by interpreting the secondary data through the lens of applicable theory. The data will be further analyzed using CMM models and conflict analysis tools as a means of surfacing several needs to be addressed in your intervention design (in the next capstone course).

This course is the first of three (3) required courses of the capstone sequence. In 6050, students will complete conflict analysis for their capstone case study. In 6250, students will design an intervention that addresses the needs identified in their earlier analysis. In 6350, students will consider sustainability, as well as monitoring and evaluation strategies for their proposed intervention.

As a logical continuation to the capstone sequence, students will learn and be equipped with process considerations and mechanisms to plan and prepare for interventions. These interventions are aimed at resolving grievances or underlying needs as identified through PS6215 and PS6150. The strategic goal of intervention is change. Change can occur either at the actor level (e.g. individuals or groups), the structural level (e.g. organizational structure or the composition of the state apparatus) or at the contextual level (e.g. societal changes, cultural changes, nation building). Therefore, students need to have a deeper understanding of the context that they are planning the intervention for and need to be equipped with the necessary foundational tools of intervention strategies in order to tackle the problems at the systemic level. At the same time, students need to be empathetic toward individual needs and societal dynamics, aiming to be culturally sensitive when assessing the impact of their interventions and also maximizing the degree of resiliency within the societies they target for their interventions. Based on validated and reliable change management strategies, students will learn to apply the basic principles of interventions to the cases already identified in PS6125 and PS6150. As they move along the trajectory of the course, students will become more proficient at thinking contextually while being grounded in their cases and intervention strategies. Through small and large group engagements, complemented by individual assignments, students will make use of the established cases to frame their own approach to the case studies, therefore allowing an individual take and perspective on the intervention strategies. Subsequently, students will also ensure that risks to each intervention are properly identified and managed, and that risk mitigation strategies are in place. The course will introduce an intervention template, allowing for rigor in application and discipline of thought and push students to critical think and empathize with their conflict scenario through constant peer review sessions and problem-based discussions.

The next course in the sequence, PS6350 will engage students in identifying a new set of strategies aimed at sustaining and measuring the change.

Human networks are a vital element of group conflict. Networks can be local, national, transnational, and global, and seek to drive or mitigate conflict. From localized peacebuilding networks to transnational illicit organizations, the final portion of the capstone project explores the centrality of human networks in conflict, conflict resolution and peacebuilding. The course will examine the sociology of networks by introducing core concepts from social network analysis (SNA), mapping of actors and their positionality vis-à-vis sustainability and planning for impact, and strategies for sustaining the change you seek to achieve from the resolution strategies of PS6250. Building on previous actor analysis in PS6125, students will analyze and deconstruct the network structures in their projects. Using this network analysis, students will evaluate the unique challenges to achieving long-term sustainability and impact in their project design. Students will examine competing arguments on program design including linear approaches such as Results Based Management (RBM), and engaging complexity through Participatory Action Research. As such the class will explore related contemporary M and E designs for students to incorporate into their own capstone context. Students will learn to interpret and apply relevant methods to the cases already identified in PS6125, PS6150, and PS6250. As the course advances, students will demonstrate this contextual knowledge applied to their capstone cases.

Complexity of Conflict and Change Management (NECR K5095) is an elective course in the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (NECR) Program. The course explores how change can create conflict and also how conflict requires change. Conflict is generally about differences in how people think, know, prefer, believe, and understand. By entering into a conflict resolution process, people can shift their understanding and beliefs about the conflict, the other party or parties, and possible outcomes. The course reviews literature and case studies of how people are impacted at a fundamental level when change occurs. Understanding this elemental human experience can lead to greater self-awareness and the ability to manage change professionally and personally, in order to become effective change agents, negotiators, mediators, and peacemakers. We will also explore how leaders at all levels in organizations can play an important role in implementing change in an organizational context. Thoughtful and strategic approaches that consider the impact of a change management process can mitigate and even prevent conflict. We will review change management models and links to developments in neuroscience and how humans are biologically wired to resist change. Balancing theory and practice, this course will focus on the experience and expertise of the students. They will learn to apply practical conflict resolution approaches to change efforts at the individual and organizational levels as well as consider national and international applications. 

While there will be no required live course sessions, we will be planning one synchronous meeting near the start of the term and one near the end of the term.  You are highly encouraged to attend both.  These meetings will be scheduled once class has started.  If needed, we may have two sessions of each meeting to accommodate time zones and student schedules.

This course invites students to more deeply explore themes related to specific conflict resolution issues using a variety of theoretical approaches that builds on their introductory theory course. It encourages an exploration of new developments in the field and introduces current research topics, as well as, issues in current events.

Conflict, Social Networks, and Communications Technology (NECR PS5212) will analyze the relationship between conflict and communications technologies and will explore the challenges that individuals and networks face in using online technology for collaboration and conflict mediation purposes. The course will demonstrate how recent software and social media innovations can facilitate knowledge acquisition, network building, and the analysis and presentation of conflict-related data. Finally, it will analyze contemporary cases where developments in communications technologies have played a critical role in exacerbating and/or resolving conflicts. The course focuses on international peacebuilding, business, and human rights cases.

The course will also instruct students in the use of social software (such as blogs, wikis, curation, and visual mapping) and improve their “digital literacy” on a range of technologies. It will also provide practical (and often provocative) examples and challenge students to reflect on how these tools will be useful in their professional development and work environment.

As an elective offered by the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (NECR) program, Conflict, Social Networks, and Communications Technology builds on students’ conflict analysis skills (PS6125, PS6150), their ability to understand and apply relevant theories and frameworks to complex issues (PS5101), and their assessments as to what influences the behaviors and cultural understandings of conflict parties (PS5105, PS5107, PS5124, PS5205). The aforementioned courses will contribute to the understanding of this course’s content and should, in general, be taken before this (or any other) electives.

This course provides an in-depth exploration of the field of environmental conflict resolution. Through lectures, case studies, and simulated negotiations, students will develop the skills and frameworks needed to understand and address environmental conflicts. Through a final project, students will gain exposure to intervention design and will develop tools for monitoring and evaluation of conflict management programs.

The natural environment provides a wide range of goods and services on which humans depend for survival, identity, livelihoods, and physical and emotional health. Because we are tied so directly and completely to the environment, both environmental conflicts and conflicts involving environmental drivers can be extremely complex and difficult to resolve. Moreover, the implementation of negotiated settlements can have unintended environmental and social impacts. Thus the metrics of success for conflict resolution must sometimes be expanded to include elements of environmental sustainability or reduction of natural hazards. Students participating in this course will gain: 1) grounding in social-ecological and environmental conflict resolution theory; 2) analytical frameworks for environmental conflict assessment; 3)exposure to a range of traditional ADR and innovative resource management techniques for pursuing environmental conflict resolution; and 4) knowledge and skills to evaluate the effectiveness of conflict intervention strategies.

Conflict resolvers strive for social transformation, which happens in non-linear and sometimes unpredictable ways. This course is a fieldwork practicum that explores conflict resolution and peacebuilding through a social transformation lens, at the community level, in Colombia. In this globalized world, where social conflicts are often transnational and transcultural, conflict experts need to apply cultural sensitivity to their intervention skills because social conflicts are multi-cultural, and have their own unique political and historical implications. Social conflicts are often seemingly intractable, systemic in nature, and affect people’s lives in many ways, resulting in economic inequalities, racial discrimination, and gender imbalance. These multiple layers of issues create the complexity needing non-linear interventions. Therefore, when social conflicts are addressed, the smaller and more specific conflicts feeding into the overall social conflict need to be addressed at the same time.

In this course, students will take an intersectional approach to addressing conflicts, from analyzing and understanding them, to interventions that have been tested thus far, and designing new interventions or building on those that have been previously implemented. One goal is to develop ways of treating conflicts that ultimately transform them at their roots and not just their symptoms. Students will explore case studies that depict how communities (in Colombia) have come together to address and transform social conflicts. Moreover, given that this course draws heavily from the tools and methods used in the field by the Instructors through their practice-oriented research, students will collaborate to co-develop workshop modules drawing from their latest book, “Redefining Theory and Practice to Guide Social Transformation” (2020), which will later be implemented in the field.

Around the world, competing demands for natural resources as well as societies’ reliance on ecosystem services create practical management challenges that have led to multiple crises like climate change, biodiversity loss, and loss of identity and sovereignty for indigenous groups. Protected areas such as national parks, national reserves, and public lands are designed to safeguard important natural resources while ensuring social and environmental sustainability. However, protected areas and their associated natural resources are increasingly the sources of conflict among private sector interests, private landowners, conservation and non-profit organizations, and state, county, and indigenous administrations. This elective course provides an in-depth exploration of the drivers of conflict in contemporary natural resource management and practical approaches to overcoming impasse. The course will be taught in an intensive clinic format, and the case studies and virtual fieldwork will be aligned with ongoing research by the Instructor into global assessments of the social and environmental outcomes of protected area management. That research is investigating the drivers of conflict and cooperation in protected areas around the world through quantitative and qualitative research methods. Students will be expected to identify a protected area from the case list provided by the instructor in order to conduct an in-depth analysis. Students will undertake virtual data collection using interviews with representatives of stakeholder groups. Students will have the opportunity to contribute to ongoing research initiatives including drafting peer reviewed publications. 

The topic of health care continues to capture the attention of the nation in ongoing debates fueled by rising costs, over utilization and the implementation of much needed reforms (Affordable Care Act). As the health care industry continues to rapidly evolve, it provides a context ripe for learning and applying concepts, theories and research related to negotiation and conflict resolution. This course is applicable not only to students pursuing careers in health care, but is also designed for students who are interested in applying negotiation skills they have learned in an environment that can be emotionally charged and conceptually complex.

Throughout this course students will be given the opportunity to apply the skills they have learned from previous classes as well as to solidify key concepts and theories of negotiation and conflict resolution. This course is designed to challenge each student to harness their critical thinking skills, uncover nuance and recognize the complexities associated with multiparty negotiations. Our goal is to help students develop and implement negotiation strategies that will bridge the gap between the classroom and real-life scenarios.

The ombuds profession has seen a tremendous growth in interest as interest in alternative dispute resolution and integrated dispute resolution systems within organizations has increased. However, when asked, the average person in the United States still neither knows what an ombudsperson is nor the functions that an ombudsperson fulfills within an organization. This class will introduce students to the major theoretical and practical issues inherent in the ombuds profession. With particular focus on the Standards of Practice as articulated by the International Ombudsman Association, students will learn about the unique services that organizational ombudspeople provide to organizations and to individuals within those organizations.

Mediation is a strategy frequently used by parties in conflict to constructively address incompatibilities. The role of the third party differs depending on the type of mediation being employed. New models of mediation have been developed recently and the field continues to develop and grow. Traditional methods of third party intervention, as well as, more recent alternative dispute resolution approaches will be explored. Students practice applying constructive conflict resolution skills toward becoming an effective impartial third party mediator.

Conflicts that arise in family businesses are informed by long family histories and patterns of behavior, multiple identities, and are often characterized by communication breakdowns and emotional upheaval.  Conflicts in these contexts are costly emotionally, financially and relationally to family members and also to non-family employees and ultimately to the longevity of the business organization itself.  When conflict arises within these contexts it can be difficult to separate the personal relationships from the business relationships.  Because these types of business disputes can be especially emotional, how can we most effectively engage with this type of conflict? 

This course builds theoretical knowledge by introducing some context specific theories, models, and frameworks. We will build on existing NECR coursework introducing the Three Circle Model of Family Business (Tagiuri and Davis); Founders’s Value Categories Framework (Liebowitz);  Dynamical Systems Theory (Coleman, et.al.) as it applies to a family businesses; Family Systems Theory (Bowen; Minuchin) and family dynamics as a subsystem; Sustaining Cycles of Trust Model (Sundaramurthy)  and communications in family businesses (Astrachan and McMillan); discuss EQi-2.0 360 version (MHS) and its usefulness in the family business workplace; introduce and administer the Neethling Brain Instrument (Dr. Kobus Neethling & Paul Torrance) (NBI) as a tool for understanding more about individual thinking styles and how this knowledge informs group dynamics. 

Case studies will be a primary focus throughout the course, providing examples that address a spectrum of classic family business conflicts. We will use tools to analyze and develop intervention strategies in small and large group activities. This elective course is designed for NECR degree candidates, or any SPS graduate student with an interest in the topic, space permitting.  If you are a student outside the NECR program, please contact instructors for additional readings to inform course materials.  NECR students will be required to have taken Introduction to Mediation NECR PS5107, Understanding Conflict and Cooperation NECR PS5101, Skills Practicum: Self as Instrument NECR PS5880, Intrapersonal Dynamics NECR PS5124.

The course focuses on negotiation in particularly challenging settings. It builds on the concepts and skills from the introductory course as students have the opportunity to further fine-tune their awareness and skills. The dilemmas and paradoxes generated by the unavailability of some actors to engage in negotiation are explored, as well as the dilemmas generated by particularly complex environments. There is a fuller more strategic engagement with negotiation, especially applicable with parties who are not initially willing to collaborate. There is a focus on the use of Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) and the practice of conflict coaching.

The course focuses on skill building and strengthening the capacity of students to actually perform mediation services in diverse settings. It further develops the concepts and skills necessary for effective mediators to use. Actual cases are utilized as students practice addressing the many complexities inherent in mediation, including their own biases. There are exercises and discussions aimed at deepening cultural sensitivity and developing the ability to shift the perspectives of the involved parties through reframing. Students receive feedback on their ability to develop mediation cases and on their practice in the role of mediator.

In this course, students focus on practicing skills that will enable them to become more effective communicators. The skills in this course are meant to be a review of what they have covered in previous courses and then strengthened by building on this foundation with new materials and skills. The majority of the time is spent in hands-on situations in which students practice ways in which they can use some of these methods to resolve conflicts; their own critical incidents and those of others. Through guided reflection and supervision students receive small group and individual feedback on a regular basis.

Restorative Justice (RJ) is rooted in ancient approaches to conflict resolution, aboriginal justice, and religious texts. It has re-emerged as a promising new paradigm - a supplement and sometimes an alternative to the criminal justice system’s existing response to wrongdoing. Perhaps most importantly, it is also an alternative response to harm or conflict at the micro, meso, and macro levels. 

In this course, we will explore restorative justice and the ideas that form its foundation. We will question its strengths and shortcomings, examine restorative practices, and investigate opportunities to put the theory into practice. Over the course of the semester, we will critically examine restorative justice theory, principles, and concepts while creating a unique opportunity to explore the philosophy from various perspectives, and as it is applied in various contexts.

Discussions and readings will take a critical look at how restorative justice presents a contrasting philosophy of justice that addresses the needs of multiple stakeholders, draws from faith-based and indigenous approaches, and challenges interpersonal and structural forms of harm. We will also explore intersections and applications of restorative justice within multiple fields and movements including racial justice, trauma healing, education, youth development, and transitional justice.

Although the focus will be on exploring theoretical, empirical, and experiential restorative approaches, there will also be some opportunities to develop and practice applied “facilitation” skills. As we examine the problems and limitations associated with dominant (punitive) responses to crime and rule violations, we will assess how restorative justice presents an alternative philosophy of justice and seeks to understand the costs and benefits associated with attempts to apply that philosophy in different contexts, including criminal justice, schools, families, communities, and nations.

You will be asked to discuss specific conflicts, dissect them through a restorative lens, and actively lead course discussions on your selected conflict. The format hopes to foster a participatory environment. This course is open to NECR and non-NECR students who are interested in further expanding their work in self-awareness, facilitation, conflict transformation, conflict analysis, and analyzing systems.

Analyzing and Resolving Urban Conflict (NECR PS5180) explores the contribution that the field of conflict resolution and strategic peacebuilding can offer to support efforts in lowering violence and crime, and to identify and resolve the underlying issues and patterns causing the proliferation of crime and the outbreak of violence.

The world we are living in is facing dramatic demographic changes. According to the United Nations, by 2030, 80 percent of the world population will live in urban areas. Domestically and internationally, cities are already becoming the theater of new social and violent conflicts. Soon, we will increasingly observe less peasant insurgency and more urban insurgency, fewer guerrillas and more gangs. In fact, urban areas are becoming the hubs of the transnational flow of commodities and people, of both licit and illicit markets.

The course has an interdisciplinary approach and will draw especially from the fields of anthropology, sociology, and security. Throughout the course, these disciplines will be in dialogue with systems thinking and dynamical systems theory (DST). Students will apply these concepts and frameworks to the complex social problems of urban violence and conflict.

Furthermore, the instructor will provide insights, principles and notions he has gained over the past 25 years while working as both a practitioner and a scholar in challenging urban environments such as Palermo, Italy, and Medellin, Colombia.

As an elective offered by the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (NECR) program, this course builds on students’ conflict analysis skills (PS6125, PS6150), their ability to understand and apply relevant theories and frameworks to complex issues (PS5101, PS6250), and their assessments as to what influences the behaviors and cultural understandings of conflict parties (PS5105, PS5107, PS5124, PS5205).

The elective "Open Source Intelligence: Research for Conflict Analysis" course is designed to introduce students to key practical insights, tips, and professional skills necessary for any successful conflict resolution practitioner. In this course, students will be required to practically apply some of the tools and techniques of NECR, and appreciate the importance of combining and reformulating the basic NECR concepts in order to serve their exact needs in the field.

Through this course, students have the opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classroom, learn additional practical research skills, and adjust them to their own very specific professional aspirations in the field. This course also helps students strategize their next professional steps in the field in a concise, methodical way. 

It is important to keep in mind that the Conflict Resolution field at large is quite diverse, and our students have unique backgrounds and future aspirations. Therefore, this course is customized in coordination with each student during 1-on-1 sessions that take place at the beginning of the semester, in order for each student to be working on something that is clear, and has practical value for his/her very specific professional interests. 

As with many things in life, proactiveness, creativity, and an entrepreneurial spirit are keys to success for our very challenging field.  Each student will be having a required 1-on-1 session with the instructor, where the instructor will help the student explore ways to creatively strategize their next professional steps as practitioners and also develop the instructions for the final paper that match the needs of the student. 

Overall, the goal is to provide students with an enriching, personal experience that helps them rethink their role as practitioners and strategize better their short/ long term goals in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution.

Safety is a deceptively simple concept. On one end of the spectrum, it is a tangible state of being (Are you at risk of physical violence?) and immediate feeling (Are you comfortable walking alone at night?). At the other end, safety is a broader system embedded in a complex network of social relations, formal and informal organizations, and political dynamics: Do you trust your neighbors? Do you trust the police? Do you have access to the resources you need to be and feel safe from harm? In New York City, the problem of public safety presents a complex tapestry of conflicts, deeply rooted in varying attitudes and policies. The city's approach to public safety often stirs up debates around policing strategies, with some advocating for a robust, proactive law enforcement presence to deter crime, and others calling for more community-based, social justice-oriented methods. And this is only about policing. Most people will say that for them, safety is about much more than policing. Such complexity has led to a broad array of tensions and conflicts in New York City, particularly in neighborhoods like the three in this course, where residents often feel both over-policed and under-resourced.

In this course, we will draw on an active research project under the leadership of Dr. Peter Dixon and Dr. Geraldine Downey, which is collecting community-based data around the city to answer two questions: how do residents from communities impacted by violence and policing define safety for themselves? And, what makes these grounded definitions more or less relevant for actual public safety policy? Working in three neighborhoods across Manhattan (Harlem), Brooklyn (Bedford-Stuyvesant), and the Bronx (South Bronx), students in this course will work with this community-based data, engaging with municipal decision makers and community members to apply a conflict resolution lens to the rich—and often contradictory—perspectives that city residents bring to the seemingly simple question of what it means to be safe.

This course is scheduled to take place in person, in accordance with campus COVID-19 policies. Students are expected to spend on average, 10 hours per week including class time, group work, readings and other assignments, plus one intensive weekend. Throughout, we will engage with city officials and NYC community members to co-analyze residents’ public safety priorities and co-create policy solutions and resolution strategies.

*This Psychology course is often taught by NECR faculty Dr. Peter Dixon & is accepted as an approved elective for NECR students. The course is typically offered in the Spring semester.

Frontiers of Justice is designed to encourage students and equip them with the skills to become active and effective “Change Agents” within their academic institutions and larger communities. Focusing on the challenges facing NYC residents, this course aims to raise political and social awareness and engagement and strengthen ties between Columbia University, disadvantaged communities, and New York City government agencies and community organizations. Through sharing ideas about how to make structural and systemic change in ways that integrate science, law, politics, history, narrative and community engagement, the course is intended to support students in working to break down racial and ethnic barriers and toward a more fair and just society.

The collaborative learning environment of this course will empower a diverse group of students to share ideas and experiences, while introducing their voices into city-wide conversations that address poverty, trauma, racial inequality, the environment, and other community challenges. In this courageous space, students and community leaders will be encouraged to discuss community conflicts openly and honestly, working collaboratively to develop effective solutions.

The emphasis throughout the course will be on what kinds of empirical questions can be asked about poverty, trauma, racial inequality, and other challenges to a just society in relation to New York City -- and how experimental, observational, and historical research as well as narrative approaches can be designed to address these questions. Together, we will explore what kinds of data can be collected and how they can be analyzed and how scientific research can inform policy changes and bring about meaningful societal change.